NBA rumors: Why Pelicans won't waive Zion Williamson
12/31/2024 02:19 PM
The New Orleans Pelicans have been struggling mightily to open up the 2024-25 NBA season, currently sitting at 5-28, good for the worst record in th entire league. The Pelicans have dealt with a plethora of injuries this season, with stars Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray, and CJ McCollum all missing time.
However, all of those names pale in comparison to yet another extended injury absence to 2019 number one overall pick Zion Williamson, who has been out for over a month with a hamstring injury.
This of course is far from the first time that Williamson has missed a significant chunk of a season due to injury, and some are wondering whether or not the Pelicans may consider cutting their losses by waiving the star in hopes of starting fresh.
However, recently, Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks of ESPN reported on why this isn’t likely a feasible scenario for New Orleans.
“The Pelicans do not consider releasing Williamson to create financial flexibility to be a feasible option, according to sources with knowledge of the franchise’s thinking,” they reported. “The small-market Pelicans know they never have been considered an attractive destination for free agents, so they don’t believe slicing payroll by releasing Williamson would be a realistic path to improving the roster.”
They did report, however, that “the unique structure of his contract could be a valuable tool for the Pelicans.”
Indeed, Williamson’s contract is filled to the brim with several stipulations regarding his injury status and certain weight and body fat percentage milestones, which could make the contract more valuable to a potential trade partner.
A disastrous season for the Pelicans
The Pelicans were expected by many to be a solid, if not championship contending, team in the vaunted Western Conference playoff picture after trading for former Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray this offseason.
However, Murray went down in the very first game with a fractured hand, and that was unfortunately only a sign of things to come for New Orleans.
While Murray has since returned to the lineup, Williamson, McCollum, Ingram, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, and others have all missed significant time for the Pelicans, making it virtually impossible for the team to string together consistent wins so far this season.
In any case, New Orleans will look to pick up their sixth win of the campaign when they next take the floor on New Year’s Day vs the Miami Heat on the road. That game is slated to tip off at 7:30 PM ET.
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