Rumors

The Pelicans are heading into the 2026 offseason as an over-the-cap team. There was an unlikely path to cap space, but it would have required waiving Zion Williamson, whose contract is not fully guaranteed. He now has at least 80 percent of his $42.2 million salary guaranteed as a result of playing 61 games this season. He can get the final 20 percent guaranteed by meeting weigh-ins, but at this point, there is no reason for the Pelicans to waive him. It doesn’t make sense to carry $33.7 million in dead money on their books not to play him.

Third Apron

It's fair, then, to wonder if the Pelicans might trade Williamson this offseason. According to Pelicans executive vice president Joe Dumars, though, that is not the plan. "Listen, we have no intentions of doing that," Dumars told reporters Tuesday. "We're going into the offseason looking forward to Zion coming back next year and playing great again next year."

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Asked about the fit between Williamson and Queen, Dumars more or less laughed off the concerns without addressing the specific strengths and weaknesses of the two players. "Just in general, the question in general, I always kind of chuckle when I hear people say, 'Well, can they play together?'" Dumars said, citing how "people questioned (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown" and then made a reference to his own playing career. "I was laughing this morning, like, I didn't know if I could fit with Isiah (Thomas) or not, but I knew we both had great IQs and we'd figure it out," Dumars said. "And sometimes you gotta let players figure it out. It can't just be, 'Well, they can't play together.'"

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Pelicans Film Room: "I was really proud of him this year... I know I saw a guy that there were several times I thought we wouldn't have him that night and he said no, I'm coming. I'm gonna show up" -- Joe Dumars tells two stories about Zion's season

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Pelicans Film Room: "Having someone like Joe, Hall of Famer... I'll put myself under his wing. Gaining any basketball knowledge I can from him and using my resources to reach out to other Hall of Famers... This is gonna be a different summer how I approach it" -- Zion Williamson on summer plans

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New Orleans Pelicans: "New Orleans is home for me. A lot of guys, when the offseason hits, they leave the city. I live here. I stay here in the city. I go out to do different things to get to know the city better. This is home for me. I have been here since I was 19 years old," - Zion Williamson

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Erin Summers: James Borrego said Herb Jones, Zion Williamson and Saddiq Bey will dress tonight vs Utah but likely will not play #Pelicans

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Bobby Marks: Zion Williamson has now played in 61 games. The salary protection next season will increase from $25.3M to $33.7M. Williamson has weight incentives tied into the remaining $8.4M of his non-guaranteed salary. There is a likelihood his $42.2M salary next season becomes fully guaranteed.

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MrBuckBuck: Zion Williamson learns the hard way why Toumani Camara is the best in the league in drawing charge fouls this season, as he falls for it 4th foul in the 3rd quarter for Zion at this point of the game THIS WAS Camara's 100th drawn offensive foul of the season—a single-season NBA record since the stat began to be tracked in 2005-06.

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To this point, according to a source close to Williamson, neither Williamson nor anyone in his camp has been given any indication that his time in New Orleans is nearing an end (both Dumars and Weaver declined interview requests). And yet, the awkward fit with Queen, combined with how deeply Dumars and Weaver are now invested in his success — the 2026 pick the Pelicans owe Atlanta as part of the Queen trade currently has a 32% chance of landing in the top four of a draft that scouts say features a loaded class — has many executives around the league assuming that Williamson, who is extension-eligible this offseason, will soon be on the market. Williamson is aware of the situation. “New Orleans is home for me. It’s where I want to be,” he said in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports when asked whether he thinks his time with the Pelicans is winding down. “But at the end of the day, if we're going to be realistic about it, the NBA is a business. I could be traded in the offseason, or I could be traded before [next season’s] trade deadline.” “Not that I want that to happen,” he added. “But that’s just the realism of it.”

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On the other hand, Williamson remains a non-rebounding poor defender who has eclipsed the 30-games-played mark just three times in his seven-year career and whose usage and assist numbers have both dipped this season. Combine that with his injury history and contract — which guarantees him $42.2 million next season and, if he hits certain incentive markers, possibly $45 million the year after — and, in the eyes of some, he becomes too risky a proposition in the NBA’s apron era. “Right now he’s a borderline All-Star who makes a lot of money,” said a Western Conference executive. “That’s the sort of player a lot of teams are now avoiding.”

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None of that would matter, though, if Williamson weren’t able to remain on the floor. And it’s here where opinions once again diverge. Most of the executives and coaches Yahoo Sports spoke to outside of the Pelicans organization remained dubious. Some attribute his health to his incentive-laden contract in which his salary only becomes guaranteed if he plays a certain number of games. Others see the combination of his size and the force with which he plays as a combination destined to break his body. Others simply don’t believe one healthy season erases four injury-riddled ones. Williamson understands the skepticism. But, he said, “I feel like I've shown enough this year to be able to say, like, ‘This is what it's gonna look like.’ Even when I did have an injury (he strained his hip in early December), I was projected to miss four to six weeks, and instead I was back in two and then went on a long stretch of consecutive games.”

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Zion Williamson: “We have a lot of talent on this team. I feel like we had some growing pains at the beginning of the year because we were trying to maximize everybody. We had some first-year guys, some new guys to the team, guys returning from injury. But I feel like since everybody’s returned from injuries or stuff like that, post All-Star break, I would say we’ve been doing very well with realizing that any night can be any guy’s night. We’re supportive of it, and everybody here just wants to see everybody eat.”

TalkBasket

Zion Williamson is slimmer and healthier for his trip to MSG. The “freak of nature,” as Josh Hart called Williamson, appeared in 45 of the past 46 games before Tuesday night’s showdown against the Knicks. It’s a noteworthy accomplishment for a player whose path toward superstardom was derailed by injuries and DNPs. “Extremely talented,” Hart, who was teammates with Williamson for 1 ½ seasons in New Orleans, told The Post. “When he’s locked in and he’s focused, he’s one of probably 15 or 20 top players in the league, if not better.”

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