Despite a strong start to the season for a New Orleans Pelicans star, Zion Williamson, they must have a backup plan in place. Zion has played well when he's been healthy, but he's almost never healthy.
Last season, he appeared in just 55 games. However, to his credit, he played 50 straight games for the first time in his career, suggesting that he might have turned a corner health-wise. That, and him being in better shape, are definite encouraging signs that he may be healthy this season.
Still, the Pelicans shouldn't rely on him to be a franchise cornerstone unless he proves he can be. As a result, their backup plan should be to use him as the bridge to a younger Pelican's team. Zion is still only 26 years old, but the Pelicans have a younger roster that isn't ready to contend.
Pelicans must have a backup plan if Zion Williamson doesn't work out
The Pelicans seem unconvinced that Zion can be their franchise player, and there have been constant rumors about his availability in trades. At this point, they may as well play out the string and see how he plays this season.
Hopefully, he will stay healthy and have a strong season, giving him more options. Those options could include keeping him and seeing whether he is finally worth building around. Or, whether his value increases, with a potential trade serving their backup plan of keeping an eye toward the future.
The point being that they can't afford to default to treating him like a franchise player; he must prove he is. If he can, then fine; if he can't, then they must be willing to pivot away from him.
The Pelicans have a confusing roster they must unlock
The Pelicans currently have a mix of young talent such as Derrick Queen, Jeremiah Fears, and Yves Missi. They also have several players in their prime, such as Zion, Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III, and Herb Jones.
They need to pick a direction. Right now, they have no real identity. Instead, they seem to be collecting talented young players that don't really help them and probably should have already been traded.
A better run team probably would have shipped Murphy III out for a couple of firsts and Jones for a late first-rounder or several seconds. At least then, they'd have more options than being a bottom five team.
Who knows, maybe Zion plays 70 games, is an all-star, and New Orleans is feisty again, with him helping unlock their roster. That would be the best-case scenario, but they should keep their options open in case things don't work out or an opportunity to trade him emerges.
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