On Friday, March 21, 2025, the New Orleans Pelicans took on the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second time in three days. In the first leg, the Pelicans edged out the Wolves, 119-115, giving them their 19th win of the year. They didn't fare so well in their latest matchup, as Minny avenged their loss by dismantling New Orleans, 134-93.
Without even needing to dive into the box score, the veteran Pelicans fan can guess from the two finals scores what the difference was for their team in the latter game. Zion Williamson was indeed held out of the second leg due to a lower back bruise, and it clearly showed.
The Pelicans haven't exactly been good even with Big Z in the lineup this season, but they've been much worse with him on the sidelines. This year, New Orleans had a -3.1 net rating with Zion on the court. When he's off, that number shoots down all the way to -10.8. After this latest showing against the Wolves, the gap is about to widen even further. Zion Williamson and the Pelicans continue to prove just how impactful and dominant a force Big Z is when he's available, but, with him, it's impossible not to ponder how long it'll last.
For better or worse, the New Orleans Pelicans are stuck with Zion Williamson
Earlier this season, there were rumblings that the Pelicans were seriously considering the possibility of parting ways with Zion Williamson. They had reportedly made nearly everyone on the roster available ahead of the trade deadline outside of a few select young players that they deemed a core part of their future. Zion did not make the shortlist.
Clearly, he survived past the deadline but that doesn't necessarily mean his future in New Orleans is now secure. The Pelicans could have merely been hanging on in search of a better deal. After all, it was rumored that his trade stock was at an all-time low following his hamstring strain that ended up costing him two months of play.
Since returning from that injury, he's averaged 25 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks on 60 percent shooting from the field in just 28 minutes per game. His trade value has surely skyrocketed since then, especially considering that rival executives were proposing that an equivalent return package would merely include salary filler and a single first-round pick before the deadline.
But, with how he's been playing, it'd be difficult for the Pelicans to trade him for anything that would seem like equal value. When he's healthy and available, Zion is truly one of the unstoppable players in all of basketball, a singular force capable of relentlessly attacking opposing defenses, collapsing any would-be resistance, and creating good looks for himself or his teammates on any given possession. That kind of production — one that can defeat all kinds of preparation and scheming — is almost impossible to find in the NBA and resides exclusively within the top players in the league, the few truly capable of leading their teams to the pinnacle.
It wouldn't be wise to trade that kind of talent for anything. But by not trading him when he's healthy and peaking, the Pelicans are betting that it'll be different this time, that he'll be able to avoid injuries, at least long enough to get them to the championship at least once. Because the very next time he goes down with another serious injury, that trade stock will come crashing down all over until he can prove himself a dominant force again, at which point the cycle will repeat.