Zion Williamson has been with the New Orleans Pelicans since they drafted him in 2019, meaning he's entering his seventh season with the team (counting the 2021-22 season he missed). While that's a good amount of time, it feels like it's been even longer. Between the trade rumors, injuries, and concerns about whether he takes his job seriously, it seems like the Pelicans are stuck in a never-ending Zion cycle.
The 2025-26 season has been no different. He played in New Orleans' first two games of the season, pouring in 27 points in each game. What happened then? Zion missed the Pelicans' 122-90 loss to the Celtics with a left bone contusion. Willie Green said before the game that the injury occurred in Friday's loss to the Spurs and didn't seem serious. He's questionable for Wednesday's game in Denver.
Assuming that the injury isn't serious, New Orleans has to try to trade Zion, especially if its winless streak continues. The sooner a trade happens, the better.
The Pelicans have to trade Zion Williamson this season
If Zion's injury is more serious than Green believes, then it will be tough (maybe even impossible) to trade him. We said it before the season, but if he's healthy, the Pelicans need to capitalize on that by getting a deal done. Filling up the stat sheet in the first two games of the season wasn't enough for New Orleans to get a win, although both games were close.
The Pelicans will look a lot worse without Zion, as proven by their loss to the Celtics; he alone can't lead this roster to a playoff berth. New Orleans making it to the play-in tournament would be a miracle. This roster isn't built to contend, even with Zion.
He has three full seasons left on his current contract, with the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons currently being non-guaranteed. Even with his injury history, a few teams will still express interest in a Zion trade. The player he is when he's healthy is too much for some teams to ignore, no matter that it hasn't happened for the majority of his career.
The new front office needs to close the Zion chapter in New Orleans. The hopes of winning a title with him, at least among the fan base, were extinguished a long time ago. It may sting some fans to see him go, but it's got to happen.