After four years of ups and (mostly) downs, the New Orleans Pelicans may be ready to end the Zion Williamson era once and for all.
Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote on Substack this week that a “well-placed” source believes New Orleans would consider a Williamson trade if it means being able to trade up in the draft for explosive guard phenom Scoot Henderson. The Pelicans, who currently hold the No. 14 overall pick in this year’s draft, were mentioned a possible suitor for Henderson, a likely top three-pick, earlier this week.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst also said something similar on Wednesday. Windhorst said on the show “Get Up” that “there’s an eye being kept towards whether the Pelicans would make Zion Williamson available” to try to get in the top end of the draft (noting New Orleans’ interest in Henderson as well).
.@WindhorstESPN explains the likelihood of the Pelicans trading Zion Williamson and moving up in the draft to go after a guy such as Scoot Henderson 👀 pic.twitter.com/OoqZ3Scs4L
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 14, 2023
Williamson, a two-time All-Star and former top overall pick who is still only 22 years old, may be the better core piece to build around when healthy. But the problem is that Williamson is never healthy. He has missed a total of 194 games over his first four professional seasons (including missing the entire 2021-22 campaign). Williamson also seems to struggle with his work ethic and fitness, which is a recipe for continued disaster when combined with his uniquely large and athletic frame.
To further complicate matters, Williamson is dealing with some big drama in his personal life right now too. The Pelicans already have a playoff-caliber team without Williamson, and it recently sounded like the team was getting completely fed up with him. Perhaps it might be better at this point to pull the plug on the drama altogether and pivot to someone like the exciting 19-year-old Henderson (who plays at a position of need for them) instead.
