The New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson have found themselves at a crossroads. Well, maybe they have found themselves still at a crossroads. Williamson's injury history, the current state of the roster, the assets that New Orleans has — or doesn't have — in the next few years, and the consistent murmurs of a future trade request have all culminated in the moment we're now in, which feels like a waiting period for the Pels.
But at least for the time being new head of Pelicans basketball operations Joe Dumars is doing his best to make sure that trade request remains a hypothetical and doesn't actually come to fruition.
Kind of. Will Guillory of The Athletic talked about Dumars' budding relationship with Williamson on The Athletic NBA Daily podcast:
"Joe Dumars has made his presence felt... Not just with the moves on the roster... Culturally, he's already doing some things behind the scenes... At the forefront is... Wanting to kind of develop a relationship with Zion Williamson... Hearing stories about him bringing Zion and them watching playoff games... Spending time together with Troy Weaver... He's really wanted to come in and make an impact on this team..."
And that's... good. That is good! A front office making it a priority to be on good terms with the team's star is good.
But will the goodwill last when the team actually has to start playing basketball? Either Jeremiah Fears or Jordan Poole is going to be this team's starting point guard. The frontcourt might make a combined zero 3-pointers all year long. Jordan Hawkins is entering what already feels like a crucial year in determining his future with this franchise. Questions abound with this team, and with Zion entering year seven, it would be tough to blame him for wanting to expedite the roster-building and get to the winning part.
Plus, Joe Dumars traded next year's first-round pick already! The messages are a little mixed; the team is prioritizing youth, but also limiting its opportunities to add that youth in the future.
Zion was voted most likely star to request a trade
Last month, ESPN ran a poll of NBA insiders, and one of the categories was, "The next superstar to request a trade will be...?"
Zion Williamson came in first place pretty comfortably.
For the record, I don't think a Zion Williamson trade would occur even if he did request a trade. He's a spectacularly talented and impactful basketball player who the rest of the league would be terrified to sacrifice high-level players or future picks for.
Still — a star player requesting a trade is usually a pretty good sign that things are going downhill for a franchise. Can't blame Joe Dumars for trying to get out in front of that... whether or not it will actually work, who knows?