Pelicans News Around the Web (7-8-2019)

LAS VEGAS - Zion Williamson's debut with the Pelicans in their Summer League opener lasted only a half.

Chrissy Olinger arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center at noon Friday, 8½ hours before Zion Williamson was scheduled to take the court.

LAS VEGAS — That's all, folks. Zion Williamson's summer league play is over. The Pelicans have decided to shut him down. And it's the right move. No need to risk anything.

Zion Williamson's Summer League debut was well-hyped and short-lived. The same may end up being said for his entire Summer League career.

LAS VEGAS -- What did former Duke roommates Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, the first and third picks, respectively, of this year's NBA draft, show us in their first professional game against each other Friday night in the NBA summer league?

LAS VEGAS -- The lines began to snake around the outside of Thomas & Mack Center hours before the doors to the arena opened. Amid the LeBron James Lakers jerseys and Giannis Antetokounmpo Bucks jerseys were fans donning blue Duke Zion Williamson jerseys.

Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick of the New Orleans Pelicans in this year's NBA draft, will not participate in the remainder of the Las Vegas Summer League after sustaining a bruised left knee in his debut, the team said Saturday.

New Orleans Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin announced today that Zion Williamson, who left last night’s game against the New York Knicks with a bruised left knee, will not participate in the remainder of the NBA Summer League.

LAS VEGAS -- Frank Jackson wasn't sure what was happening.

LAS VEGAS - Zion Williamson's much-anticipated debut with the New Orleans Pelicans generated the highest rated NBA Summer League game ever.

LAS VEGAS -- An earthquake that struck in Southern California forced the stoppage of the late games in the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday night, in which No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans and No. 3 pick RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks made their debuts.

LAS VEGAS – Whether it was the line of fans that snaked around both arenas on UNLV’s campus, or the sold-out crowds for both Day 1 and 2 of the NBA Summer League, there were indications everywhere this weekend that the annual July event has never been more popular. Another sign that this was an unprecedented week in Las Vegas? A new all-time single-game record for TV ratings.

LAS VEGAS - Pelicans draft picks Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Marcos Louzada Silvia all sat on the baseline - just a few feet from their soon-to-be team's bench - and watched.

LAS VEGAS — One practice. One shoot-around. That's all Kavell Bigby-Williams had with his Pelicans' summer league teammates before the start of play in Las Vegas.

Pelicans guard Frank Jackson recaps tonight's Summer League game vs the New York Knicks

Pelicans guard Makoto Hiejima speaks with Japanese media following tonight's summer league game vs the New York Knicks

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday talks the state of the Pelicans franchise on the sideline during the Pelicans-Knicks 2019 NBA Summer League matchup.

LAS VEGAS – Frank Jackson started pushing the ball up the court to get New Orleans into its offense, but then he started feeling like he was being pushed physically. As he dribbled early in the fourth quarter Friday, the Thomas & Mack Center began swaying, part of an earthquake that hit in neighboring state California, registering a 6.9 magnitude.

Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operation David Griffin talks Pelicans during the Pelicans-Wizards Summer League matchup

LAS VEGAS – New Orleans began summer league featuring a handful of players who are relatively familiar to the average hoops fan, but by the second night of game competition, the Pelicans were essentially down to one. With No. 1 pick Zion Williamson sidelined due to a Friday knee-to-knee injury – and Frank Jackson, Kenrich Williams and Christian Wood joining him as DNPs – Trevon Bluiett was required to somewhat carry the offense Saturday. Bluiett, who spent 2018-19 season on a two-way contract but has not yet appeared in an official NBA game, responded with 23 points vs. Washington, highlighted by six three-pointers. Unlike in Friday’s earthquake-halted win over New York, despite Bluiett’s perimeter accuracy this time New Orleans couldn’t overcome a double-digit deficit. The Wizards went up 65-52 through three quarters and held off a late rally by the Pelicans in the final minutes.

It's official: Anthony Davis is a former New Orleans Pelican.

With the Anthony Davis trade finally complete, the Pelicans made official in the early hours of Sunday morning the second arm of that deal, flipping the first of several future Lakers draft assets for a bevy of picks from this summer.

In their first off-day at Summer League in Las Vegas, the Pelicans continued to fine tune their roster after previously announcing the completion of trades with the Lakers, Wizards and Hawks.

LAS VEGAS - Zion Williamson made his New Orleans Pelicans summer league debut on Friday.

New Orleans Acquires Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Draft Picks From Los Angeles

The New Orleans Pelicans today completed a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, acquiring the draft rights to the eighth overall pick in 2019 NBA Draft, Jaxson Hayes, 17th pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and 35th pick Marcos Louzada Silva. In exchange, New Orleans has traded the draft rights to the fourth overall pick, De’Andre Hunter and the 57th overall pick, Jordan Bone, to Atlanta, as well as forward Solomon Hill and a future second-round draft pick.

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed rookies Jaxson Hayes (the eighth overall pick) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (the 17th overall pick), who were acquired by New Orleans on July 6 along with rookie Marcos Louzada Silva (the 35th overall pick) and a future first-round pick from the Atlanta Hawks, in exchange for the rights to De’Andre Hunter (the fourth overall pick) and Jordan Bone (the 57th overall pick), as well as forward Solomon Hill and a future second-round draft pick. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has acquired forward/center Derrick Favors from the Utah Jazz in exchange for a 2021 and 2023 second-round draft pick, originally acquired from the Golden State Warriors in a draft-night trade last month.

Another Pelicans star could've been involved in a league-altering trade this offseason if not for one simple reason: Jrue Holiday was not on the trade table.

The ending may have turned sour, but it didn't erase the seven years Anthony Davis gave the Pelicans.

To gain more insight into one of the newest members of the New Orleans Pelicans – No. 17 overall NBA draft pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker – we caught up with Chris Coleman, the managing editor for TechSideline.com, a site devoted to Virginia Tech sports.

To gain more insight into one of the newest members of the New Orleans Pelicans – No. 8 overall NBA draft choice Jaxson Hayes – we caught up with Brian Davis, who covers the Texas Longhorns in football and men’s basketball for the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.

To gain more insight into one of New Orleans’ key veteran additions of the NBA offseason, nine-year pro Derrick Favors, we caught up with Aaron Falk, writer for the UtahJazz.com website. Falk covered Favors for six seasons, starting as the beat reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune in 2013.

Source: Nba.com

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