NBA Trade Rumors: The New Orleans Pelicans could be looking to move on from Zion Williamson after the decision to trade Brandon Ingram ahead of the deadline.
The New Orleans Pelicans have selected a path forward. As one of the bigger "what ifs" heading into the NBA Trade Deadline season, the Pelicans have made the decision to, at the very least, hit the soft rebuild. Trading Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors was a very clear sign of that. But with still time before the NBA Trade Deadline, the Pelicans may not be done making moves. In fact, there's reason to believe that there could be another big move up the front office's sleeve.
When asked if the Pelicans could be getting calls on Zion, NBA insider Chris Haynes noted that he's still a "hot commodity" around the league as a potential trade candidate. Even if the Pelicans are receiving calls on teams interested in Zion, that doesn't exactly mean that New Orleans is interested in trading him. However, it's certainly something to keep a close eye on as we head into the final few hours before the deadline.
Should the Pelicans trade Zion Williamson?
There are two very different questions here. There's the question of whether the Pelicans will trade Zion and if they should trade Zion. First, I don't believe that it's likely the Pelicans are going to trade Zion before the deadline. Even though there has been some smoke surrounding the possibility, I'm not sure it's strong enough to warrant a fire. This late in the trade season, if Zion was available, you'd have to imagine the rumors would be out. That's not exactly the case.
The second question is the more interesting one. The argument can be made that after trading Ingram, the Pelicans should think strongly about trading Zion. Without Ingram, the Pelicans are going to lack the talent to be much of a player in the Western Conference. Short of New Orleans making a huge move during the offseason or landing a top 3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, it's hard to be all that excited about this team's prospects heading into next season.
At some point soon, the Pelicans are going to have to make a distinction of whether Zion is a worthy franchise play or if it may be time to tear the roster down again and take a shot at another rebuild.
I'd argue that's a conversation that had to have already been taking place behind closed doors. And maybe it has. Either way, I do believe we're getting awfully close to the window in which we could see the Zion trade whispers ramp up. Zion is probably safe between now and this year's trade deadline, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the Pelicans' tune begin to change in the not-so-distant future.