This 2024-25 NBA season has been quite the trial for Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. The former number one overall pick set out for "revenge" this year, hoping to finally make his playoff debut after getting his postseason dreams ripped away from him by injuries in 2024.
He didn't just talk the talk either. Zion backed up his bold claims by significantly slimming down over the summer, proving for the first time in his NBA career that he was serious about leading his team by example. Unfortunately, things haven't worked out as planned for Big Z and the Pelicans, as the injury bug that mostly spared him last season has come back stronger and more vicious than ever, effectively ending New Orleans's season just a month into the campaign.
Practically the entire roster missed significant time in the beginning of the season to various ailments, including Zion himself, who recently just returned from a strained hamstring that held him out for nearly two months. He was able to finally come back and put on a show against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he didn't stick around for long. He'd go on to miss the next two games, one for injury management and the next due to a suspension. Zion's brief one-game mandated furlough seems like another point of contention in a hellish season, but it actually should bring hope to the Pelicans and their fans.
What Zion Williamson's suspension tells us about his future with the Pelicans
Earlier this year, it seemed like Zion's time in New Orleans may have been coming to an end soon. The Pelicans found themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, with another season completely lost to injury, gifted a unique opportunity to rebuild the team naturally.
New Orleans was forced into tanking away the rest of the season by injuries, but the franchise seemingly chose to tear it down completely. There were reports that the Pelicans were willing to listen to offers for nearly everyone on the roster. Then, news broke that they were actually actively shopping for some of their stars, including Zion.
Giving up on the Big Z experiment in the Big Easy would hurt, but it makes sense. The franchise had put the fate of its team in Zion's fragile, injury-prone hands for over a half decade and they lost multiple years due to his unavailability as a result. Why they might want to cut ties with that Sisyphean curse was completely understandable.
On the other hand, though, the Pelicans were also giving up on an incredible opportunity; one that granted them the ability to pair Zion with another top draft pick from this loaded 2025 class while also accumulating additional assets that they'd get back for trading away their other veterans like Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. This injury-cursed season finally gave them the motivation to abandon their current direction, but it doesn't necessarily mean they have to give up on Zion.
Even if they wanted to trade him, his stock might be at an all-time low after his latest unusually long layoff with his strained hamstring. Now, though, it seems like the organization might be changing its tune on Zion's future with the team.
Williamson was struck with a one-game suspension because he was late for the Pelicans' flight ahead of their clash with the Philadelphia 76ers. This doesn't immediately read as good news for New Orleans or Zion, but it does paint an optimistic picture about their future together.
If the Pelicans were hell-bent on trading Zion, there's no reason why they would have publicly doled out this one-game suspension and dragged Z's reputation through the mud just weeks before the season's trade deadline. His trade value is already rumored to be severely compromised. If this season was going to be Zion's last in New Orleans, why would they feel the need to give him a one-game punishment while shooting themselves in the foot for any potential trades to get him off of the team?
This was about one thing: sending a message to Zion in hopes of getting him to take accountability and become the leader that this team needs. That's why the team suspended him, and it's why they made him put out this statement to the public:
"I take full responsibility for this suspension. I’ve worked extremely hard in rehab to get healthy to deliver for this team. There is no excuse for being late to team activities. I have apologized to Mrs. Benson and my teammates and coaches and I also owe an apology to the fans. I can and will be better as a teammate and member of this organization."