Zion Williamson Labeled Jazz's 'Dream Offseason Target' by B/R

The Utah Jazz are supposedly big-game hunting this summer...

Jan 23, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) celebrates a basket with forward Naji Marshall (8) next Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) and center Walker Kessler (24) during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA chatter continues to buzz as we await the soon-to-come 2024 offseason to arrive, followed by what will likely be a few shakeups to take place around the league.

Of course, the Utah Jazz have the ammo to make a couple of big moves heading into next year. With tradeable contracts, draft picks galore, and potentially even young players, this team has all the makings to land a big fish in a trade if they so desire. By the sound of Danny Ainge's vocal claims of this squad going "all-in" this summer during his end-of-season presser, that seems to be plan A.

The question then becomes who could be on the Jazz's radar in their attempt to add some star power to this roster. There have been a few names to surface NBA rumors across recent weeks as candidates to be put into a deal, but nothing that truly jumps off the page.

But when it comes to pinning a "dream" target for each NBA team this summer, Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report had an interesting idea for the Jazz to embark on-- picking out New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson to be a potential fit for Utah in a deal:

"Zion Williamson played a career-high 70 games this season, but he was missing for the playoff run, thanks to a hamstring injury.And after having a fifth straight season dramatically impacted by his lack of durability, maybe New Orleans could be tempted by a package with shorter-term salaries and tons of draft capital (something Utah has plenty of)."

Trading for Williamson would no doubt be a big-game to land. He's coming off a year averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 57% shooting from the field. While he failed to be named an All-Star for the third time in his career, he was still a leading factor on the Pelicans' run to an eighth seed in a tough Western Conference.

If New Orleans was in the market to trade Williamson this offseason, the Jazz should be at the front of the line to add him. Utah would hold significant draft capital that can be dangled in a move to bring in the former number-one overall pick and could pair with Lauri Markkanen in the frontcourt to create an extremely interesting forward combination with athleticism, size, and three-level scoring ability.

Of course, there's risk attached to Williamson solely due to his injury history, but the ceiling he provides as a talent may just be too hard to pass up on.

There's always going to be the "injury prone" narrative attached to him, but previous guys like Kawhi Leonard on the Toronto Raptors and Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers have proved to be vital pieces on championship rosters, all while having that label attached. A productive and healthy Zion would make a trade like this all worthwhile.

Keep an eye on how the Jazz navigate this coming offseason, as some big moves could be readily in store.

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