Speculation over a 2023 NBA Draft trade by the New Orleans Pelicans that would include Zion Williamson is gaining hype. Rumors around the NBA are that the Pelicans want Scoot Henderson and are willing to take part in a blockbuster trade to land him. This suggests that Zion Williamson might not be safe in New Orleans for very long, via Brian Windhorst on ESPN's Get Up.

“The Pelicans have had some cursory discussions from what I have been told…to get in the Top 5, they would have to consider a player of his [Zion Williamson] caliber, he's obviously had injury history, a little bit of offseason drama recently, but I don't know if anything is going to truly develop there.”

Later Wednesday, Marc Stein wrote in his newsletter that “one well-placed observer is convinced that the Pelicans would indeed consider dealing Williamson away if it meant they could draft Henderson, pointing to a rising level of exasperation within the organization regarding Williamson's ongoing availability issues and overall approach.”

Stein also noted he feels the Pelicans are “less inclined” to trade Brandon Ingram in this scenario.

It would undoubtedly be massive news if the Pelicans decided to move on from Zion Williamson and trade him for one of the top picks in the 2023 NBA Draft. He might not have panned out so far for New Orleans, but his potential is still sky-high and trading him would mean the Pelicans view whomever they pick in return as the next big thing.

The rumors swirling are that the Pelicans, and many teams around the NBA, view Scoot Henderson as one of the next elite guards in the association. Whether he is worth a deal that would include Williamson remains to be seen, but it definitely makes for interesting fodder ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Only eight days remain until the NBA Draft takes place, so a trade of this caliber would occur sooner rather than later if it did so. Pelicans fans will be keenly tuned in to see if their so far anti-climactic Zion Williamson era comes to an abrupt end.