With the NBA Draft coming up next week, teams are bracing for a lot of trade scenarios that could play out before Thursday night. There are an unusual number of teams that are both unhappy with their roster and determined to put in a serious push next season, which has made the NBA rumor mill more fervent than usual.
The New Orleans Pelicans are one of those teams after a season that saw them climb to the No. 1 seed in the West and then miss the playoffs altogether. This is a formation that certainly has the talent to compete, but has been riddled with injuries for its stars. Recently, New Orleans was reportedly interested in acquiring a top-3 pick to sign phenomenal point guard Scoot Henderson. A trade of this magnitude would force New Orleans to give up a star-level player, but Shams Charania left on the Pat McAfee Show to reveal that a team wouldn’t want that player to be Zion Williamson.
It’s a little surprising that Charlotte would prefer Brandon Ingram over Williamson given what we’ve seen of the latter when he played, but Zion’s injured list has reached an alarming point. The former No. 1 overall pick played just 29 games last season, and there have been constant questions about his conditioning. This is an alarming trend for any franchise interested in a player with a maximum contract.