NBA Trade Rumors: Ranking 10 Most likely superstars to be traded by 2025 deadline
8 Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
It's safe to say that this season hasn't gone exactly as planned for the New Orleans Pelicans. At 4-16, with the worst record in the Western Conference, it's been a season to forget for the Pelicans - one that has been decimated by injuries. Since opening night, it seems as if nothing has gone right for the Pelicans. They've seen injury after injury stack up and five of the top six players in their rotation have all missed time at several points this season. To say the least, that's not an ideal scenario for any team.
Even though there hasn't been much indication that the Pelicans would be open to the idea of punting on this season and emerging as sellers at the NBA Trade Deadline, it can't be completely counted out. Even more so if the team continues to fade over the next couple of months. In a best-case scenario, the Pelicans will be able to bounce back as soon as they begin to get healthy. Whether or not they could reemerge as a playoff contender this season remains to be seen. If their situation doesn't change much in the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see how the Pelicans elect to approach the trade deadline.
Odds of a Zion Williamson trade: 20%
There's a scenario in which the Pelicans continue to struggle and get to a point where nothing is off the table heading into the deadline season. But even if the Pelicans are open for big changes at the trade deadline, there are probably a few stops before we see a player like Zion Williamson on the trade block. But with there already being some history of Zion trade whispers in the past, it has to be a subject that will be discussed if the Pelicans emerge as sellers at the deadline.
The entire Zion situation is an interesting one. When healthy, he has the potential and has shown flashes of being one of the most dominant players in the NBA. However, he still hasn't been able to shake off the injury bug. And that's truly concerning. At this point, it may be time for both the Pelicans and Zion to get a fresh start away from each other. If pressed, I'd say there's probably a 20 percent shot of this happening.