The New Orleans Pelicans ownership want new GM Joe Dumars to explore a trade for injury-stricken Zion Williamson in the offseason.
Zion Williamson trade news: Joe Dumars to explore moving two-time All-Star
The Pelicans fired their previous head of basketball operations David Griffin on Monday and the team are looking to Hall of Famer Joe Dumars as his replacement.
Dumars, currently serving as the NBA’s executive vice president, is expected to step into the role by the end of the week and Pelicans ownership have his first task lined up.
Led by Gayle Benson, the board of directors at New Orleans want Dumars to seriously consider trading two-time All-Star Zion Williamson.
Williamson, drafted with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, has played in just 45% of Pelicans games since entering the league and hasn’t featured once in the postseason.
When healthy, the 24-year-old is without doubt one of the most exciting talents in the country but keeping him on the floor has been a struggle and the Pelicans are ready to pull the plug.
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In 30 games this season, Williamson averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 57% shooting from the floor as New Orleans finished with one of the worst records in the league (21-61).
Another task on Dumars’ radar as GM is to decide whether or not to retain head coach Willie Green following the second-worst season in franchise history – but it’s fair to say he wasn’t dealt a fair hand.
Across Williamson’s five seasons in the league he has played 30 or fewer times in three and despite the upside of having a player of his quality, it may not be worth the consistent disappointment of his availability.
He suffered an early season hamstring injury which forced him to sit on the sidelines for 27 straight games from November to January – but after returning he averaged career-highs in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
