The New Orleans Pelicans have waited for the past six years to see the version of Zion Williamson they thought they were getting when they won the 2019 draft lottery. The hype surrounding the Duke star was astronomical, but that hasn't always been the case in the NBA, as he has struggled to stay healthy.
Williamson is coming off a season in which he played only 30 games, averaging 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, with 57/23/66 shooting splits. When healthy, he's easily one of the best players in the league, but he can't stay on the floor.
He played only 24 games as a rookie, 61 in his second season, he missed the entire 2021-22 season, played 29 games in 2022-23, 70 in 2023-24, and 30 in 2024-25.
It's hard to build a winning team when your best player spends more time off the court than on it. The Pelicans haven't made it past the first round of the playoffs with Zion, missing the playoffs entirely four times since they drafted him. Zion doesn't shoulder the full blame for that, but there have been things within his control that he has neglected, such as his diet.
Pelicans have learned the hard way that they can't win without Zion
New Orleans was ecstatic to win the draft lottery; you could feel the organization's emotions through the television screen when they were shown celebrating.
Were the Pelicans on track to be one of the top teams in the league with their new face of the franchise?
They hoped so, but Zion's arrival in Louisiana has had the opposite effect, so much so that there have been trade rumors floating around for years. It's not that other teams don't want a player with Zion's skill set, but they want a player who won't spend a significant amount of time observing from the sidelines.
The odds are stacked against New Orleans entering next season. The Western Conference is loaded with talent, making it even more challenging (and impossible) for the Pelicans to finish in the top six, even if Zion manages to stay healthy for the majority of the season.
Perhaps New Orleans' new regime will eventually conclude that trading Zion is better than keeping him, but the organization might not like the offers it receives from teams out there willing to take a chance on the 25-year-old.