If you haven't been paying attention to the New Orleans pelicans this season, you aren't alone. Many might have missed a surprising development regarding star Zion Williamson.
While he has developed a reputation for being injury-prone, he has proven to be surprisingly durable this season. In fact, at one point, he played 52 straight games before being benched by the Pelicans for the team's final three games of the season.
It's important to point out that he wasn't injured; instead, New Orleans had nothing left to play for. Still, Zion managed to play the second most number of games in his career this year, with 62 games played.
Zion Williamson's durability is a surprising update for the Pelicans
That doesn't mean he's an iron man by any stretch, but it is a positive development that should buy him more time in New Orleans. He probably still isn't going to fetch a massive return in a trade.
As a result, the Pelicans would be wise to hold on to him and see if he can build upon his healthy play next season. If he can, then he is just 25 years old and has plenty of talent.
Considering how the Pelicans have little going for them, keeping him around might not be such a bad idea. Who knows, maybe he can form an eventual trio with recent lottery picks Jermiah Fear and Derik Queen.
He's certainly young enough to factor into the Pelicans' future plan, but only if he can stay healthy.
Zion Williamson may still have a future with the Pelicans
If Zion can play at least 60 regular season games a season going forward, it might not make him the superstar everyone thought he would be.
Even so, he still averaged an entirely respectable 21.7 points on a blistering 64.4% true shooting. That's far from bad, and it gives New Orleans options.
They could keep him, possibly even extend him on a favorable deal. If Zion is playing at a borderline all-star level, then he might be able to rebuild his trade value while remaining useful to New Orleans.
However, if Zion can stay healthy and even get back to his 2022-23 peak level, then extending him could look like a great move. With the Pelicans not having any clear direction for their rebuild, keeping Zion around for a bit longer seems like the least risky option.
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