NBA News: Pelicans Star Cleared For Contact Drills Amid Troubling Weight Gain

Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans may be back in action soon following the latest medical update on the 2019 NBA top pick.

According to an official update, the 21-year-old has been cleared to participate in contact drills, beginning with 1-on-1 workouts that are expected to progress towards full-team workouts.

The update comes after Williamson was medically cleared by Dr. Richard Ferkel of Southern California Orthopedic Institute and Dr. Scott Montgomery of Ochsner Health.

The 6-foot-6 forward underwent imaging on his fractured right foot last November 11.

He is set to undergo further medical imaging on November 24 to determine if he can already join the Pelicans in their full team workouts.

Considering the Pelicans have not shown much improvement, given that they hold a 2-13 win-loss card in the Western Conference as of this writing, a potential return by Williamson would be welcome news.

However, given the severity of his injury, another issue tied to this exists.

This has to do with the long-standing issue of the former Duke alumnus weight with rumors claiming that he now weighs over 300 pounds.

Williamson touched on the issue and stated that he felt he could improve his conditioning.

However, he was also concerned about getting too light when he spoke on JJ Reddick’s podcast in March.

"I do think there is another gear that I can reach regarding my weight and conditioning," Williamson stated. "But I think it's like you said, it's finding it. Because I don't want to get to a spot where I'm like, 'Yeah, I lost a lot of weight, but I don't feel strong. I can't do certain things that I would do before.' I think it's just finding it. I do think there is another gear I can reach regarding both weight and conditioning."

Furthermore, there is the matter of Williamson not seeing eye-to-eye with head coach Stan Van Gundy in a report by The Athletic earlier this November.

Hence, a returning Williamson may help the team on paper, but internal issues may have to be resolved as well.