The New Orleans Pelicans trading Zion Williamson before the 2023 NBA Draft is fairly unlikely, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic.
While the Pelicans want to move up in the draft to select Scoot Henderson, they have yet to include Williamson in any formal trade offers to the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers.
“Ultimately, Zion getting traded before Thursday’s draft is fairly unlikely, multiple league sources tell The Athletic,” Guillory wrote. “Each was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss potential trades.”
“The Pelicans have been enamored with Henderson for quite a while,” Guillory explained. “They were able to see plenty of him while reviewing tape of his former G League Ignite teammate Dyson Daniels, who New Orleans took with the No. 8 pick in last year’s draft. But to this point, the Pelicans have yet to even include Williamson in any formal offers made to the teams holding top-3 picks, league sources tell The Athletic. There have been varying reports about how much interest Charlotte or Portland would even have in shipping off the No. 2 or No. 3 picks in a potential Williamson trade.”
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While the relationship between Williamson and the Pelicans has been rocky, Williamson and David Griffin met last week. Pelicans governor Gayle Benson was also at the meeting, which took place at team headquarters.
“While the relationship between Williamson and the Pelicans has been rocky of late, the Pelicans have made overtures in an attempt to improve it,” Guillory wrote. “Williamson and Griffin met last week at team headquarters to discuss the offseason, and Griffin brought Williamson over to meet with Pelicans governor Gayle Benson.”
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“The meeting was mostly positive, according to a league source not authorized to discuss it publicly,” Guillory explained. “Benson congratulated Williamson on the recent news that he’s expecting to have a baby with his girlfriend in the near future. Benson also offered to have a more direct line of communication with Williamson in the future if he felt that was necessary, according to that source.”
Williamson has only played in 114 games with the Pelicans since being selected as the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke.
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