New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is still waiting for his breakout season in the NBA, and there are increasing doubts that it will happen with his current team.
Speaking in a chat with Yaron Weitzman of Yahoo Sports, the former Duke prospect spoke up on his future and his ties to the Pelicans. As much as he wants to stay in New Orleans, Zion knows that he could be traded at any moment as he approaches a critical point in his career.
“New Orleans is home for me. It’s where I want to be,” Williamson said. “But at the end of the day, if we’re going to be realistic about it, the NBA is a business. I could be traded in the offseason, or I could be traded before [next season’s] trade deadline. Not that I want that to happen, but that’s just the realism of it.”
Zion still has another two years and $86 million left on his contract, meaning his fate is entirely in the Pelicans’ hands. If he had his way, he’d stay with the franchise for the foreseeable future (and sign a $100 million extension), but things are not so simple. Besides a steady decline in production from Williamson (down to 21.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this season), his health continues to be a major concern.
Fortunately, Williamson reports improved durability after switching to a new trainer over the offseason. Now, he’s feeling more optimistic about his health than ever before.
“I feel like I’ve shown enough this year to be able to say, like, ‘This is what it’s gonna look like.’ Even when I did have an injury, I was projected to miss four to six weeks, and instead, I was back in two and then went on a long stretch of consecutive games,” Williamson added. “Before, I’d get treatment and do basic stuff like table time. But now it’s things like hyperbaric chambers and red light chambers.”
As a former No. 1 overall pick, expectations were set high for Zion Williamson, who was drawing comparisons to LeBron James out of college. While he occasionally showed flashes of his potential, Zion has yet to live up to expectations, but there’s still time to get his act together.
This season, with the Pelicans at 12th in the West (25-51), there’s not much left to play for, but they can still build chemistry and continuity for the 2026-27 campaign. What they show from here until that final regular-season game could just set the tone for this summer, and good play from Zion could lead to another long-term extension.
If not, the Pelicans could just as easily move on from Williamson and re-shift the focus toward Derik Queen. They’ve invested so much in his development already that it almost seems like they are actively preparing to move Zion. Whether they do or don’t, the Pelicans must continue making moves this summer if they want to break the cycle of losing. Since Zion is on board (for now), they’ll have to decide how best to proceed with him and other young guys like Queen and Jeremiah Fears.
