Zion Williamson sidelined again, and teams aren’t exactly lining up for a trade
Another injury has knocked Zion Williamson out of action less than 10 games into the season, and it seems NBA teams aren’t exactly rushing to the phones to make trade offers for the New Orleans Pelicans star.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, Williamson’s trade value around the league “isn’t super high” right now. The 25-year-old is currently sidelined with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, adding to his lengthy injury history.
“The intel that exists on Williamson within the league, fairly or not, is not great,” Windhorst wrote. “There have been numerous coaches, support staff, and teammates that cycled through New Orleans over the past seven years, which includes all the injuries and a one-game suspension in January for being late to a team flight.”
The Pelicans have managed to pick up wins on back-to-back nights against the injury-plagued Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks.
But they’re still stuck near the bottom of the Western Conference, sitting in 14th place with a dismal 2-6 record.
The Pelicans announced on Twitter: “Zion Williamson has been diagnosed with a grade 1 left hamstring strain. He will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days and further updates will be appropriately provided.”
This might actually be the perfect moment for New Orleans to shake things up with a major trade.
One rival executive told Windhorst that the Pelicans should focus on making a “win-now” deal rather than trying to move Zion himself.
“To be honest, their move might be a win-now trade, not a Zion trade,” the executive said. “His trade value isn’t there and they are facing some pressure to win.”
The Injury Problem
The numbers tell a painful story. According to Basketball Reference, injuries have limited Williamson to just 219 out of a possible 480 games in his NBA career.
That’s less than half of all New Orleans’ games since the start of the 2019 season.
He’s never even played in a playoff game.
Zion has missed significant time in each of the last four seasons with foot, back, and hamstring issues. Since being selected first overall in the 2019 draft, he’s only managed to play 61 or more games twice in six seasons.
Last season, the Pelicans shut him down in March because of a bone bruise in his back after he appeared in just 30 games.
“There’s no reason for New Orleans to sell low on him,” an Eastern Conference scout pointed out. “So, they might as well wait to see if they can get his value to go up.”
But Williamson’s trade value isn’t likely to improve anytime soon. The team plans to keep him sidelined for at least 7-10 days with this latest hamstring strain.
Before getting hurt, Zion was leading the Pelicans in scoring (22.8 points per game), rebounding (6.8), and assists (4.6). However, he was also shooting a career-low 48.7% from the field and just 66.7% from the free throw line.
During the offseason, the Pelicans guaranteed Williamson’s massive $39.4 million salary for this season. His 2025-26 salary is part of the five-year, $197.23 million extension he signed with New Orleans back in July 2022.
With that kind of money on the books and his injury history, it’s no wonder teams aren’t exactly breaking down the door to trade for him.
