This is Getting OUT OF HAND…

This is Getting OUT OF HAND…

This is getting out of hand as there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans all off season. What is going to happen to Zion Williamson? No stranger to trade rumors, there have been a bunch of teams looking at Zion as a piece for their team to put them over the edge as championship contenders. And Pelicans fans understandably want no part of these conversations with Zion Williamson at the forefront of being this team’s franchise player. And after a multitude of controversial decisions were made by the Pelicans this off seasonason, Pelicans fans know what has to happen is very clear. And now we all look towards Joe Dumars to see what the next move is for this team. As the Pelicans, they have their intentions made up very sincerely and we’re going to discuss all of this, the implications surrounding the Zion Williamson debacle and what is going to happen next. But guys, before we jump into that, if you’re part of that 50% that’s not subscribed to Pelicans Digest, make sure to subscribe for daily Pelicans updates, there’s been a lot of stuff going on surrounding the team recently. And with a lot of drama heading into this training camp and eventual preseason, regular season, we got a ton of great videos for you guys. But until then, let’s jump into this video and discuss everything that has to be talked about. As we know, Zion Williamson has already shown that he is one of the most talented players, not only on the Pelicans right now, but in the NBA. and truly in the history of since the New Orleans Pelicans have been a team. Look, Zion came in amidst a bunch of trade rumors instantly because the whole world wanted him to go to the New York Knicks. He got marketed like a future Nick star and then obviously the Pelicans ended up winning the draft lottery, selecting Zion Williamson first overall. And once he got to New Orleans, things felt like there was a shift. Like even though Anthony Davis was gone, the next star was already here. There wasn’t going to be any period of dark ages or anything like that. And what we saw was a lot of drama. Now, all these years later, all this time later, resign Williamson preparing to go into his seventh NBA season, he still is yet to play in a playoff series. Now, it’s not that the Pelicans haven’t made them. It’s that the time they did, Williamson was hurt and missed the entirety of it. However, we all know how good Zion Williamson is. And if the Pelicans want to be a team that’s trying to win games this year, like everything we’ve seen, we know Zion Williamson is going to have to be at his best and healthy. Now, recently ESPN discussed who they think the next player to get traded is, and the overwhelming or not overwhelming, but the clear winner in this was Zion Williamson. Now, five guys got mentioned as potential trade candidates, as we see right here. There was a total of 25 people voting and 10 of them voted for Zion Williamson. Only seven voted for Giannis, who I would have imagined been that top guy. But with Giannis having not requested a trade out of Milwaukee yet, it doesn’t really make sense to have waited this long. And many are expecting Giannis to stick around for at least one more year with the Bucks trying to give them a shot while LeBron James was also listed. And then John Morant and Trey Young each got a vote as well. But Williamson was at the top of this and ESPN did discuss exactly what Williamson was doing there, saying there isn’t a situation simmering this summer that seems as destined for a mid-season divorce as Jimmy Butler’s strained marriage with the Miami Heat last season. Williamson’s stay in New Orleans might have been extended by the Pelicans front office change with Joe Dumar’s replacing David Griffin as the primary decision maker. If Williamson can have a strong start to the season and avoid the injury bug that has plagued his career, it’s feasible that he could seek a fresh start instead of remaining with a New Orleans franchise that seems stuck in neutral. It has been radio silent since James via his agent Rich Paul attempted to rattle the Lakers cages immediately after exercising his 52.6 million player option for the season. Obviously, it’s Le LeBron James to be very clear. The all-time leading scorer and his camp understand just how complicated a trade involving him at his age making that much money with the contractual right to veto any deal would be, which is what led to Zion being at the top of this. And then Sports Illustrated stepped in and discussed a lot. But right now, looking at Zion’s numbers, he put up 24.6 points per game last year in only 28 and a half minutes of action. He grabbed seven rebounds. He got five assists. He blocked a shot. He got a steal per game. He shot 56.7% from the field. He did all the things that we expect of Zion while also having a bo a positive defensive box plus minus. Something that many don’t exactly expect from Zion Williamson in his career. Now, obviously, we know that Zion Williamson is a huge part of this New Orleans Pelicans team and he’s going to continue to be a huge part. He’s going to be the part of this team. People go to watch Pelicans games because Zion Williamson shows up. No one’s lost on why everything happens the way it does in New Orleans. It’s because of Zion. It’s because he is the guy who sells tickets, which makes things even harder for Joe Dumar, the new decision maker of this Pelicans team, to be like, you know what, we’re going to trade him. Ownership’s not going to like that, first of all. I mean, if they’re paying attention and not just locked in on screwing the Saints up. But when it comes down to it, what we see with Zion Williamson is a guy who is locked in for next year. And that is a lot to do with the decisions Joe Dumors did make over this off season. I mean, first of all, swapping those picks with the Atlanta Hawks. Now they have to win games because the Hawks, they’re all in trying to win. I mean, right now, the Eastern Conference is very weak without Jason Tatum or Tyrese Hallebertton there. And teams like the Knicks and the Cavs and even the Detroit Pistons with the Orlando Magic, they’re looking like those top teams alongside the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks saw that and got much better over the off seasonason. And the Pelicans, they have to follow because they don’t control that pick. They decided on Derrick Queen instead. And that is going to be very telling on Joe Dumar because that’s his first big controversial move. Is it going to work out or is it going to blow up in his face? And honestly, I think a lot of how that goes is going to really affect Zion’s future with New Orleans. If this does not work out, there is a real world we do see Zion decide, you know what? Y’all have not done anything to help me. I’m getting injured all the time here. a fresh start could be what my career needs. And he would request a trade in that situation. Now, the next part comes of who’s going to be a true suitor for Zion Williamson because there’s been a lot of teams that have been connected in the past. We know some teams can’t do it. I mean, again, like when you look at the top marketed teams in the NBA that you always see connected to trade stuff, the Lakers and the Knicks are not going to be involved, teams like that. I mean, honestly, when we look at everything, the Celtics look a bit sneaky, but it would never happen. And you could even say the same thing for Miami, but the Heat really don’t have the assets unless you’re moving at least to start with KL Wear and whatever pick they have in their treasure trove, which is never too much. So, we have to consider that as well. But Sports Illustrated did discuss some teams that they could see making a move for Zion Williamson. And it’s just fun to look into this stuff just to see what the world thinks of Zion and where he’s at right now. And they mentioned that assuming nothing drastic happens, the Detroit Pistons have their franchise star for years to come with Kate Cunningham. In addition, they have an interesting support cast that should continue to improve with players like Ron Holland and Absar Thompson being viewed as high potential players. However, given the fact that Detroit does not have any first round picks other than their own for the future and likely won’t be selecting a near lottery pick anytime soon, making a trade seems like the only option for them to pair a co-star with Cade Cunningham. Now, for the sake of it, and I’m not saying these are like the exact trades they have to make, but you have to hold Zion to an incredibly high standard in this situation, and it has to be a starting offer of something like this. I mean, Tobias Harris is an expiring contract, so hoay. Then you take on Jaden Ivy and Ron Holland because you need actual talent back for Zion. Again, it’s not like the Pelicans just magically get their draft pick back in any scenario, which to me screams these would be trades that happen mid-season like the expectation. This is not tomorrow. This is not the next day. This is the trade deadline. If the Pelicans have 10 wins, 15 wins by the trade deadline, there’s a good chance Zion’s going to want to cut the cord and he’ll be like, “You know what? Send me somewhere where maybe I actually have a chance of winning. So, the Pistons, they make sense because there’s tradable contracts you could add on.” And there likely would have to be more because of what the Pelicans are buying in on, including a pick from 2025 as well. Oh, I have a 2027 firstrounder here. But also, honestly, a pick from the Pistons would also be huge cuz then you swap you use that pick and the Hawks swap and you trade up in that in that area. You start to really move up so you can get a lottery pick. Once again, that’s a move that makes sense to me and it’s stuff like that that you have to follow. Now, moving on to the next option. It was also mentioned that the Charlotte Hornets look to be on the right path after in their rebuild, especially after select selling or seeing their performance in the summer league, making four selections in the 2025 NBA draft. The the Hornets could have a pair of starting wings in Khan Canppel and Liam McNeely in the future. However, if the Hornets want to make a swing and get some eyes on them, trading for Williamson could be a smart move. Pairing Williamson with LaMelo Ball might just be m mustwatch TV if they’re both healthy. But Williamson could fit into Charlotte due to their shooters they have on their rosters. Also, not to mention that Zion’s from there and LaMelo Ball is a very good fit next to Zion as well. Again, you have to find trades where the salaries match and these salaries match where you get like a Miles Bridges and a Grant Williams and then you make two picks. You get that Hornets pick next year. You get a 2028 top 10 protected pick and you start to build off that once again. you use those draft assets to first of all there’s a world where Zion and LaMelo get there and then you get a high pick because well you know they’re both injured a lot so it starts to make some sense. You also get another pick on top of it saying we’re giving away our franchise player. It’s not like we’re getting back anything that’s going to be world changing. So we need this draft capital because we will likely want to move up in the 2026 draft. So, there’s still a lottery pick around this team instead of wherever the hell the Hawks end up, which is going to be in the 20s most likely. So, that’s another situation that we also look at as well with this. And then just one more to look at. I mean, there’s the Suns, but I don’t see how this move works. And we’ll talk about that in a second. I mean, as Sports Illustrated says, Deeon Booker making the NBA finals in his first ever postseason, playing over 40 minutes per game, but ended up blowing a 2- lead to the Milwaukee Bucks as Giannis captured his first title. Ever since the roster has the roster construction by Phoenix has been questionable as they enter the 20256 season with a new look team without much control of their draft capital over the next few seasons. Phoenix will have to be active in the trade market if they want to add another star alongside Booker. They added Dylan Brooks and Jaylen Green in the Kevin Durant trade. But Brooks is more of a complimentary piece and Green’s fit is questionable. Well, Greens Fit is bad and the the Suns just have 60 million shooting guards for some reason. I don’t know who told him to do that, but we even see a trade like this and I hate it. I mean, like, you get Jaylen Green back and then Jaylen Green and Jordan Pool are teammates. That makes no sense. On top of that, there’s Nick Richards who, sure, he makes the financials work, which is why he’s here. And then Ryan Dunn because he’s the Suns most exciting young player. And then you get some pick swaps. like it’s not worth it when the Suns are going to be terrible in the 2030s when Devin Booker’s either aged out, which is a terrifying thought cuz I remember the day he got drafted and I remember him in college. And then on top of that, he likely won’t be on the Suns. Look, I’m going to tell you guys something right now that I truly believe. I don’t think it’s Zion. I don’t think Zion’s the most likely guy to get traded next season. I really don’t see that. We just talked about who it is. It’s Devin Booker. I know he wants to be loyal, but the Suns are a nightmare. It’s Deon Booker. It’s not going to be Zion. I also think the Pelicans are actually going to be good this year as well. Maybe I’m biased, but I truly believe they are. Guys, what do you think about this? I know you guys don’t love trade videos. It’s not lost to me. This the last one I’m going to make in a long time. But but it was actual news. Just wanted to get get through it, create some mock trades, kind of discuss why Zion should not be traded is really the argument I’m making here. Like this video, subscribe, turn on post notifications. Have a great day. I’ll catch you later.

Chris Gallagher breaks down why all the Zion Williamson trade rumors are getting out of hand.

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