New Orleans Pelicans Make Massive Decision on Zion Williamson Trade

Another offseason, another round of Zion Williamson rumors surfacing just about everywhere. 

Que the questions.

Does he even like New Orleans? Do the Pelicans want to continue building around him? Does he even care enough about basketball? Does he need a change of scenery? 

All valid question marks from an observer’s perspective. 

Yes, Williamson was much healthier this season, appearing in 61 games and could’ve made it 64 had the Pelicans not chose to rest him the final three games of the season.

Yes, Williamson’s numbers were solid, not what they were when he burst onto the scene as a sophomore, but far from garbage. 

But New Orleans won a whopping 26 games. At what point does some major change need to take place, considering Williamson is headed into his eighth season and has yet to play a single playoff game? 

Not now, apparently.

“Listen, we have no intentions of doing that,” said Pelicans president basketball operations Joe Dumars when asked about potentially trading Williamson. “We’re going into the offseason looking forward to Zion coming back next year and playing great again next year.” 

Pelicans EVP of basketball operations Joe Dumars said this morning at an end-of-season press conference that New Orleans has “no intention of trading Zion (Williamson)” this summer.

More from me on the Pels’ upcoming coaching search and the latest around-the-league Intel on… https://t.co/71LgV6jozW

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 14, 2026

Pels Ready for an Eighth Year of the Zion Williamson Experiment 

Williamson is not old; he’s only 25. Given his age and ability, he’s the ideal player that would give a front office all the confidence in the world to start aggressively building around. 

So much has led to exactly that not happening in New Orleans, starting with Williamson’s inability to stay available. He’s played at least 70 games only once in his seven seasons. And while he was healthier this season, his production, though certainly not dreadful, is rather underwhelming considering he averaged seven more points per contest while playing in over 80% of his team’s games. 

If one were asked seven years ago what Williamson and the Pelicans would look like in 2026, they would probably think Williamson would be a top five player in the NBA on a perennially contending New Orleans team. 

That’s always the vision and expectation with a generational talent, which Williamson was labeled as coming out of college. 

Possible Last Year of the Zion Era?

No one can tell when it comes to the Pelicans. They’ve made strange decisions since drafting Williamson in 2019. 

So strange that it is hard to say that they’ll move on from Williamson next summer even if he struggles to stay on the court again. 

But at some point, something will need to change. 

It appears both Williamson and the Pelicans are set on taking it one year at a time. The 25-year-old New Orleans star is staying committed for now. 

“New Orleans is home for me,” Williamson said. “I don’t say that because I’m sitting in front of these cameras or I’m talking to y’all. … Like, this is home for me. I’ve been here since I was 19 years old.”

The lottery-destined Pelicans will likely get another very high draft pick, which they can use to plan for the future. New Orleans doesn’t appear positioned to compete for even a playoff spot anytime soon unless something drastic happens this offseason. 

A year from now, it won’t be shocking if we are asking all the same questions about the Pelicans again.

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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports

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