{"id":128875,"date":"2025-03-16T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=128875"},"modified":"2025-03-15T23:02:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T03:02:26","slug":"pelicans-star-drawing-trade-interest-heading-into-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/16\/pelicans-star-drawing-trade-interest-heading-into-offseason\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelicans Star Drawing Trade Interest Heading Into Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">New Orleans Pelicans star forward <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willizi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zion Williamson<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> has established himself as one of the most brutal forces in the league. Williamson, 24, has been great for the Pelicans, but it is possible that his days are numbered in the bayou. The North Carolina native could be traded this summer as &#8216;several teams&#8217; have expressed in the two-time All-Star.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Pelicans Star Drawing Trade Interest Heading Into Offseason<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On the <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Brian Windhorst &amp; The Hoop Collective Podcast,\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">ESPN&#8217;s Tim MacMahon mentioned how <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/15\/pelicans-trade-candidate-zion-williamson-great-value\/\" target=\"_self\">several teams could consider Williamson<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;Some teams would have more than significant interest in negotiating for Zion this summer,&#8221; MacMahon\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"HUGE Change Coming For Suns? Mikal Bridges SPEAKS On Minutes Concern?! | The Hoop Collective\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gnzUILDB-xc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Williamson has been stellar thus far this season. While he&#8217;s battled through a handful of injuries, he has been healthy recently, which has restored his value in some ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, while Williamson has played great lately, the Pelicans may not get the package they want. A rival executive told ESPN&#8217;s Brian Windhorst that they might not be able to get enough in return to make it worthwhile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;The question about the Pelicans is whether they would consider trading Zion,&#8221; Windhorst said. &#8220;It hasn&#8217;t <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">really<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0been an option over the last couple of years because\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">he&#8217;s been<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0injured, and his value hasn&#8217;t been high enough. Even now, I don&#8217;t think they could get great value. So they will probably see if he can carry this play\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">over<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0into next year.&#8221;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Williamson has played 28 games this season. He has played great <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">when he&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> on the court, averaging 24.2 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 56.3 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three in only 0.5 attempts. Williamson is averaging 28.5 minutes of action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/24\/zion-williamson-weight\/\" target=\"_self\">Williamson<\/a> missed 27 games earlier in the season due to a left hamstring strain. As of late, the former Duke Blue Devil has played in 22 out of a possible 31 games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What Would a Trade for Zion Williamson Look Like?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Although a trade for Williamson is likely, the offer the Pelicans may expect might not be what they like. Williamson&#8217;s injury history is extensive. It includes a torn meniscus in his right knee, a right foot injury, and a hamstring injury&#8212;and that&#8217;s not even half of it. The talent is there, but the injuries are always a concern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nonetheless, the Pelicans could undoubtedly get a good enough package for him. At just 24 years old and with a ton of basketball ahead of him, the Pelicans could potentially get two unprotected first-round picks for him, plus some key depth pieces in exchange. The Pelicans selected Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. While his play has been stellar, his availability certainly has not. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If he can remain healthy, like we saw last year, the sky is the limit for the star forward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Teams like the Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, or even the Oklahoma City Thunder could make a move for Williamson.<\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Is It Too Late For Williamson to Be the Face of the NBA? <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zion Williamson was once viewed<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> as the next face of the NBA. Many tagged him as the next <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a> due to his combination of skill, talent, and athleticism. As he&#8217;s shown throughout his short career,<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Williamson can jump out of the gym with the best of them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">While that conversation has faded and is possibly out the window, Williamson can still be a multi-time All-Star and a No. 1 option on a contender. Don&#8217;t count out Williamson just yet; he still has plenty left in the tank and then some.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson has established himself as one of the most brutal forces in the league. Williamson, 24, has been great for the Pelicans, but it is possible that his days are numbered in the bayou. The North Carolina native could be traded this summer as &#8216;several teams&#8217; have expressed in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5473,"featured_media":128898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,33,4721],"tags":[220,1684],"class_list":["post-128875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-pelicans","category-trade-rumors","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-zion-williamson"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5473"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128875"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128899,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128875\/revisions\/128899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}