The New Orleans Pelicans have had an interesting offseason so far.
In their biggest move of the offseason to date, they acquired star guard Dejounte Murray in a major trade with the Atlanta Hawks. He was a huge addition that will bring scoring, defense, and playmaking to the court.
However, the big move that the Pelicans were expected to make has yet to happen. Of course, that move would be trading star forward Brandon Ingram.
While that trade has not happened yet, it is still widely expected that New Orleans will move him before the 2024-25 NBA season.
One NBA writer has suggested that the Pelicans could consider trading another star.
Chris Kirsch of GiveMeSport has opined that New Orleans could trade Zion Williamson. It is a suggestion that seems far off of what the Pelicans want to do.
“Those caveats indicate that Williamson is most likely not being moved anytime soon. But there are teams out there that have the capital to trade for him and will gladly do so, and if the Pelicans’ financial situation becomes dire enough, they may be inclined to pull the trigger.”
Thankfully, Kirsch did mention that a trade involving Williamson was unlikely. To even bring up a Williamson trade this offseason at all was out of left field.
Williamson has struggled to stay health. He has frustrated the franchise because of his lack of care for his body. Despite those issues, he’s still the face of the franchise.
During the 2023-24 season with New Orleans, Williamson ended up playing in 70 games. He averaged 22.9 points per game to go along with 5.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.1 steals. Williamson shot 57 percent from the floor as well.
At just 24 years old, there is very little chance that the Pelicans would be interested in trading him.
As long as there is still a legitimate chance that Williamson could reach his full potential, any kind of trade seems extremely unlikely. He still has the talent and ability to be a generational talent.
Hopefully, he’ll begin showing that talent during the upcoming season.
Expect to continue hearing New Orleans mentioned in trade rumors in the coming weeks. Ingram does seem likely to get moved, but a trade involving Williamson simply isn’t going to happen this offseason.
