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Amid reports that the Pelicans may be looking to trade for a top-three draft pick with the hopes of getting Scoot Henderson, Zion Williamson has naturally been at the heart of some trade rumors as the team’s biggest star.
But ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski wouldn’t be so quick to jump to that conclusion. While appearing on The Ryen Russillo Podcast on Thursday, he said he sees a Williamson trade as an unlikely possibility, although he can’t completely dismiss it.
“I won’t rule anything out, you can’t in this league, but I would still be really really surprised if Zion Williamson is not on New Orleans’ opening-night roster,” Wojnarowski said.
Williamson, 22, was the franchise’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft and has shown flashes of brilliance despite battling several long-term injuries. Last season, he only played in 29 games due to a hamstring injury that prolonged itself.
He was still named to his second All-Star team, though he wasn’t able to participate in the game.
Since entering the league, Williamson has only played in more than 29 games once in his entire career. He played 61 in 2020-21 and put up some incredible numbers, averaging a career-high 27 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 61.1 percent shooting, another career-high.
However, he missed the entire regular season the following year and hasn’t been able to stay on the court consistently since then.
With Williamson on the court, New Orleans looks like a contender and it sounds like Wojnarowski believes that he’s still part of the organization’s long-term plans.
The Pelicans are trying to get a star at the guard position in Henderson, though. And they have the type of ammunition that can get the 19-year-old star. In addition to multiple picks and swaps that they acquired from the Lakers and Bucks in past trades, they also have several quality players aside from Williamson that could be enticing.
Former All-Stars like Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum may be players that the organization feels more comfortable with parting from than Williamson.
New Orleans may not be ready to give up on the young star just yet.
