NBA Insiders Reveal Why Zion Williamson's Trade Value Has Plummeted amid Rumors
In the wake of another injury to Zion Williamson, opposing teams aren't banging down the door to present the New Orleans Pelicans trade offers for the two-time All-Star.
Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, Williamson's trade value across the league "isn't super high" right now.
"The intel that exists on Williamson within the league, fairly or not, is not great," wrote Windhorst. "There have been numerous coaches, support staff and teammates that have cycled through New Orleans over the past seven years, which includes all the injuries and a one-game suspension in January for being late to a team flight."
One rival executive even told Windhorst that the best approach for the Pelicans might be trying to find a "win-now" deal because there's pressure on them to win this season.
"To be honest, their move might be a win-now trade, not a Zion trade," the executive said. "His trade value isn't there and they are facing some pressure to win."
Bontemps had a scout from an Eastern Conference team point out there is "no reason" for the Pelicans to sell Williamson at a time when his value is low.
There are a lot of problems the Pelicans face if they wanted to wait for Williamson to increase his trade value, not least of which is he's injured again. The team announced on Tuesday he will be out for at least seven to 10 days after being diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain.
Williamson is signed through the 2027-28 season, though the money in his contract is contingent on meeting various criteria that includes weigh-in checkpoints and games played.
What team is going to give up anything of real value in a trade for a player who, while being extremely talented and only 25 years old, has appeared in a total of 219 games since entering the NBA in 2019?
On top of that, what purpose does it serve the Pelicans to trade Williamson? The only benefit is being done with the constant stop-start nature of him playing because of his injury issues, but they're also in a terrible position because they can't afford to intentionally tank this season because they traded an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in the deal to select Derik Queen No. 13 overall in the 2025 draft.
Williamson is still an electrifying talent to watch when he plays. He is averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game in five starts so far this season.
Even with Williamson playing at that level in his five games, the Pelicans haven't looked like a team that is going to be competitive in the Western Conference. They lost their first six games before back-to-back wins over the Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks this week.
The average margin of defeat for the Pelicans amid that 0-6 start was 18.2 points, including three losses by at least 30 points. There have been a total of six games so far this season across the entire NBA decided by at least 30 points.
