No. 1 pick Williamson out six to eight weeks
NEW ORLEANS — Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft in June, will miss the start of the regular season after having surgery on his injured right knee Monday.
Williamson, who is thought to have suffered the injury in a preseason game Oct. 13 against the Spurs, had the torn lateral meniscus in the knee repaired, and the Pelicans said his recovery time will last six to eight weeks. He would miss about 20 games if he’s out six weeks and another seven or so if he’s out eight weeks.
The 6-7, 284-pound Williamson — who averaged 23.3 points on an eye-popping 71.4 percent shooting and 6.5 rebounds in four preseason games — was projected to start immediately for the Pelicans, alongside guards Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday, forward Brandon Ingram and center Derrick Favors. Guard JJ Redick is expected to move into the starting lineup to replace Williamson.
Redick said the loss of Williamson, 19, hasn’t dampened the Pelicans’ expectations for the season.
‘‘It’s still the start of the season,’’ Redick said. ‘‘We still get to play real games; we get to compete. We have a deep team. We’ll hold it down as best we can without him. Obviously we need him back, and hopefully he takes his time and recovers fully.’’
Williamson was part of a summer that brought new life into the Pelicans’ franchise. His Summer League debut in Las Vegas was sold out, even though he played only eight minutes because of a bruise to his left knee.
Williamson suffered a mild sprain of his right knee during his only season at Duke. That injury occurred when his sneaker gave out just seconds into a game against North Carolina. He missed three weeks with the injury before returning to play in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.