Report: Pelicans Not Eying 'Gap Year' for High NBA Draft Pick amid Zion's Injury

The New Orleans Pelicans aren't expected to take a "gap year" this season, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Given the team's horrid 4-16 start and the barrage of injuries on the roster, it wouldn't be shocking if the Pelicans essentially lined themselves up to get a high draft pick and repositioned as a potential contender when everyone is healthy next season.

But Windhorst noted that, "Right now, that isn't a consideration in New Orleans, sources told ESPN, as the Pelicans want to see what their hopefully eventually healthy roster can do. But with Zion Williamson still out indefinitely with a hamstring injury, it is something to keep an eye on two months from now when the trade deadline approaches."

The Pelicans probably aren't going to crawl their way back into the playoff picture. They are at the very bottom of a deep Western Conference that currently has 10 teams with winning records and a talented Minnesota Timberwolves squad that is looming just behind that bunch at 9-10.

Even to reach a .500 record, the Pelicans would need to finish the season going 37-25, and a .500 record might not even qualify them for a Play-In Tournament berth. It didn't for the Houston Rockets last season, who finished 41-41 but were still five games out of the No. 10 seed in a loaded West.

Plus, shaking up this roster going forward might make sense. Brandon Ingram remains on the trade market, with Windhorst noting that "the two sides can't agree on a contract extension and trade talks since last summer have failed to align."

He continued: "Finding a place where New Orleans can send Ingram's $36 million salary and get value while also reducing salary—the Pelicans are currently in the luxury tax for the first time ever and not likely to stay there—is hard enough. But finding a deal with a team Ingram will be comfortable signing a new contract with has also stalled talks, per sources."

The Pelicans may not be ready for a gap year, but it's a good draft to have a top-five pick at your disposal, with prospects like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey, among others, looking like truly ascendant talents. If Ingram is going to potentially be traded anyway, Williamson is out of commission for a while and the rest of the roster is unlikely to right this ship, then maybe the Pelicans should consider the benefits of regrouping for 2025-26.

It's probably too early to wave the proverbial white flag. By the turn of the new year, however, the Pelicans should have a pretty good idea of where this season is headed. More than likely, that direction will be pointed downward.