For Better or Worse, Zion Williamson and the Pelicans Remain Committed to Each Other

Joe Dumars doesn’t sound like a GM about to trade his star. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Zion Williamson and the Pelicans might not be finished just yet. Despite chatter around the league, Williamson recently said that New Orleans is his home and where he wants to be. Now general manager Joe Dumars has reciprocated those feelings saying the team has "no intentions" of trading Williamson, adding "We look forward to working with him next year."

In an era where players are constantly looking for their next team, Williamson and the Pelicans appear ready to try and work things out. Williamson is set to make $42 million next season followed by $44.8 million in the 2027-28 season.

The Pelicans took Williamson No. 1 in the 2019 NBA draft and he signed an extension ahead of the '22-'23 season despite the fact that he had missed the entirety of the previous season and had missed 63 games combined in his first two seasons.

Williamson played in just 29 games after signing the extension, but appeared in a career-high 70 during the 2023-24 season. After missing 52 games last year he bounced back to play in 62 this year which is now the second highest total of his career.

Despite the fact that both sides seem happy, there's not really much reason for optimism. Even when Williamson is healthy like this year, the Pelicans have only made the playoffs with him in the lineup once since he was drafted. On top of that he averaged career lows of 21 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this season.

The results just aren't there. The Pelicans went 26-56 this season, finishing 11 games behind the No. 10 seed Warriors for the final spot in the play-in. Only six teams had a worse record than the Pelicans this season, who went 22-40 in games Williamson played this season. That's still only a 29-win pace with Williamson active, which would not have changed their place in the standings a single spot.

It makes you wonder what they still see in... oh.

Yes, there are still flashes. Zion remains a freak of nature and every now and then you get reminded when he does something like dunk on the alien masquerading as the defensive player of the year like he's not even there.

Other No. 1 Picks and the Playoffs

But the reality is that Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are headed to the playoffs as a No. 2 seed while Zion is missing the play-in. For some comparison, here's how Wemby and Williamson stack up against the other No. 1 picks going back to the season before Williamson was drafted.

No. 1 Pick	Draft Class	Games Played	PPG	RPG	APG	Playoff Series / Won
Deandre Ayton	2018	470	15.8	10.1	1.5	7 / 4
Zion Williamson	2019	276	23.8	6.4	4.1	1 / 0
Anthony Edwards	2020	442	24.6	5.2	4.1	6 / 4
Cade Cunningham	2021	272	22.5	5.4	8.0	2 / 0
Paolo Banchero	2022	270	22.3	7.4	4.8	2 / 0
Victor Wembanyama	2023	181	23.4	11	3.5	**
Zaccharie Risacher	2024	142	11.1	3.7	1.2	**
Cooper Flagg	2025	70	21	6.7	4.5	N/A

** = making playoff debut this season

Considering the two No. 1 picks before Ayton were Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, Williamson's career at least isn't on track to be the worst-case scenario.

When the 76ers gave up on Fultz after just two seasons, that was an extreme reaction. It took the Suns five full seasons to trade Ayton, and they went to the NBA Finals with him as one of their starters. For the most part, when a team drafts a guy No. 1 they hang on for dear life. The Sixers spent five years with Simmons before finally letting go. Karl-Anthony Towns was in Minnesota for nearly a decade, but he's a contributing member of NBA society.

Good or bad, teams don't want to let go of a No. 1 pick. Williamson wanting to be in New Orleans puts all the pressure to make a decision on the team and if they're content in seeing what happens next, that's what is going to happen.

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