Woj: Zion Williamson Wasn't 'Offered' to Any Teams by Pelicans in NBA Trade Talks

Amid reports that the New Orleans Pelicans wanted to trade up into the top three of Thursday's NBA draft, there were questions surrounding Zion Williamson's future in the Big Easy.

But according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, that future was never in doubt throughout the predraft process. He reported during the network's draft broadcast that the 2019 No. 1 pick was never in a trade offer as the organization attempted to move up.

The Pelicans seem committed to Williamson despite his struggles to remain on the court.

"I did not find a general manager in the league who told me they were offered Zion Williamson in any trade talks here in recent weeks," Wojnarowski reported. "Now, New Orleans did try to package this No. 14 pick and some other future assets to move up in the draft. They were unable to do so. But Zion Williamson has been in the Pelicans practice facility more this offseason than in recent years. Listen, he only played 29 games last season, dominant when he was on the floor. This is an organization that so far remains committed to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram."

Instead of moving up, New Orleans wound up staying put at No. 14 and selected UConn's Jordan Hawkins, one of the best shooters in the draft.

No package that the Pelicans can put together was enough to get them into that top tier of draft picks which means that the team's core will remain together, for now. An inclusion of Williamson likely would have been more than enough to entice someone to bite but the franchise wasn't willing to go that far.

And with good reason.

When Williamson is on the floor, he's one of the best, most unguardable players in the entire league, overpowering nearly anyone that he comes up against.

The bigger issue is that he isn't available all that often. The two-time All-Star has struggled with injuries ever since he turned pro. He's only played more than 29 games once in his career.

Most recently, he missed most of last season due to a hamstring injury that kept him out from January to the end of the year.

Even in his limited time on the court last year, the Pelicans looked like a contender with Williamson playing. He averaged 26 points per game to go along with seven rebounds, a career-high 4.6 assists and 1.1 steals.

Now, he'll be given yet another opportunity to lead the franchise back to possible contention with seemingly full trust from the front office. If he's able to just be healthy, there's no telling what the limit could be.