Just six years ago, Zion Williamson walked across the stage of the 2019 NBA Draft to put on a New Orleans Pelicans hat. Hailed as one of the most exciting prospects of all time, with highlights that have dominated the internet since he was in middle school, the pathway to becoming an NBA star seemed clear.
Now, entering his seventh NBA season, Williamson has yet to clock any playoff minutes and has suited up for just 214 of a possible 492 regular-season games. When he has been on the floor, the talent level is still clear. Williamson has qualified for two All-Star games and is averaging 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game in his NBA career.
Heading into his age-25 season, Williamson is due to be paid $39.4 million next year, $42.1 million in 2026-27, and $44.9 million in 2027-28. New Orleans already elected to move on from Brandon Ingram by trading him to the Toronto Raptors last year, and is in an interesting place as a franchise. At full strength, their roster is one of the better teams in the NBA and would be in the mix in a competitive Western Conference. But how many years can they lean on this theoretical outlook without seeing the on-court success?
In addition to Williamson, DeJounte Murray and C.J. McCollum are each due north of $30 million next season, and Trey Murphy III will be starting his four-year $112 million contract next season. The Pelicans hold the seventh overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, with their 21 wins last season marking the organization’s fewest in over a decade.
New Orleans has been publicly supportive in their belief of Williamson as the face of their franchise. But this outlook has continually gotten more difficult for a variety of reasons. With some big-ticket stars seeming to be on the move across the NBA this summer, Williamson is the type of player who will at least be brought up in conversations. One has to wonder if this is a situation in which a restart could be beneficial to both sides, and here are a few of my favorite destinations for the former Duke star.
Best Zion Williamson Landing Spots:
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns will be at the root of plenty of the offseason conversations in the NBA. After giving some consideration to trading Kevin Durant at the deadline, this looks to be fully back on the table with more options in the offseason. There are plenty of moving parts behind the scenes from an organizational standpoint for the Suns, but they went all in on the All-Star trio of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, and do not even have a playoff victory to show for with the three of them. Beal continues to hold his no-trade clause, and Durant has significantly more value from a league-wide perspective.
Williamson would provide a chance to reset their timeline a bit. Pairing 25-year-old Williamson with 28-year-old Devin Booker gives a brighter long-term future for the franchise. If he can put all the pieces together, there is a case to be made that Williamson could be an even more impactful player than Durant has been in Phoenix. Giving him a chance to grow alongside Booker rather than continuing to be in a place where he is looked at as the clear face could also be beneficial from Williamson’s perspective. This is a risky move, but Matt Ishbia has proven with his track record as an owner that he is not afraid to take the big swings.
While New Orleans is not a likely destination for Durant, it will almost certainly require a three-team deal to execute a trade from the Suns’ perspective in the first place. The framework of this would likely look something like Durant being sent to his desired destination (Rockets, Knicks, Timberwolves, Spurs, etc), Williamson being the primary piece returning to the Suns, and a collection of young players and draft picks being the primary return for New Orleans.
Currently, the Suns hold +9000 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook of winning the NBA Championship next year, which is tied for 19th in the league.
Charlotte Hornets
Another team that has found them a bit stuck in basketball purgatory has been the Charlotte Hornets. They have their believed franchise centerpiece in LaMelo Ball, who has some injury concerns of his own. Ball has been more available than Williamson, but still has played 51 or fewer games in four of his five seasons in the league and 211 of a possible 410 games overall. Charlotte has some additional intriguing young talents like Brandon Miller, Tidjane Salaun, Tre Mann, Josh Green, and Mark Williams. They also hold some decent salary cap holds from players like Miles Bridges ($27.1 million), Jusuf Nurkic ($18.1 million), and Grant Williams ($13 million), which could be beneficial in matching the money to execute the trade.
Pairing Williamson and Ball would make for one of the most electrifying duos in the NBA. There would be viral highlights on an every-game basis, which are sure to be captured to the fullest extent by Hornets play-by-play announcer Eric Collins.
This would be a risky move for both parties, but the type of swing a small market like the Hornets should be willing to take. Both Williamson and Ball have carried out critiques of not playing winning basketball or practicing the best habits. But both guys have also been put in situations that can bring the worst out of a player. With Ball’s flashy play and LA background in mind, a wondering eye being cast to another organization is always a possibility. This would be a move to put Charlotte in the best spot to keep him long-term and prove their desire to build a contending team around him. Keep an eye on the Hornets as a dark horse team to take a big swing in the trade market this summer, with Williamson the type of player they should have their eyes out for.
Charlotte enters next season with +50,000 odds of winning the NBA Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook. This is tied with the Wizards for the worst mark in the league. With the East as wide open as ever, this would be a move that launched the Hornets into the contending mix and gives them a chance moving forward.
Miami Heat
Sometimes, there is too much made about the concept of “Heat Culture,” but Williamson is the exact type of player whose entire career outlook could change from being put in a more structured environment. This is also a situation that would probably require a three-team trade, as the cupboard is a bit bare for the Heat from a trade perspective. But “Playoff Jimmy” Butler is no longer around to put the team on his back for stretches in the postseason, and this year should have been humbling for the Heat. Not only were their 37 wins the fewest since the 2014-15 season. But the Heat managed to scrap their way into the playoffs through the play-in tournament, only to be swept by the Cavaliers with the largest series-clinching victory in NBA playoff history and the largest series differential of all time. This only had to feel worse when the Cavaliers were eliminated by the Pacers in five games in the following round.
Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Andrew Wiggins are good but not great players. Even with the baggage that he carried with him, Butler was a necessary top-end talent that the Heat now lack. The organization does not have a player capable of being the best player on a legitimate contender. With the East as open as it will be next season, Miami should be looking to take a swing to bring a big fish to South Beach, and Williamson fits this criteria.
Even while they may lack the top-end talent, there is some appeal in players like Adebayo or Herro from the New Orleans perspective. These are players who are consistently available, play hard, and will keep you in the mix. For a franchise that has qualified for the playoffs in just six of the past 21 seasons, this should be appealing. In addition, there is some intriguing young talent with players like Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. that could help start to create the framework of a deal. It would likely take a third team getting involved to make sense for all sides, but Miami is in the market to begin star-hunting once again, and Williamson is the type of target they should be looking to explore.
Miami enters the offseason with +9,000 odds of winning the NBA Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook, which is tied for the 19th-best odds in the NBA.
The Case for Remaining with the Pelicans:
While Williamson comes with his frustrations as a player, the grass is not always greener on the other side. The Indiana Pacers are threatening this theory, but for years it has been accepted as fact that it takes a player on the shortlist of elite talents leading the team for them to be viewed as true championship contenders (No disrespect to Tyrese Haliburton!). Williamson is still the Pelicans’ clearest pathway to having one of these top 10 players. It is almost more frustrating that Williams’ abilities are shown in short doses, where you see the franchise centerpiece and the All-NBA caliber player he can be.
New Orleans will enter this offseason with +15,000 odds of winning the NBA Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook next year. This is the seventh-worst odds in the league.
This is a frustrating spot compared to the path the Pelicans seemed to be on regarding building a sustainable contender just a few years ago. Expect some difficult conversations to be had within the front office to be had this summer and for Williamson’s name to at least be discussed throughout.
