Zion

Zion Williamson: Is His Exit from New Orleans Inevitable? 

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Since the league sold the team in 2012, the New Orleans Pelicans have faced many obstacles and struggles. The team drafted Anthony Davis first overall prior to the 2012-13 NBA season. The team struggled to make the playoffs for several seasons, resulting in Davis forcing his way out of New Orleans prior to the 2019-2020 season. The Pelicans would get another first overall pick, drafting Duke superstar Zion Williamson. The future looked bright for the Pelicans again, but three seasons into the Zion era, the team may know that Zion could be ready to force his way out as well. 

 

The Zion era did not start strong with the Duke superstar tearing his meniscus in the 2019-2020 preseason. He wouldn’t make his season debut until January, but the season was already going downhill for the Pelicans. Although the team had young stars in Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, as well as veterans in J.J. Reddick and Jrue Holiday, it was not enough to get the team into the playoffs. The team would see the same struggles last season, as well as a new head coach. Alvin Gentry was out and Stan Van Gundy was in. The team missed both the playoffs and the play-in tournament again and it would not be long before Stan Van Gundy was out. Rumors persisted of Zion and Van Gundy clashing, leading to his eventual departure. 

 

Prior to this season, a lot changed for the Pelicans. Lonzo Ball left for Chicago, Steven Adams was traded to Memphis, and several other players were moved or left. None of this mattered as Zion would suffer a fractured foot. This was not told to the media until close to the beginning of the season. The timetable went from “by the start of the season” to December and then the news came out that his foot was healing slower than expected. News broke in February that Zion could have another foot surgery, meaning he could miss the entire season. Now here we are. More players were moved at the deadline as CJ McCollum was traded to the Pelicans. Reports came out of Zion not being in contact with McCollum following the trade and former teammate J.J. Redick calling Zion out for being a “detached teammate.” The city of New Orleans even made fun of Zion with a Mardi Gras float, depicting him as obese in a foot cast surrounded by food and his jersey saying “1 ton.” 

 

Looking towards the rest of this season, the Pels currently sit in the 10th seed, which has them in the play-in tournament if the playoffs started today. They are currently tied with the Trailblazers, with the Spurs and Kings one and two games behind them, respectively. With CJ McCollum on a hot scoring streak and other teams struggling, there’s a possibility they could finish in a play-in spot. If they were able to make it to the playoffs, they would more than likely be swept in the first round. After this season, Zion is signed for the 2022-23 season and could have a qualifying offer depending on how he handles free agency. 

 

With the possibility of leaving New Orleans or being moved, Zion has already been linked to several teams, with the New York Knicks being the name brought up the most in rumors. He has noted how much he loves playing in New York and the Knicks have been interested in Zion since before he was drafted. It is almost guaranteed that when he enters free agency, Zion will be leaving New Orleans making him the second 1st overall draft pick to leave the team in the last decade. While the Pelicans may not want to trade Zion, it may be the smartest thing for the organization to do instead of letting him leave for nothing in free agency. He has been dominant on the court when he’s played, but he’s been dominated by injuries since entering the league raising concerns of if he will have an injury-plagued career. It may seem risky in the short term but trading Zion (along with another piece) to New York for a player like Julius Randle may be good for both teams. Randle would be paired alongside McCollum and Brandon Ingram for several years as they look to make the playoffs while Zion gets his spotlight in New York. The Pelicans organization may not want to talk about it, but Zion’s exit from the team is inevitable. 

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