LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) The New Orleans Pelicans say top overall draft choice Zion Williamson left the club on Thursday to attend to an urgent family medical matter.
The Pelicans say Williamson intends to rejoin the team in the Orlando area for the resumption of the season, but the club did not specify when he would be able to return or whether he’ll miss any of the club’s eight remaining regular season games.
Williamson will have to quarantine again when he returns to Central Florida, a period that will last at least four days and could be significantly longer if he is not tested daily during his absence from the team.
“Once we learn more about Zion’s specific circumstances, we will determine his reentry protocol based on our rules,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.
The Pelicans resume the season on July 30 against Utah, followed by a match-up with the Los Angeles Clippers two days later.
“We fully support Zion’s decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family,” Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said. “Out of respect for the Williamson family, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Williamson, who starred for one season at Duke, has averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19 games this season after missing New Orleans’ first 44 games while recovering from preseason arthroscopic knee surgery. New Orleans is 10-9 with Williamson in the lineup and 18-27 without him.
The Pelicans are 3 1/2 games behind Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. But there is also the possibility of qualifying for the playoffs by finishing ninth and within four games of the eighth seed. In that case, the ninth-place team would have to beat the eighth-place team in two straight to advance to the full NBA playoffs.
Portland currently holds the ninth spot, with New Orleans and Sacramento less than one game behind in a tie for 10th. All 22 teams invited to conclude the season at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex will play eight games before the postseason begins.
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