New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson has avoided a severe injury to his right knee but is expected to miss a period of weeks to start the regular season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday.
Williamson did not travel with the team to New York for Friday’s preseason game against the Knicks and instead stayed back in New Orleans for further testing.
“Yeah I mean he’s fine,” Gentry told reporters when asked how Williamson was feeling. “He’s not dead guys. He’s a typical 19-year-old kid. He’s upbeat, he has fun and he’s living his dream as he said.”
The injury puts a damper on what had been an excellent preseason for the No. 1 overall pick. Williamson was averaging 23.3 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 71.4% in the Pelicans’ first four preseason games and averaging 27.3 minutes.