NBA insiders Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo discussed potential landing spots for Zion Williamson amid all the trade chatter surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans forward.
Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Russillo recalled Zion’s responses from an in-game video during the break.
“They said there’s an in-game video during the break, like where you know they ask NBA players trivia questions like, “Who’s the best team at this” and “Who’s the worst”. I’ve been told there’s one of Zion where he’s asked about his favorite road trip and he goes Houston and Atlanta.”
To which Simmons implied that the forward would be happy if he does indeed get traded to either the Hawks or the Rockets. And Russillo affirmed it but spoke about how it would be tough for the Pelicans.
“Yes, so he’d be happy, but the part of the Zion/Pelicans thing is that despite how frustrating he is; he’s their star.”
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It’s not been the greatest of times for the player who was touted to be the league’s next big thing. In addition to his injury-riddled career, Zion’s latest scandal involving pornstar Moriah Mills has seen him garner immense flak. This further dents his image off the court.
Williamson has been recently discussed in trade scenarios. Earlier, reports of the Pelicans willing to put him on the trade block did the rounds, with the Portland Trail Blazers reportedly interested in him.
While the move would be a risky one for the franchise, they will need to pull off some major moves to give themselves a chance at retaining Damian Lillard and surrounding him with a competent roster, even if that means asking a lot from Zion.
Bill Simmons Believes Zion Williamson Will Be Traded Before Draft Night
In the same podcast, Bill Simmons believed that the talented forward will be traded before the end of the 2023 NBA Draft.
“The Zion thing is a real subplot… I had somebody tell me yesterday that I trust, he will not be on that team come Thursday.”
The Pelicans were reported to be pursuing the No. 2 or No. 3 picks in this year’s draft and were linked to bag Scoot Henderson. This makes it the only possible scenario for New Orleans to trade Zion.
In the 29 games he played this season, Zion averaged 26.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 4.6 APG. but was again riddled with injuries that eventually saw the team fail to make the postseason. The franchise will be aware of his injury history and will look at his lack of availability as a reason to ship him.
Only time will tell if Zion indeed finds a new home ahead of the upcoming season.
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