David Griffin praised the chemistry between Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, and Nicolo Melli as one of the keys to the New Orleans Pelicans offense.

“A big part of it is the chemistry you see with Lonzo and Zion. They have a special connection. I think Nicolo Melli getting more minutes, and him starting to become a key part of the rotation has been essential as well.

"Those three guys work incredibly well as a unit. Zion gives us another player who can create vertical thrust in the offense, and Lonzo can pick defenses apart with his passing," said Griffin.

Melli is shooting 39.1% from three since Williamson made his season debut.

“Melli, when there is that dive thrust (by Williamson) toward the rim, (Melli) is going to be pulling bigs away from the basket. He is absolutely essential when Zion’s on the floor, from a spacing standpoint. When you see the relationship between those three growing, it just exponentially improves our team.”

Griffin also gave an update on second-round pick Didi Louzada, who is currently playing in Australia's NBL.

"His development on a very veteran team that had the best record in their league the vast majority of the season, as a starter and defensive stopper, is exactly what we wanted. The future is very bright there as a potential three-and-D stopper who can guard multiple positions.”

New Orleans Pelicans general manager David Griffin said that the league is doing everything in its power to not have to cancel the rest of the NBA season.

“With everything changing so quickly, everything is in a state of flux that I think it would be premature for the NBA to say what it ultimately looks like. I do know unequivocally that the league is very mindful of the idea of getting back to playing. The idea of canceling a season is not all on their minds, and we’re modeling every possible thing we can for how we can deliver a product to the fans.

"Quite frankly, we’re all going to need a diversion in the future. (But) until we can get to a point where we think we’ve got containment of (the coronavirus), we’re going to continue to stay locked down. Hopefully we’ll get to a point where we can come back sooner rather than later," said Griffin in an interview.

Adam Silver announced a 30-day minimum league suspension through at least April 9th.

Others have reported that the NBA will do everything in its power to not cancel the playoffs, even if it takes the season into July or August.

The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to match any offer sheet for restricted free agent Brandon Ingram, according to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.

With the likes of Buddy Hield, Domantas Sabonis, Jaylen Brown, and Dillon Brooks signing extensions, Fedor adds that Ingram is the "one restricted free agent with appeal."

Ingram is averaging 24.3 points and 6.3 rebounds on the season.

The New Orleans Pelicans have yet to conduct any COVID-19 testing.

The Pelicans haven't had any members of their traveling party shown symptoms and the franchise wants to do their part in keeping tests available for those in the general public who truly need them.

The Pelicans were set to play at the Sacramento Kings on March 11th before the NBA suspended the season following the positive COVID-19 test by Rudy Gobert.

Zion Williamson has pledged to pay the salaries of all Smoothie King Center workers for the next 30 days as the NBA suspends play.

Williamson is in his rookie season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

 

 

 

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The people of New Orleans have been incredibly welcoming and supportive since I was Drafted by the Pels last June, and some of the most special people I have met are those who work at smoothie King Center. These are the folks who make our games possible, creating the perfect environment for our fans and everyone involved in the organization. Unfortunately, many of them are still recovering from long term challenges created by Katrina, and now face the economic impact of the postponement of games because of the virus. My mother has always set an example for me about being respectful for others and being grateful for what we have, and so today I am pledging to cover the salaries for all of those Smoothie King Center workers for the next 30 days. This is a small way for me to express my support and appreciation for these wonderful people who have been so great to me and my teammates and hopefully we can all join together to relieve some of the stress and hardship caused by this national health crisis. This is an incredibly resilient city full of some of the most resilient people, but sometimes providing a little extra assistance can make things a little easier for the community.

A post shared by Zion Williamson (@zionwilliamson) onMar 13, 2020 at 2:24pm PDT

Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been ruled out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a fractured right wrist.

Alexander-Walker was experiencing discomfort during practice on Thursday. 

The 21-year-old is averaging 5.1 points and 2 rebounds off the bench for the Pelicans. 

The Denver Nuggets made a significant push to acquire Jrue Holiday before the trade deadline, according to sources that spoke with Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The New Orleans Pelicans, however, never showed interest to move him.

Holiday made it clear that he would at least like to play out the remainder of the 19-20 season with the Pelicans. 

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Seth Partnow of The Athletic (@SethPartnow) talk about developments around the NBA.

They discuss Zion Williamson’s start to his career, the Mavericks’ success, who has the best chance of beating the Bucks in the East playoffs and much more.

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Zion Williamson signed a multiyear partnership with Fanatics as his exclusive memorabilia distributor.

"I've always knew that memorabilia was a big part of the game because everybody wants an autographed jersey, signed basketball or just kind of anything to do with game-worn gear.  It was just me, I've just never kind of asked for any of that [growing up]. Maybe it was my competitive spirit that made me not want to ask, but now that I'm officially in it, it does open my eyes to another level of the money people spend on it or the time and effort that people truly take to get a card or to get a basketball and it's impressive," said Williamson after confirming his deal.

More memorabilia products featuring Williamson have been sold on Fanatics than any other player since he made his debut in January.

Williamson is also in the top-five when combining memorabilia and jersey sales, with a 175% increase month over month.

Williamson's endorsements now include Jordan Brand, Gatorade, NBA 2K, Panini America and Mountain Dew.

Zion Williamson and Coby White have been named the NBA's Rookies of the Month for February. 

Williamson averaged 25.7 points and 6.2 rebounds for the month.

White averaged 20.1 points, 4.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds.