There are times when Zion Williamson is talking to Joe Dumars and all of a sudden Williamson’s mind starts to drift.
“I’m sitting with him and I’m like, ‘Man, this is Joe Dumars,’” Williamson said. “He’s an NBA champion. Finals MVP. This dude was part of the ‘Bad Boys.’ Then I have to lock back in the conversation. It’s dope.”
Dumars is in his first season as the New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations.
His impressive resume includes two NBA titles as a guard for the Detroit Pistons, another as the Pistons’ general manager, and an induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Dumars’ next goal is to bring winning basketball to New Orleans. That mission starts with him untapping all of Williamson’s potential. The Pelicans will go as far as Williamson takes them, which is why Dumars has spent so much time with him.
They’ve had plenty of what Williamson calls “man-to-man” conversations.
“I like Joe,” Williamson said at Tuesday’s media day. “What you see is what you get. He’s going to hold me accountable. As he holds me accountable, he’s going to give me a lot of responsibility as well. I’m excited for it and I look forward to it.”
Dumars didn’t wait long to start handing Williamson responsibilities. Dumars was hired in April. In May, he sent Williamson to Chicago to represent the Pelicans at the NBA draft lottery. The two of them got to bond there. That continued as they watched NBA playoff games together. When April rolls around, the playoff games Dumars and Williamson hope to be talking about are the ones the Pelicans are playing in. But to do that, Dumars needs Williamson to be the mega star that everyone expected him to be when the Pelicans drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019.
“What I’ve said to him is with greatness comes responsibility,” Dumars said. “You don’t get to be great and not responsible. It’s been a heavy emphasis on that. Just being accountable and responsible for what you do. It’s not enough just to be talented. There is a difference between talent and greatness. Those are two different things. You can be talented without any responsibility. You can’t be great without any responsibility. You just can’t. That’s not what greatness is.”
The talent is no doubt there. Williamson has been named to the All-Star Game twice. He averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and a career-best 5.3 assists this past season. That’s talent.
But the numbers that will get him to greatness are the ones under the “Games Played” column. Williamson has played in just 214 games in his six seasons. He played in just 30 games last season, a big reason the Pelicans finished 21-61.
Williamson says he’s not concerned about anything that happened last season. Or the seasons before that.
“The past is going to stay in the past,” Williamson said. “I’m only looking forward to the future. … Whatever my team needs, that’s what I will do.”
He looks to be in the best shape of his NBA career. And he feels that way, too. He credits Daniel Bove, the Pelicans’ director of performance and sports science, for that. They’ve come up with a workout plan that includes everything from boxing to working out on the football field. He’s also worked out with former Pelicans assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon, who is like a big sister to him.
“It feels good to feel good,” Williamson said. “I haven’t felt like this since high school or college.”
Now the Pelicans and their fans need to see that all translate to availability and wins. Williamson, when asked about his personal goals for this season, didn’t reveal them.
“I have some goals, but those I keep to myself,” he said. “So when that time does come, I know how to celebrate.”
Dumars likes the way he’s seen Williamson push himself this summer. Now he wants to see that carry over into the season. Win or lose, Dumars wants Williamson to be front and center.
“When things go well and the team is going great, you’re going to get the bulk of the compliments and credit,” Dumars told Williamson. “But when things are not going well, you should be the first one to step to the media after the games and speak for the team. That goes back to accountability and responsibility. You can’t just be the person when things are going well. You have to be the person when things don’t go well.”
Williamson said all the right things Tuesday. The Pelicans are 0-0 right now. Williamson has put last season’s dismal, injury-plagued season in the rearview mirror.
The Dumars era seems like a fresh start for Williamson. The conversations he had with Dumars and senior vice-president of basketball operations Troy Weaver have resonated with the face of the franchise.
“They embraced me,” Williamson said. “I told them ‘I’m not going to let y’all down.’ That helps a lot that they really believe in me. They are going to hold me accountable and with that accountability they will give me a lot of responsibility. And I’m here for it.”