Zion Williamson Is on Thin Ice After the Willie Green Firing

The Pelicans star now has until the trade deadline to prove his worth after Willie Green's firing.

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After incessant calls by the fans since the start of the season, the New Orleans Pelicans finally fired Willie Green on Saturday. Following the 2-10 start to the season, Joe Dumars and the front office decided to replace Green with associate head coach James Borrego. This was a long time coming, but it's hard to imagine that Borrego would be worse than Green, regardless of what one thinks about how much of the blame should have been placed on the head coach versus the front office.

What the James Borrego era will bring to New Orleans remains to be seen, but it certainly puts Zion Williamson on notice. Williamson is in his seventh year with the Pelicans and is the most significant remnant of the previous David Griffin administration. If Dumars and GM Troy Weaver want to put their stamp on the franchise, moving on from Williamson would be the next natural step.

Zion Williamson Is Now Firmly on the Chopping Block

What happens next will depend on Williamson. The 25-year-old power forward has missed seven of the Pelicans' 12 games this season after missing the majority of the 2024-25 season. He remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, but is set to return to action sooner rather than later.

Even though Williamson's availability has been the biggest story for the Pelicans over the years, how he looks once he returns from injury will be more important for his future in New Orleans. More concerning than his missing seven games already this season has been the fact that he hasn't been very good when he has been on the court.

The two-time All-Star is in the midst of his least efficient season of his career with a 55.3% True Shooting. He has yet to attempt a three-pointer and is shooting 48.7% of his two-point field goals on his way to averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 31.4 minutes per game. In his first few seasons in the league, Pelicans fans were used to seeing multiple SportsCenter-worthy, incredibly athletic plays per game from Williamson, but that has recently not been the case.

It is obvious that the Pelicans need to embrace the next era of basketball in New Orleans. Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen will be at the center of the future of Pelicans basketball. Whether Williamson belongs in that future will depend on how the next few months go. If the February trade deadline rolls around and Williamson has not shown more on the court, the Pelicans will have to seriously consider moving on from him.

Now that Willie Green is out of the picture, nothing should be off the table for the Pelicans. That includes ending the Zion Williamson era.