4 New Orleans Pelicans who tanked their trade value in 2023

Zion Williamson

Once upon a time, Zion Williamson was viewed as a can’t-miss generational talent. The mix of his size, athleticism, and skill set is something that we had not seen in an NBA Draft prospect since LeBron James. Zion was supposed to be the NBA’s next generational talent, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ future was supposed to be in great hands after they had won the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery.

The first four years of his career have not exactly played out as how the Pelicans had hoped. When he’s been healthy and on the court, he’s looked like that generational talent he was lauded to be. During those times, he’s been very good and one of the best interior players in the league. Of course, the problem with that is he hasn’t been healthy all that much.

During his first four years in the league, Zion has only played in 114 of a possible 308 regular season games. That means that Zion has missed more than 60 percent of the games that he could’ve played in the league so far. Most recently, he missed all of the 2021-22 season and only played in 29 games during the 2022-23 season.

Again, when he plays, he’s been great. In the 29 games he played in this past season, he averaged 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists per game on 61 percent shooting from the field. But there’s no question that his trade value is at an all-time low right now because of his injury history.