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As the New Orleans Pelicans reportedly have no untouchables on their team in regards to possible trades this offseason, the one name that has been centered around rumors has been Zion Williamson. With the recent Los Angeles court filing that accuses the Pelicans forward of rape, there's no doubt that there could be teams looking the other way in acquiring him.
However, Shamit Dua of The N.O. podcast would give insight into how the rest of the league looks at the Williamson situation. Saying if a team were to offer a package for Williamson, New Orleans would get back “really bad contracts and likely no picks,” giving an example with the Miami Heat.
“I’ve just been texting random executives across the league,” Dua said. “I was like, this is straight off asking people, like, would anyone touch Zion with a 10-foot pole? And there seems to be this general idea of like you kind of saw it with with like Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis that like there will be teams that do not necessarily care about the reputation provided they have enough general information to know that this is going to get settled out of court and the allegations won’t stick.”
“There will be teams who do not care, but those teams who do not care need to be sufficiently desperate, one, and two, they’re not going to give you anything of value,” Dua continued. “So you’re going to get really bad contracts and likely no picks. But if you do get a pick, it’s a late pick. So an example would be Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson for Zion and some small salary just to kind of make it even.”
No Pelicans, including Zion Williamson, are untouchable
While the rumors of the Pelicans trading Williamson will be ongoing throughout the summer, the question is if some teams want to have a player on the roster with allegations like rape. But as Dua said, there will be teams that “do not care,” but could get a relatively good deal out of him with the bad contracts and lack of picks as mentioned.
If there's one thing for sure, the former first-overall pick is not untouchable, or anybody on New Orleans for that matter, as said by Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports.
“There are no untouchables in New Orleans. League sources say the Pelicans are gauging the market for everyone on their roster,” O’Connor reports. “They very well could end up keeping their core pieces, but it appears the Pelicans are looking into taking different paths this summer, depending on what opportunities become available.”
The Pelicans are looking to improve after finishing with a 21-61 record, which put them 14th in the West.
