Hall of Famer Reggie Miller said that he believes New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is too heavy at his current weight and needs to become leaner to play more minutes.

Williamson entered the season listed as one of the heaviest players in the league at 285 pounds. He established himself as one of the most electrifying players in college basketball last year at Duke but his weight has become a consistent topic of discussion.

Given his injury history, many around the sport believe losing some weight would help prolong his career in the NBA. Speaking on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Friday, Miller said Williamson should lose between 15-25 pounds.

I love the strength and the power that he plays with but I personally believe he is too heavy to be playing. I think they are managing his minutes because they don’t want a major injury because I believe he is too heavy. … He needs to be a little bit leaner so the knees and the lower back there is not so much pressure on there.

I hope going forward, if they are going to manage his minutes, they need to manage his food intake because needs to take off 15, 20, 25 pounds if he wants to play 32-36 minutes and play 70-82 games next season, which are hoping for, the league is hoping for but he needs to lose weight.

Williamson returned to the Pelicans prior to the season restart in noticeably better shape but he has not played longer than 25 minutes during a game at the Wide World of Sports Complex. He even sat on Friday, the second half of a back-to-back set, in order to rest.

The Pelicans have been cautious with Williamson this season but the team’s approach has drawn criticism. Miller said last week that Williamson needs to play if he is healthy considering that the Pelicans have an opportunity to make the postseason.

Williamson has played in 5-6 minute bursts during games but hasn’t looked completely in shape during the season restart. He missed practice time and the Pelicans’ three scrimmage games due to an urgent family matter and is still working to get back into game shape.

The Pelicans have three games left in the seeding round so it will be worth monitoring Williamson’s workload during that time to see if he can play more than 25 minutes.