The New Orleans Pelicans reportedly have no plans to move on from All-Star forward Zion Williamson. Speaking Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania was asked about the Pelicans’ potential options if they decide to cut ties with Williamson and his five-year, $197.23 million contract.
New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson Has Only Appeared In Six Games This Season, Remains Out With A Strained Hamstring
Charania added that while the Pelicans could waive Williamson in the weeks ahead, he doesn’t anticipate it happening, stating:
“There are ways where, if the Pelicans were to waive him, they could potentially do that for free. However, I don’t believe that’s something that’s on the table right now. The Pelicans have no intention of waiving Zion Williamson. They want to figure out a way — any way — to find the right people around him and do anything necessary to get him on the court. That’s their number one objective.”
Williamson, 24, has appeared in only six games this season and is currently out with a strained hamstring. The 6-foot-6 wing has been sidelined since Nov. 6.
Williamson Has Missed Over 200 Regular-Season Games With New Orleans
The Pelicans announced that Williamson would be sidelined for at least four to six weeks, which places him out through mid-December. However, Charania said his absence could extend beyond that since he is rehabilitating a body part “that has sustained multiple strains over the past few years.”
Since the Pelicans selected Williamson No. 1 overall out of Duke in the 2019 draft, the South Carolina native has missed 216 out of a possible 406 regular-season games.
Williamson finally had a healthy season in 2023-24, appearing in a career-high 70 games and averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per contest.
Through six games (all starts) this season, Williamson has averaged 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 31 minutes per contest while shooting 45.2% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 66.7% at the free throw line.
Pelicans Are Making Brandon Ingram Available For Trade?
If the Pelicans are unwilling to trade Williamson, perhaps they would be open to moving Brandon Ingram, who is in the final season of his five-year, $158.25 million contract.
But even that might not be possible ahead of February’s trade deadline.
Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst, the Pelicans have struggled to find a team that’s willing to take on Ingram’s current salary and meet his future contract demands of a four-year, $200 million extension.
“Finding a place where New Orleans can send Ingram’s $36 million salary and get value while also reducing salary — the Pelicans are currently in the luxury tax for the first time ever and not likely to stay there — is hard enough. But finding a deal with a team Ingram will be comfortable signing a new contract with has also stalled talks, per sources,” wrote Bontemps and Windhorst.
Ingram, 27, signed with a new agency, Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports Group, on Sunday. He was previously represented by Excel Sports Management.
