Before they landed a massive five-year, $195MM max contract commitment to each other, the New Orleans Pelicans have “quietly” conducted exploratory talks about trading Zion Williamson in last year’s offseason, per Marc Stein.
As he pointed out based on his previous note, Stein indicated that there’s a “rising level of exasperation” within the Pelicans franchise about Williamson’s health and overall approach.
After being rumored keen to acquire a top pick in this year’s NBA Draft, New Orleans was tagged to the Charlotte Hornets – owners of the No. 2 pick of the upcoming rookie selection. As such, it was also Stein who noted that the Pelicans widely believed to be much leaning toward sticking around Brandon Ingram than Williamson.
Williamson, a touted generational talent who came out as the first overall pick of the 2019 Draft, only logged 114 total games over the past four years. Last season, in what could be a year of emergence for him after not playing for the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign due to foot issues, he only managed to play in 29 games because of his hamstring injury.
If healthy and available, he has proven himself as one of the most dangerous and explosive power forwards in the game, boasting a career averages of 25.8 points, 7.0 boards, 3.6 assists in 60.5 percent shooting.
