Pelicans get sobering reality check regarding Zion Williamson's trade value

If the New Orleans Pelicans want to try to trade star forward Zion Williamson following their slow start to the season, they might have some trouble doing so.

According to recent reporting from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, Williamson’s trade value is extremely low at this point in time, and if the Pelicans wanted to move him, they’d basically have to sell for pennies on the dollar.

Williams entered the 2025-26 season in some solid shape, perhaps the best shape of his professional career, but a couple weeks into the season, he’s sidelined with yet another hamstring injury, which have unfortunately become commonplace for the Duke product.

Now in his seventh season in the league, Williamson has still yet to play in a single postseason game with the Pelicans, and some league executives that that it’s time for a fresh start.

"I'm glad he's in shape," one Western Conference scout said of Williamson, via ESPN. "But I think he needs to go. I think a change of scenery would make sense for everybody."

Instead of selling low, New Orleans’ best bet might be hanging onto Williamson for the time being and hoping that he can get back out onto the court in short order and boost his own value with productive play.

"There's no reason for New Orleans to sell low on him," one Eastern Conference scout said. "So, they might as well wait to see if they can get his value to go up."

The problem with Williamson has never been his play, but rather his availability. Williamson has only hit the 70-game mark once in his career. Overall, he’s played in just 219 of 480 possible games that he could have played in since being drafted by New Orleans with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. That’s less than half. 45.6 percent, to be exact.

The fact that Williamson’s current contract isn’t fully guaranteed over the next couple of years could ultimately help the Pelicans find a taker. But, trading for a star player that you simply can’t count on to be available is a risky proposition for any organization, and that’s why Williamson’s trade value has remained relatively low compared to his talent level. The fact that he’s currently sidelined, again, certainly isn’t helping his market either.

It seems like there has been persistent trade talk surrounding Williamson since the minute he was drafted by New Orleans, and given the Pelicans’ current struggles, that seems unlikely to change. Nothing is imminent, but this situation will continue to be one to monitor.