NBA Executive Believes Zion Williamson’s Trade Value Is Just One First-Round Pick

An anonymous NBA executive says they would only be willing to give up one first-round pick for Zion Williamson.

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Nov 6, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) dribbles against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson was once regarded as someone who could be the face of the NBA, but those days are long gone. Williamson’s stock has fallen so much, that one anonymous NBA executive told HoopsHype that they would only give up one first-round pick for him.

“Yet, as always, the success of the Pelicans hinges on the health of Williamson, who another NBA executive told HoopsHype he’d only consider trading one first-round pick to acquire due to his consistent durability concerns.”

Williamson has only played in six games this season for the 4-18 Pelicans and is currently on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury. Unfortunately, seeing the 24-year-old in street clothes has become a common occurrence at this point.

Williamson only played 24 games in his rookie season after the Pelicans selected him with the first pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. He then played 61 out of 72 games in the 2020-21 season, which led to optimism that he might well be able to stay relatively healthy moving forward.

In the following offseason, however, Williamson suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot. He was initially expected to be back for the start of the 2021-22 season but ended up missing that entire campaign.

Williamson returned for the start of the 2022-23 season, but he wouldn’t be on the court for too long. In January 2023, he suffered a hamstring injury after playing 29 games and missed the rest of the season with it.

At that point, it looked like Williamson was never going to be able to stay healthy for an extended period, but he proved his doubters wrong in 2023-24. He played 70 games that season, but the injury bug wouldn’t completely leave him alone. 

Williamson suffered a hamstring injury in the Play-in Tournament game against the Los Angeles Lakers and missed the rest of the postseason. The two-time All-Star could only watch on from the sidelines as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs.

Williamson is now out again with a hamstring strain and it’s never a good sign when a player suffers that injury multiple times. NBA insider Shams Charania gave an update on the star’s medical status during an appearance on NBA Countdown in November and it wasn’t a positive one.

“I’m told that Zion Williamson is not close to a return,” Charania said. “He’s still a ways away and sources tell me he’s received multiple treatments on that hamstring strain. That’s become a chronic issue for him over the last few years… It’s typically a four-to-six-week injury with the grade level from what I’m told, but the Pelicans are bracing that for him, it could go longer than that mark, which would be beyond mid-December.”

Chronic injuries of any kind aren’t ideal, but a chronic hamstring problem might just be the worst of the lot. It would be a huge risk for any team to trade for Williamson, who is averaging 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game this season, considering his medical status, even with how talented he is.

Some teams might take that gamble, though, especially the ones that are seemingly stuck in NBA purgatory. We came up with a mock trade in which the Charlotte Hornets land Williamson in a blockbuster deal. He hails from North Carolina and perhaps a return home would lead to a change in his fortunes.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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