5 trades for New Orleans Pelicans to move up and draft Scoot Henderson

Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans. (Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports)
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans. (Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports)
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Zion Williamson Trade to Portland
Jerami Grant, Portland Trail Blazers. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

5 trades for the New Orleans Pelicans to move up and draft Scoot Henderson: Zion Williamson to the Portland Trail Blazers

What if the New Orleans Pelicans are done with Zion Williamson’s injury problems? Would they be willing to give up on him in favor of building around Scoot Henderson?

At his best, Williamson is a top-15 player in the NBA and a dominant force on the basketball court. At his worst, he’s nothing more than a $35 million cap hold on the Pelicans’ books.

Trading his elite upside in favor of more youth and draft capital could be something they consider, as the core of Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, and Brandon Ingram should still be good enough to compete for the playoffs.

Meanwhile, this would be a massive risk for the Portland Trail Blazers, but the upside would be incredible. If they can find a way to keep Williamson on the court somewhat consistently, or if he simply gets healthy, they will have a perfect co-star for Damian Lillard.

His paint dominance would pair beautifully with Lillard, giving him an elite lob threat and great secondary scoring option who, at his best, can be the number one guy on any given night.

Jusuf Nurkic and Larry Nance Jr. would remain in this trade for the same reasons as the previous one – matching salaries and giving Portland an answer at the big man spot.

Potential starting lineups

Pelicans: Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones, Jonas Valanciunas

Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, Zion Williamson, Larry Nance Jr.