"WTF is actually going on with dude?": Fans worried about Zion Williamson’s future after his offseason look goes viral

Fans expressed concern over New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson's future in the league after a photo of his offseason appearance surfaced online.

Williamson posed for a photo with a fan, who posted it on Instagram earlier this week. Many felt that the Pelicans star had spent a lot of time soaking up the sun outdoors instead of training ahead of the new season.

Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴

@big_business_

Zion Williamson been outside all summer

"Alright man, wtf is actually going on with dude? 🤣" a fan questioned.

Tone

@whoisTone_

Alright man, wtf is actually going on with dude? 🤣

Justin

@justinbrosemer

@big_business_ In retrospect NOLA was the absolute worst place for this man lol

braxton hemmeian

@braxxxx4

@big_business_ Haven’t seen not one work out vid

𝑀𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽 ♱

@heirmitch

@big_business_ Yeah man Zion hype over with bro

The Montel

@Kingtel1

@big_business_ Yea his career over

NBA insiders say Zion Williamson needs to address a few things this offseason

The Pelicans still believe that Zion Williamson is their franchise star. The arrival of former NBA star Joe Dumars as the new president of basketball operations has not dispelled that notion.

“Zion is still our guy," the Pelicans' front office said. "If he wasn’t, we could have waived him for like nothing on the books. We could have reset everything. But we believe in Zion. He wants to make it work, and so do we."

However, some areas require attention. During an episode of "The Hoop Collective" podcast, ESPN insiders Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst discussed the future of both the organization and its star player.

"Real quick on New Orleans, there's still the, 'Hey, what's up with Zion?" MacMahon said (Time stamp: 1:06:20). "Is this a guy you're building around? Is this a guy you can get value for?"

"There remains off-court stuff," Windhorst chimed in.

New Orleans reportedly remains committed to its star forward and believes he will be important in the long run.

Williamson has battled injuries throughout his time in the NBA. He appeared to have put his health issues behind him in 2023-24, when he played in a career-best 70 games. However, back and hamstring issues limited him to 30 games last season.