NBA Trade Rumors: There seems to be a growing chance that Zion Williamson is traded at the 2023 NBA Draft.
During the 2019 NBA Draft, the belief was that the New Orleans Pelicans, who earned the No. 1 overall pick, would be getting a generational talent that would forever change the franchise when they selected Zion Williamson. However, his career has been anything but franchise-changing for the Pelicans thus far.
Sure, when he’s been on the floor he’s been great. And has very much flashed that franchise-changing potential. Of course, the problem is that Zion has not been on the floor that often for New Orleans through the first few years of his career. Zion has missed 60 percent of the games he’s been available to play in through the first four years of his career.
All that said, his talent can’t be denied. And that’s the biggest reason that despite all the injuries, the Pelicans still gave him a five-year rookie-scale maximum extension last offseason.
However, his tenure with the Pelicans could be in jeopardy. According to a recent report, the Pelicans are at least weighing the thought of trading Zion heading into the NBA Draft. And the Houston Rockets, who own the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA Draft, are one team that could be heavily interested.
What would the New Orleans Pelicans demand in a Zion Williamson trade offer?
Even if there’s not a great chance that the Pelicans end up trading Zion, you can’t help but wonder what they would be asking for in a potential trade offer. When he’s healthy, he flashes the potential to be a future NBA MVP one day. When he’s at the top of his game, you can make the argument that he’s the most dominating presence since Shaquille O’Neal.
The fact that he’s still getting better and is coming off a season in which he averaged 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists on 61 percent shooting from the field should be a scary sight for the rest of the league.
The only basketball question about Zion revolves around whether he can stay healthy for an extended period of time. On paper, you never see a team trade away a 22-year-old player with MVP potential. It simply doesn’t happen.
But the injury concerns totally distort that. And, all of a sudden, that is now a possibility. The asking price should be large. The question is, how large and whether or not there’s a team out there that is willing to meet the demands?
The final few days before the NBA Draft were already going to be interesting and if Zion is indeed on the trade block, there’s the possibility that we could see a trade that could end up changing the complete landscape of the league.