“Pretty elite,” were the words Jrue Holiday used to describe the debut of his former teammate Zion Williamson. And over the years, Zion has lived up to that praise. Despite facing plenty of criticisms about his weight, he has responded only with performance. However, he was unable to lead the Pelicans beyond the play-ins during his four seasons with the team. But, now that Jrue has tucked two championship titles under his belt, he’s in a great position to pass on some wisdom to the NOP forward to help him break the curse.

This came up on Podcast P with Paul George when the Celtics star was asked what advice he would give to Zion. Before offering any advice, he praised the 24-year-old, saying, “I think Zion is one of the most talented or most gifted players that I’ve ever seen. Athletic ability, how he can, like, get to the rim, get by people.” The NBA community has been witness to his remarkable stint. Jrue then got down to business highlighting, “I feel like sometimes, it’s about fit.”

Jrue believes that a talent like Zion doesn’t quite fit with the Pelicans’ squad, and a move could be beneficial for his future, much like the 34-year-old did in his career. Jrue stated, “Maybe I don’t know if they have to adjust the fit to him down there or if he need to maybe slide out and, like, have a different fit with somebody else. But I feel like he needs a change in some kinda way because he is promising.”

He then reflected on Zion’s rookie season with the franchise when he was present to witness his “amazing” abilities. While discussing the past, Jrue also touched on the constant criticism Zion faced regarding his weight, which mostly came from Stephen A. Smith. “And you see him, like, they talk about the weight gain and doing all that, but I’ve seen him at 280, 290 still, like, a butt around like this,” he added. There was indeed a time when Zion was around 300 lbs, but that didn’t stop him from being the talented player Jrue is referring to. However, he pushed his limits to reduce it to 281 lb recently, as per Yahoo Sports.

If there’s one thing Jrue kept emphasizing, it was, “Something needs to be shaken up down there because he’s way too good to be going to the play-ins every year and not making it past them.” During his stint, the Pelicans qualified for three play-in tournaments and managed to advance to the first round of playoffs twice from there. However, Zion missed all of them except for one game last season, due to his injuries. Otherwise, his presence could have made a different story for the franchise.

Even now, less than two months into the new season, injury has taken a toll on him. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Zion will remain sidelined for multiple weeks due to his severe hamstring injury. The insider reported, “I am told [Zion] Williamson is not remotely close to coming back… Typically, it’s a 4-6 week injury… but the Pelicans are bracing for him to be out beyond that point. I am told he has received multiple injections in that hamstring.”

Following his advice for Zion, Jrue was asked how he would have coached him if he were in Willie Green’s position. The combo guard then provided his best solution.

Jrue Holiday on coaching Zion Williamson

Jrue showered Zion with plenty of compliments, but if there’s one area he would focus on if he were New Orleans’ coach, it would be Zion Williamson’s defense. “I’d have him play a little bit more defense.” He quickly added, “That’s not a knock on him,” but emphasized that a defensive push is needed to elevate Zion’s game

“Offensively, bro, I think he got it,” Jrue said. “I think he does what he’s supposed to do. I think he playmates for other people. I think he gets to the rim. He gets to the free-throw line. But I think for me, if he challenged himself defensively and his teammates saw that, I feel like they will follow.”

Zion has played only six games so far this season, averaging 22.7 points coupled with 8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. However, his defense has often hurt the team in the past. However, he currently has an improved defensive rating of 118.1 this season, and when he returns to the floor, maybe he can work on that, as suggested by the ex-Pelican.