There hasn't been enough talk about Zion Williamson in this 2024-25 NBA season. The basketball world saw exactly what he was capable of last year when he played in a career-high 70 games and put up a whole campaign's worth of All-Star-caliber numbers with 22.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 57 percent shooting, leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a playoff run he was unable to participate in due to injury.
He came into this new season with a renewed sense of urgency, stating that he was out for revenge with a freshly slimmed-down and toned body that he built over the summer to show for it. With the Pelicans acquiring an All-Star point guard in Dejounte Murray to join in the crusade, Big Z was ready to truly compete for a title this year. That all came crashing down before the season even began, as Trey Murphy III went down with a strained hamstring at the top of training camp. More and more Pelicans would join him on the injury report as the year raged on including Zion who went down with his own strained hamstring.
While Murphy III was able to return after a typical rehab period of five weeks, making his season debut in early November. Zion's injury was a bit more complicated, as he was sidelined after the Pelicans' clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 6. He finally made his return against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 7, meaning he was out for a total of nine weeks with an injury that typically holds athletes out for 4-6. It was a long-awaited return, but Zion Williamson made it clear what the NBA world has been missing in his first game back with the Pelicans.
Zion Williamson returns in the nick of time to save his trade stock
Zion came back to a completely different situation than the one he left. When he went down, New Orleans was 3-6, still holding the hope that Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, and the rest of the Pelicans' talented roster could keep the team afloat until Big Z could make his return in about a month.
Fast forward to pregame against Minnesota and New Orleans was sitting at 7-29, two full wins back from the 14th seed in the Western Conference. The conversations are no longer about whether the Pelicans can make a return to the playoffs but who would still be on this team at the end of the season.
Between the time Zion went down and his eventual return to the Pelicans, multiple reports have come out suggesting that the team is headed for a complete teardown. New Orleans is reportedly open to trading nearly everyone on the roster aside from a few designated young prospects, Zion not included. In fact, there's been a report that the Pelicans are actually shopping Zion, along with BI and CJ.
With his latest injury and the Pelicans' dramatic freefall into NBA oblivion, the world has quickly forgotten what Zion is capable of when he's at full strength. His reputation has again been soiled by his proclivity for injury, as an anonymous league executive recently surmised that Big Z's trade value is only worth a late first-round pick and salary filler.
Thankfully, Zion was able to finally make his return to the team and shut down his pundits quickly. In the Pelicans' 97-104 loss to the Wolves, Big Z dropped 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block on 9-15 shooting in just under 28 minutes played. Not only was he able to produce an impressive box score, but he aced the eye test too.
Williamson looked lean, explosive, and motivated. Earlier in the season, before he went down with injury, he struggled severely with his finishing, averaging just 22.7 points on 45 percent shooting from the field through his first six games. Maybe he wasn't adjusted to his new body or maybe his hamstring had been bothering him longer than he let on. Either way, he didn't look right.
Against the Wolves, he looked spectacular. He came back with exactly a month left until the February 6 trade deadline. That gives New Orleans a month to decide its future and whether or not Zion will continue to be a centerpiece of it. It also gives the rest of the league a month to prepare their best offer.
SHOWTIME ZION WILLIAMSON 🍿 pic.twitter.com/q6UhUrKi2n
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 8, 2025
The initial news that Zion Williamson could be on the trade block landed with an underwhelming thud. Perhaps it didn't feel real or maybe the world just assumed that the injuries had finally finished Big Z's career for good. Against Minnesota, he reminded the NBA what he's capable of, that he's still 24 years old, and that he's a young superstar who's supposedly available for sale. If he can really be had, then the rest of the league better break open the warchests, because Zion should be the prize of the trade deadline and he won't be had for a late first-round pick and salary filler.