When Zion Williamson signed that five-year, $193 million rookie extension with the New Orleans Pelicans last year, you wouldn’t have thought that just a year later a breakup might be on the cards.
NBA insider Brian Windhorst reported earlier that Williamson, who was selected with the first pick just four years ago, could be available for trade before the 2023 NBA Draft. Windy has now also revealed some concerning details regarding Zion’s relationship with the Pelicans and his teammates.
“There is no relationship between Zion and the organization,” Brian Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast. “And minimal relationship between Zion and his teammates, from what I understand.”
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It is really concerning if it indeed has gotten to this point with the organization for Zion. It explains why they seem so willing to trade a player of his caliber, as insider Marc Stein stated they are considering trading him for the second pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Williamson had impressive averages of 26.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 0.6 BPG on 60.8% shooting from the field this past season but only played 29 games. He has only featured in 114 games in his four seasons in the NBA and when you consider all the factors here, it perhaps shouldn’t be surprising that the Pelicans might be willing to move on.
The Potential Landing Spots For Zion Williamson
While the Pelicans might be done with him, there would still be teams who’d be confident they can get it right with Zion. Williamson has emerged as a trade target for the Houston Rockets, who do hold the fourth pick of this draft and have young players that the Pelicans might be interested in.
A report also surfaced that Zion wants to be traded to the New York Knicks and that has been a rumor that has been flying around for a while at this point. The Knicks certainly need to make a big splash this offseason and Williamson could be the one to elevate the franchise.
For all this trade talk though, Adrian Wojnarowski would be surprised if Zion gets traded this summer. Woj doesn’t see the point in trading a player when their value around the league is low, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of it happening.
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