The New Orleans Pelicans made it back to the NBA Playoffs this year after getting knocked out from the Play-In Tournament last season. Unfortunately, the Pelicans matched up against the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and got swept in the first round.
Out of the past five seasons, New Orleans only made it to a couple of playoff appearances. Both runs, including this season, were disastrous as they never made it past the first round. Having that in mind, it's probably time for the Pelicans to switch things up.
Like every other team, New Orleans has a plethora of options such as acquiring free agents or trading a few role players for a more solid piece. But then there's also the option to rebuild and focus on building around a new star. With that said, let's take a look at one player the team should trade during the 2024 NBA offseason.
Zion Williamson needs to go
Zion Williamson has been playing for the New Orleans Pelicans for five seasons. Throughout that period, Williamson has proven to be a dominant force the league can't take lightly. However, it appears that Zion should take himself lightly as he often gets hurt and isn't consistently available for his team.
There's no denying Williamson's star power. The fans love his high-flying maneuvers and his knack for carrying his team. Unfortunately, his unavailability is slowly becoming a liability for the team. It's no secret that New Orleans somewhat becomes a better squad with Zion by their side. But with him always making abrupt exits, it's clear that the team needs a more consistent player to get to that next level.
Zion Williamson's injury history
Throughout five years in his NBA career so far, Williamson never played the entire 82 games in a season. The longest he ever played was this 2023-24 campaign, playing a total of 70 regular season games. While that may seem like an impressive amount of games, his previous track record isn't up to par.
Looking back at his rookie season, Williamson didn't make his debut until January 22, 2020, against the San Antonio Spurs. In the games prior, Zion was recovering from a knee injury that he sustained during the 2019 offseason.
Williamson then went on to play a total of 61 games in his sophomore year. While that may be the majority of the games in a regular season, it isn't reassuring for a player to miss 21 games after missing a big chunk of the year prior. Within those missed games in his second season, the Pelicans star dealt with a thumb ailment.
Unfortunately, things got worse for Williamson in the 2021 NBA offseason as he suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot. His injury required surgery, which subsequently took him out for the entirety of the 2021-22 season.
Williamson then made his return to the Pelicans' lineup in the 2022-23 season but ended up missing out on the majority of the year. Williamson dealt with a nagging foot ailment and a hamstring strain which forced him to take time off again.
Fast forward to the present day, the New Orleans star strained his hamstring once again. This time it happened prior to the postseason in the Play-In Tournament matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. This forced Williamson to miss their elimination game against the Sacramento Kings and their first-round NBA Playoffs matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Is it worth it for the Pelicans to trade Zion Williamson?
Williamson is currently signed to a five-year contract worth $197.23 million with the Pelicans. With the 2023-24 season off the checklist, Williamson has four seasons remaining in his contract.
While Williamson is without a doubt an injury-prone player, NBA teams trading for him are still getting their money's worth as long as he remains healthy. With a star-caliber player like Zion in the deal, the Pelicans are likely to receive another massive player they can build their team around.
There's no question that a healthy Williamson would benefit the Pelicans a great deal if they kept him. However, given his constant unavailability, moving on with a new franchise player isn't a bad idea at all.
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