Zion Williamson's Impressive Run Creates Fascinating Pelicans Offseason Dilemma

The New Orleans Pelicans will have a Zion Williamson decision to make in the offseason.

Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Zion Williamson is in the healthiest stretch of his career. Having played in 30 straight games for the first time in his career, Williamson is on track to play over 60 games in a season for the third time in his seven-year career. After missing two weeks with an adductor strain earlier in the season, Williamson has been remarkably healthy. While this is an excellent sign for the 25-year-old power forward's future, it also creates a fascinating inflection point for the Pelicans in the offseason.

"A lot of the extra work I've been doing with my trainer Chris... I've got to give respect to the team for trusting me to play that amount of minutes and allowing my minutes to grow. I have been real happy about that"

-- Zion Williamson on playing 30 consecutive games pic.twitter.com/JNti96kpGE

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) February 10, 2026

Zion Williamson's Availability & Production Increase His Trade Value

Williamson and the Pelicans seem to be on the same page. There was very little reporting about a potential trade at the deadline, and Williamson recently thanked the Pelicans for "trusting [him] to play that amount of minutes and allowing [his] minutes to grow." Returning early from his early-season injury, playing both legs of back-to-backs, and not missing any time suggest that Williamson may have turned a corner physically.

At the same time, the two-time All-Star is clearly not as dominant as he was earlier in his career. He has a career-low usage rate of 27.3% and is averaging a career-low 21.5 points per game. His assist percentage has taken a tumble from the last couple of seasons, and he is not as efficient as he was in his two All-Star campaigns. While he took over 80% of his shots at the rim in his first two seasons in the league, Williamson has taken 69% of his field goal attempts at the rim this season, per Cleaning the Glass. He is still an excellent finisher around the basket, but he is not as unstoppable getting to the rim as he once was.

This is understandable, given the injuries and his athletic decline. Williamson has still not added an outside shot and still struggles going to the rim. Despite his shortcomings, Williamson is still a very effective scorer and gives the Pelicans a high offensive floor when he is on the court.

The problem is, the Pelicans have entered a new era that belongs to Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears, and Trey Murphy. Fears and Queen have shooting concerns and need the ball in their hands. Williamson's inability to be an off-ball threat makes him a uniquely questionable fit.

Now that he has proven that he can stay healthy for an extended period, does it make sense for the Pelicans to sell high on Williamson? If suitors are willing to give up assets for Williamson, the Pelicans have to seriously consider moving on from him to accumulate future assets.

Williamson is on track for his contract to be fully guaranteed for next season. If he plays 61 games this season, the contract triggers stipulate that his $42 million salary for the 2026-27 season becomes fully guaranteed. With his production this season, there will be teams interested in Zion for that price.

The Pelicans have proven themselves to be nowhere near a playoff team this season. Keeping the same core together for longer and hoping for a different result next season would be a big mistake. After Williamson has worked so hard to stay healthy, the best option for both sides may be finding him a new team.