I hate to be the guy to say this, but I'm jumping back on the trading Zion Williamson bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, there are very few players in the league I’d rather watch on a night-in, night-out basis than Z, but his constant injuries are hampering the New Orleans Pelicans' future. I think Williamson has done everything he possibly could have this offseason to be ready for the season ahead. Coming into camp in great shape and motivated to be a leader, but it looks like no matter what he does, his body just says no.
With a 2-6 start and the team's only two wins coming without Williamson on the court, there’s never been a more obvious time than now to trade the former No. 1 overall pick.
The previous front office's biggest struggle when trading Z was worrying about not getting enough value for a player who, when healthy, can be a top 15 guy in the league. This is a trap Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver can’t fall into, because we’ve seen that his injuries make it so there’s never really a good time to trade him.
New Orleans is lost, and they must shift the direction of the franchise and start prioritizing building something new around Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, Micah Peavy, Trey Murphy III, and Herb Jones. There’s no better time than now to rip the band-aid off and start something new, fresh, and exciting.
The return for Williamson may not blow fans away, but it would be enough to kickstart the rebuild
It can be scary starting a rebuild without the rights to your own first-round pick, but the front office can’t use that as an excuse for not trading Z. The return for Williamson isn’t likely to be six first-rounders and young talent galore, but it would be enough to start building something special.
Trading Williamson would also likely create a snowball effect, potentially leading to the team trading Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, and Saddiq Bey. While those three aren’t going to be the hottest commodity on the trade market, they will still net a positive return.
The Pelicans already have three young players who have all shown All-Star potential, two of whom are rookies in Fears and DQ. And despite having a less-than-ideal start to the season, Murphy III is also someone that many people league-wide view as a future All-Star.
So, assuming a return for Williamson is something like two unprotected first-round picks, one first-round pick swap, one young player with potential, and a veteran to match the money. That could position the front office to start the NBA’s next great rebuild.
There’s never going to be a great time to trade a franchise player, but there is always going to be an obvious time to trade them. For the New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson, that obvious time is now.