Some of Zion Williamson’s health struggles are ‘on him’

Zion Williamson and the Pelicans appear to be at a crossroads.

Williamson played in just 29 games this season after missing all of last year, as questions have lingered about if he’s doing everything possible with his conditioning to stay on the court.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin did not have a specific answer when asked what would need to happen for Williamson to be available more frequently, but he did put some of the onus on the former No. 1 overall pick.

“I wish I could immediately pinpoint the answer. I think a big part is on him,” Griffin said, according to ESPN.

“I think there is a lot he can do better. And he would, I think, tell you that. I think we need to do a better job examining the whole situation top to bottom a little bit better.

“I think putting him in the best position to succeed is important. And I think his participation is a big part of that.”

Earlier this week, Williamson, 22, made the bizarre decision to throw down authoritative dunks in warmups before the Pelicans lost to the Thunder in the NBA play-in tournament, and after raising eyebrows when he said that he was physically fine.

Griffin said that this situation wasn’t indicative of the idea that Williamson could have been cleared to play by now.

“He came up here the other day and said ‘physically, I’m fine.’ ‘Physically I’m fine’ means ‘I’m not currently injured,’” Griffin said.

“He wasn’t physically cleared to play basketball. He was playing one-on-none. He went up and windmill-dunked pregame.

“That’s not the skill set that makes you capable of playing 5-on-5 basketball. So for people to now say, ‘He chose not to play basketball,’ that’s nonsense. That’s not factual. But that’s a way more interesting story than he chose not to play basketball. That’s the truth.”

The Pelicans lost both of their games in the play-in tournament and were officially eliminated from the postseason with a 123-118 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday night that would have earned them the No. 8 seed.

Williamson averaged 27.0 points and seven rebounds this season.

Speaking on ESPN earlier this week, Stephen A. Smith called on Williamson to take it upon himself to be on the court more often going forward.

“He’s gotta find a way to get back on the court. Period,” Smith said. “Because it’s starting to look very bad and it’s raising suspicions everywhere.”