New Orleans Pelicans trading Zion Williamson is 'being discussed' in NBA, Brian Windhorst says

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been in the news recently following the announcement of his fatherhood and the details surrounding that. But his future with the Pelicans has also become a trending topic.

The former Duke basketball star and viral sensation has spent all four seasons of his young career in New Orleans, and according to ESPN basketball insider Brian Windhorst, this offseason is looking like the first where he may be on the trading block.

“I think for the first time really, this is something that’s being discussed in the league,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’. “The Pelicans have the 14th pick in next Thursday’s draft. The indications they have given, with conversations they’re having out there, is that they do want to move up, if they can, in the top part of this draft.”

Williamson was a five-star high school prospect out of Spartanburg Day School ranked the No. 5 player in the nation for the 2018 class according to On3’s Industry Ranking. He was widely regarded as the consensus best player ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft following his lone breakout season at Duke, selected No. 1 overall by the Pelicans. But according to Windhorst, New Orleans may be interested a new upcoming prospect instead ahead of this year’s draft.

“There is a belief the organization is really interested in Scoot Henderson and they believe, potentially, going all-out to try to get him could be in the organization’s best interest,” Windhorst said. “And, look, if you look at their roster, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this could include Zion Williamson.”

Williamson’s biggest struggle throughout his professional has been staying consistently healthy and on the court for New Orleans. When he is playing his impact is undeniable averaging 25.8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game throughout his career. He’s even a two-time NBA All-Star and made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2020.

But Williamson has not been on the floor much for the Pelicans due to numerous different injuries throughout his career. Williamson only played in 29 games for New Orleans last season and missed the entirety of the 2021-2022 season prior to that. And since being drafted, Williamson has missed 188 of the possible 302 games he could have played in.

The Pelicans are at an interesting crossroads, as they’ve only made one playoff appearance since Williamson’s arrival iconically during the season he missed, which resulted in a first-round exit. Their star player has all the ability in the world but not all the availability in the world, and it will definitely be interesting to see how they navigate the situation this offseason.