Zion Williamson Giving His Trade Value a Major Boost With Recent Dominance

Zion Williamson's play since return from injury is the best-case scenario for the New Orleans Pelicans.

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The New Orleans Pelicans righted the ship over the last two weeks after being stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference all season. At 8-23, they still have a long way to go, but the Pels are now a much more formidable team. A big reason why is the return of Zion Williamson.

Not only did Williamson return earlier than anticipated from his adductor strain, but he has been playing his best basketball of the season. He even played on the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday when the Pelicans saw their winning streak come to an end in Cleveland. In the five games since his return, Williamson is averaging 21.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in only 23.5 minutes per game on an impressive 65.1% True Shooting. He leads the team with a 31.2% usage rate and has been carrying a big load as the Pelicans have looked like a dangerous offensive team.

Williamson deserves a ton of credit as he has embraced his role off the bench. He has found ways to make an impact despite playing fewer minutes than he is used to and has been on his best behavior, focusing on winning more than anything else.

Zion Williamson Is Significantly More Tradable Amid Hot Streak

For the Pelicans, this is a dream scenario. Not only are they more competitive on the court with Williamson, but they also now have a better chance of trading him for positive value. Williamson is healthy and playing well on a competitive team, which obviously increases his trade value around the league.

Now that things are going better in New Orleans, there may be more appetite for keeping Williamson and riding this core until the end of the season. In reality, this is the perfect time to trade the 25-year-old power forward. The Pelicans now have more leverage in trade negotiations and should have suitors for Williamson ahead of the February 5 trade deadline.

Williamson is an obvious injury risk, and this will temper his trade market. But his contract is full of incentives tied to availability, and the acquiring team could easily move on from him without much financial damage. At the same time, it's much easier for teams to convince themselves and sell to their fan bases a Zion Williamson trade when he is healthy and contributing to winning. The Pelicans have Williamson to thank for boosting his value in such a critical time.