It has been a remarkable turnaround for New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson. After missing nearly two months of the season, many wondered whether he had a future in New Orleans, but he has played some of the best basketball of his career over his last 22 games.
During that span, he's averaged a terrific 24.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and shot a terrific 59.5% from the field. His elite play has reignited trade rumors involving him with the Pelicans at a crossroads this summer. After trading star Brandon Ingram and having what is likely to be a top-four pick in this year's draft, they may decide to do a full teardown to try and build a better team.
That could result in them shopping Zion to see what they can fetch for their best player. Not just that, but according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, there could be a significant trade for Zion this summer. That remains to be seen, but it is at least a positive development for New Orleans that Zion actually has trade value again after seeming as though he would both be unavailable and untradeable.
The New Orleans Pelicans should still shop Zion Williamson this summer.
Depending on where the Pelicans' 2025 first-round pick ends up, New Orleans would be smart to at least consider trading Zion. After all, if they were to land, say, the number one pick and be in a position to draft Cooper Flagg, he'd be the ideal building block for a reset.
Of course, if Zion can stay healthy, then that would be a game changer for New Orleans, but they should be cautious about his resurgence. After all, he has only averaged 27.8 minutes per game over his dominant stretch.
That might be something the Pelicans can use going forward with him playing closer to 28 minutes per game as opposed to 33 minutes a night to try and take the wear and tear off of his legs. That might keep him healthy and allow the Pelicans to potentially pair him with a future star in this year's draft.
That pairing Zion with that prospect would potentially lead to a much better result for the Pelicans than trading him. However, with Zion increasing his trade value and teams expected to have interest in acquiring him, they would be smart to see what they can get for him just in case they are bowled over with an offer.
His potential trade value is still up in the air given health concerns, but to move him, they would probably need two or three firsts and a good young player to justify dealing him. If they can get that, then they should consider it, but if not, then they should be willing to run it back with Zion and whoever they draft next season.