The Zion Williamson era in New Orleans continue to be a frustrating experience for Pelicans fans. The injury-riddled career of the former first-overall pick has hit new lows this season, as he missed 15 of the first 25 games of the season and will be sidelined for a few more weeks with an adductor strain. After playing only 30 games last season with hamstring concerns, Williamson has been a major disappointment for the Pelicans. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that Williamson’s time in New Orleans is expected to come to an end sooner rather than later.

Even though the Pelicans have reportedly not engaged in trade discussions for any of their veterans, it would be organizational malpractice not to gauge the market for Williamson. While some see Williamson as a toxic asset, his trade value is widely underestimated by the fans. The biggest reason for this is his team-friendly contract, which could make it easy for the Pelicans to move in an in-season trade.

Pelicans Shouldn’t Find It Hard to Trade Zion Williamson

Williamson has a unique contract. He technically has two more years on his deal after this season, but his salary only gets guaranteed if he meets certain thresholds, per Spotrac. He is due $42.1 million for the 2026-27 season, but he needs to pass all six of his weigh-in checkpoints during the current season to get 20% of the salary guaranteed. If he plays over half the games, he gets another 40% guaranteed. If he plays at least 51 games, he gets additional 20% guaranteed. He gets his salary fully guaranteed only if he plays a minimum of 61 games. There are further protections attached to his weight, body fat, and right foot injury.

Zion is not going to play 61 games this season. He will almost certainly not play 51, either. So, he will at most have 60% of his salary guaranteed for next season. There is a serious chance that it could be less than that depending on his injury and weight status.

This means that the Pelicans or any acquiring team could treat Williamson as a semi-expiring salary. Even if they eventually guarantee his salary for the 2026-27 season, they would still have an out for the 2027-28 season, since all these conditions will have to be met to guarantee his salary for that season.

Let’s say a team trades for Williamson before the February 5 trade deadline. If he suffers another injury and doesn’t suit up for them, missing the 41 game threshold, that team would only be on the hook for $8.4 million of his salary for the 2026-27 season. They could move on from him in the offseason and easily absorb that for a season, especially in the rising cap environment.

This makes the acquisition of Williamson a low-risk, high-reward proposition. If it works out, great, you have an All-Star caliber player. If it doesn’t, then you can cut bait easily without taking too much on your books.

The Pelicans are still not going to get much in return for Williamson. Any juicy draft capital is not going to be a part of the return, but at least, the Pelicans won’t have to give anything of value up to offload his contract. At this point, as long as they can trade him without taking back anything toxic in return should be considered a win.

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