The New Orleans Pelicans' 2022-23 season went downhill the instant Zion Williamson suffered what ended up being a season-ending injury back in January. Williamson, when he's off and running, is such an impactful force, an unstoppable freight train in the paint who fuels the Pelicans' high-octane offense. But his inability to stay healthy has become frustrating, especially for a team looking to join the pantheon of true title contenders. Thus, it wasn't that big of a surprise when Williamson's name was involved in plenty of trade rumors to begin the offseason.
To top it all off, Williamson's offseason has been full of tumult; not only did he deal with relationship issues, he also had to fight a lawsuit over an unpaid loan. Problems kept on piling up for the Pelicans star, with the idea of trading him away becoming more enticing by the day.
Nevertheless, on media day, Zion Williamson shut down any trade talks, at least for the foreseeable future, by succinctly saying what all Pelicans fans want to hear.
“New Orleans is home,” Williamson told reporters, via the Pelicans' official Twitter (X) account. “It's still upsetting that I have to sit up here all the time and have to tell people that this is home for me. This is where I wanna be. But being in the city a lot more in the summer, it was dope. Running into people in New Orleans, it's family. It was love always.”
Of course, as willing as Zion Williamson appears to be when it comes to staying in the Big Easy, his status with the team won't exactly come down to his decision. The Pelicans, one would think, would do everything in their power to help Williamson remain healthy and be the best version of himself, as he appears to be in this photo, given how impactful he is for the team when he's not dealing with lower-body injuries. But there's a possibility, since the NBA is a business, that the Pelicans could end up revisiting those talks if Williamson ends up missing a lot of time once again.
For now, however, Pelicans fans should just absorb all the positivity surrounding the team ahead of what should be an exciting season.