It was an odd start to the offseason for the New Orleans Pelicans. It started off with Zion Williamson trade whispers that were perhaps a bit overstated and, in the end, didn’t lead to much. After a few offseason additions and losses, the Pelicans are hoping that health (particularly from Williamson) is good enough to help this team take a step forward in 2023-24.
Considering the start to the offseason, though, you can’t help but wonder if things would change in the event that the right target would be made available for the Pelicans. In other words, would the Pelicans be more willing to trade Williamson in the right deal or for the right player?
The fact that there were even whispers of a Williamson trade leads me to believe that it’s something that could happen. But should it?
Should the New Orleans Pelicans be willing to trade Zion Williamson?
Williamson, when healthy, is easily one of the most dominant players in the league. Coming off the best statistical season of his career, Williamson averaged 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists on 61 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. Though, because of injuries, he only played in 29 of 82 regular season games last season for the Pelicans.
There’s no question that injuries are a real issue for Williamson. He’s missed 63% of the regular season games he’s been eligible to play in since being drafted by the Pelicans in 2019. That’s…not great. For as talented as he is, it’s hard to rely on Williamson with the amount of games he’s missed due to injury.
If the Pelicans wanted to get out from under Williamson and the unknown of his future because of his troubled injury history, there are three superstars that they could try to trade him for this offseason.