The Pelicans Need To Stop Mortgaging Their Future For Zion Williamson

When the New Orleans Pelicans won the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, they set out to apply the lessons they learned from the bitter end of the Anthony Davis era.

The Pelicans landed Davis with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, but they never managed to build a consistent winner around him. During his seven years in New Orleans, they made the playoffs only twice and won only one playoff series. That culminated in a messy divorce right as the Pelicans were ready to begin their next era.

Less than four months after Davis requested a trade, the Pelicans won the 2019 draft lottery, which gave them the right to select Duke forward Zion Williamson. They proceeded to trade Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and three first-round picks, which gave them the foundation to build around Williamson.

Six years later, the Pelicans have almost nothing to show for that trade.

In 2021, they sign-and-traded Ball to the Chicago Bulls for Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and a second-round pick. The following year, they sent Hart, Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks to the Portland Trail Blazers for CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell. And at this past year’s trade deadline, they shipped Ingram to the Toronto Raptors for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2031 second-round pick.

That transaction tree is emblematic of the Pelicans’ ongoing inability to build a championship contender around Williamson. It should also be a wake-up call for the Pelicans that their window with him may have already closed.

Pelicans’ Disastrous Trades Have Their Future Looking Bleak

Since drafting Williamson, the Pelicans have only had two winning seasons and made two playoff appearances. They’ve won a grand total of two playoff games over that stretch.

They aren’t likely to improve upon that this year, either. They got off to a Western Conference-worst 0-6 start before notching wins against the injury-ravaged Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks. They figure to come crashing right back to earth shortly, as six of their next seven opponents are currently above .500, including the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

On Tuesday, the Pelicans announced that the oft-injured Williamson would be out for at least 7-10 days with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. That means he’s expected to miss games against the Spurs and Phoenix Suns, and he might not be back against the Portland Trail Blazers or Lakers, either.

Another losing season wouldn’t be the end of the world if the Pelicans still had control of their 2026 first-round pick. However, a pair of disastrous, shortsighted trades might have ripped the floor out on their long-term future.

In the midst of their 2025 NBA Finals run, the Indiana Pacers re-acquired their own 2026 first-round pick by shipping the No. 23 pick in the 2025 draft to New Orleans. The Pacers are currently off to a 1-7 start this season after star point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals and starting center Myles Turner left to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency. There’s a non-zero chance that the Pelicans traded a mid-to-high 2026 lottery pick for the No. 23 pick in 2025.

As if that wasn’t enough of an own-goal, the Pelicans proceeded to compound mistakes by flipping that No. 23 pick along with a fully unprotected 2026 first-rounder—the better of theirs or the Milwaukee Bucks’—to the Atlanta Hawks for the No. 13 pick in the 2025 draft. They used that pick on Maryland center Derik Queen, who has shown promise over the past few games in Williamson’s absence but projects as a questionable fit alongside him.

Those aren’t the only regrettable trades that the Pelicans have made recently. During the 2024 offseason, they shipped a package including Nance, Dyson Daniels and two future first-round picks to the Hawks for point guard Dejounte Murray. He shot a career-worst 39.3% from the field in 31 games last season before tearing his Achilles in January. Meanwhile, Daniels won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award and finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year race during his first year in Atlanta.

Pelicans’ Wins On The Margins Might Not Be Enough

To the Pelicans’ credit, they have had a few major wins on the margins in recent years as well. Trey Murphy III, whom they selected with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 draft, has proved to be an absolute steal. The same goes for Herb Jones, whom they selected 35th overall that same year. Saddiq Bey, whom they landed in the McCollum-Jordan Poole swap, could prove to be a savvy pickup after he missed last season with a torn ACL as well.

None of that may be enough to salvage the Williamson era, though.

Williamson played only 214 of a possible 472 games across his first six seasons, and he’s already hurt this year as well. Given his unique 6’6″, 284-pound frame, it’d be fair for the Pelicans to wonder whether he’ll ever be able to stay healthy for a full 82-game season and a playoff run. His upside is tantalizing, but building around a power forward who doesn’t protect the rim and barely shoots three-pointers would be difficult even if he could dodge the injury bug.

The Pelicans wisely built protections into Williamson’s latest contract that allow them to escape relatively unscathed at any point. They aren’t likely to considering waiving him outright, but it’s long past time for them to ask themselves how they can realistically build a contender around him given the current state of their roster and asset pool. If they don’t have a feasible pathway, they should at least entertain the possibility of trading him and retooling around Murphy, Poole, Jones, Queen, fellow 2025 first-round pick Jeremiah Fears and whomever they could acquire in a Williamson trade.

There are financial considerations that might make that a non-starter for the Pelicans, though. They were already toward the bottom of the NBA in total attendance last season. Williamson is their main box-office draw. They might be more focused on selling tickets than taking painful steps that could improve their long-term future at the expense of their short-term outlook.

Even if the Pelicans aren’t willing to trade Williamson, they should at least draw the line at flipping more future first-round picks for win-now moves. Until they’re back on a winning track, the downside far outweighs the upside of any such deals, as they’ve learned the hard way in recent months.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.