Report: NBA will 'make sure' Zion's involved in playoffs

As things currently stand, Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans are outside of the NBA playoff picture.

However, ESPN's Brian Windhorst is hearing from people in the league that the rookie phenom will participate in the postseason should the 2019-20 campaign resume.

"The league is gonna set up this playoff plan to make sure Zion Williamson is involved," Windhorst said Friday on ESPN's "Get Up." "Paranoia is at the top of the list with anything in the NBA. ... (Teams) are always paranoid about everything: 'The league is screwing me and they're helping that guy.'

"In this case, there's a number of different reasons why the league would want to have 20 or 24 teams. A number of different reasons to get extra games. But most of those scenarios include having Zion Williamson in the postseason."

The Pelicans are among three teams tied for ninth in the Western Conference. In the event of a return, the NBA has yet to decide if it'll go straight into the playoffs or play out some of the remaining regular-season games.

New Orleans played in 64 matchups before the league began its indefinite hiatus. Although reaching the 70-game mark would fulfill all clubs' regional television deals, such a scenario would give the Pelicans just six contests to make up a 3 1/2 game gap on the Memphis Grizzlies for the West's eighth seed.

A number of methods to determine the final playoff spots have reportedly been tabled to teams, including a play-in tournament and a World Cup-style group stage.