Is Zion Williamson's time in New Orleans nearing its end? 'I could be traded ... that’s just the realism of it'

On March 1, the New Orleans Pelicans took the floor without Zion Williamson. Normally, this wouldn’t be worth highlighting. NBA star misses game isn’t exactly a rare headline these days, and Williamson isn’t exactly known as an ironman.

Except that, leading up to that night, Williamson had played in 35 straight games, a career-best streak. He returned two days later and, despite playing for a Pelicans squad stuck in the Western Conference cellar, hasn’t missed a game since. In a season defined by star players missing games , Williamson — who has played in 59 of the Pelicans’ 76 contests— has, against all odds, become the exception to the rule.

Which brings us to what could be one of the offseason’s most fascinating subplots. (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports Illustration) Only nine months ago, the Pelicans made one of the most aggressive — and, well, questionable — moves in recent draft history. It wasn’t just that the team’s new front office, led by longtime executives Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver, decided to send the 23rd pick and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder to the Atlanta Hawks to move up to No.

13. It was that they did so to grab Maryland forward Derik Queen, a talented but no-defense 6-foot-9 big with an iffy shooting stroke. Or, put another way: Dumars and Weaver seemingly staked their jobs on a prospect who, at best, projects as a tricky fit alongside Williamson.