The New Orleans Pelicans have had a tough year. At Christmas, their record stands at 5-25, resoundingly at the bottom of the Western Conference. They're currently three full games behind the Utah Jazz for the 14th seed, a far cry from where they thought they'd be at this point in the 2024-25 NBA season coming into the campaign.
The thing about tough times is that it breeds introspection. After another disappointing campaign has been lost to injuries, it appears that the Pelicans have done some serious soul-searching and have come away with the revelation that what they've been doing hasn't worked. They traded for Dejounte Murray in the summer in hopes that they could finally get over the hump and make a real playoff run with a legitimate point guard leading the charge, but, alas, they succumbed to the injury bug again, point guard be damned.
As the losses mounted up and more players joined the infirmary in the early season, there was no telling what the Pelicans would do. Once it became clear that there was no way they could dig themselves out of their hole, they were left with two choices: take a gap year and retool around their current core or blow it up entirely. It was eventually reported that New Orleans was taking the latter option, as they're expected to make everyone on the roster available for trade outside of a few young players like Jordan Hawkins.
Zion Williamson's future with the team was still up in the air though, as there were conflicting reports that Vice President David Griffin and the rest of the Pelicans' brass remained committed to building around the former first-overall pick. Just because he was no longer "untouchable" and could be traded didn't mean that they were planning on moving him. Well, that may have changed for the Pelicans who may be preparing for their next era post-Zion.
The Pelicans may be shopping Zion Williamson
The Athletic's Jovan Buha flipped the NBA world on its head when he reported that the Pelicans have been actively looking to trade Zion Williamson, a significantly different piece of news from the expectation that New Orleans would be making him available for any interest suitors. The latter suggests that he could be acquired for the right price, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the team was looking to move him. This new report is confirmation that the Pelicans are looking to tear down their roster, the one they built specifically around Zion, and are looking to launch a complete rebuild. Buha stated on his podcast, the Buha Block:
“Based on the reporting intel, Trey Murphy and Herb Jones are at a certain level for them. They want to keep them. Those are two guys that are going to have a high price to give up, similar to L.A. with Austin Reaves. Seems like Zion, and Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum are the three guys they've been shopping more in terms of their core starters, and Dejounte Murray has not.”
It's not surprising that New Orleans has been gauging the league's interest in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. Ingram is in a contract year and has been on the trade radar for several seasons. McCollum is 33 years old and is a natural trade candidate for a team looking to get younger and shake things up. The inclusion of Zion is a shocker though, even with the earlier reports that he was available. If this is true, the Pelicans could look drastically different by this time next season, and they'll need to find a new franchise cornerstone to build around.