Then there's Zion. Williamson reported to camp at 271 pounds, down from the 284 he's carried through his career. He has been staying after practice to hit at least 50 threes and reportedly outshot Trey Murphy III in an early drill. He was also blunt at media day: "I am not where I want to be." Tipoff in Tulsa is 7:00 PM CT, and the first real test of all that offseason work is whether he takes those threes against someone besides his own teammates.
Oklahoma City's camp opened with some of its young pieces held back. Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic (back) were both reported as limited to start camp, and Otega Oweh hasn't been seen in game action since a lower-leg issue kept him out of a Summer League loss to Brooklyn. In an exhibition, that's minutes that go to the back of the roster.
For the Pelicans, Bryce McGowens is still carrying a day-to-day tag for a toe issue that dates back to June. Otherwise, the camp reports out of New Orleans have mostly been about the roster being healthier than it has been in a while, and for this franchise that's news on its own.
Expect starters to play a few short stints and coaches to experiment with lineups. Preseason results don't tell you much. The things to watch are Zion's shot selection, how Mosley uses Missi, and how the Thunder spread minutes while two young players work back from limited camps. The Pelicans have 4 preseason games and open the regular season against Indiana on October 21, so this is the first of several looks before anything counts.