In a recent report from ESPN Insider Bobby Marks, it was announced that the New Orleans Pelicans are possibly open to offers on their franchise superstar, Zion Williamson. This is a shocking turn of events; however, given Williamson’s lack of availability since getting drafted #1 overall by the Pelicans back in 2019, he has only played 190 games over the course of 5 seasons, averaging 38 games per season. Despite being incredibly injury-prone due to his weight issues, when healthy, Zion is one of the best players in the NBA, averaging 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 59% FG for his career.
There is no doubt that Zion is a fantastic player when available. Given that he is a massive injury risk, most teams are hesitant to trade for the 24-year-old. Normally, the Nets should stay clear of someone with his injury history due to his massive contract, but one could argue that the risks of trading for Zion are outweighed by the possible reward. Zion is owed $163M over the next 4 seasons. Typically, it would be a financial nightmare taking on this contract knowing there’s a high probability Zion would be on the bench collecting checks rather than providing All-NBA impact on the court. However, Zion’s contract isn’t fully guaranteed, making him much less risky if he continues to have injury problems.
According to Spotrac, only 50% of Williamson’s $36.7M salary for 2024-25 is guaranteed. The remaining 3 years are not guaranteed, with each season becoming guaranteed on July 15th prior to the start of the new season. Guarantee triggers can happen depending on how many games Zion plays or if certain weight requirements are met.
Since Williamson’s contract is controllable and provides no long-term risk to the salary cap, it wouldn’t be out of this world to trade for him if the price is right. Below is a possible trade machine scenario between the Nets and Pelicans. This trade is simply the bones of the deal. It can be debated which 1st should be traded; however, something that looks like this wouldn’t be that crazy given Zion’s upside.
Many Nets fans would be worried about the tank, as a healthy Zion would ruin the Nets' lottery odds. This is not a concern, as the intention behind this trade would be to have Zion rehab for the remainder of the season, allowing the Nets to tank for a higher draft pick and take a look at Zion for next season. The Nets have a projected $80M in cap space for next season. They can easily absorb Williamson’s contract, and if he remains injured, they can simply waive him. Of course, it should be stated that if the Pelicans require more than one 1st for Zion, then the deal shouldn’t be done. This is a low-risk, high-reward trade. If the Nets can get Zion healthy for next season, this rebuild is going to be much shorter than anyone expected.
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