The New Orleans Pelicans appear willing to let Zion Williamson play out this season before making any real move on his future.
According to NBA insider Brett Siegel, Williamson is not expected to land an extension this offseason, even though he has two years left on his current deal and is eligible to receive one now. The sense around the situation is that he’ll enter the year without a new contract and will have to prove himself to the Pelicans if he wants to stay, or else try to turn that production into a payday in free agency later on.
That report doesn’t exactly land as a shock, but it does reinforce the idea that New Orleans is not rushing to commit. The Pelicans’ current “two timelines” setup already looks complicated, and Williamson remains the biggest piece in that puzzle.
The decision has never been simple. Williamson has not fully matched the enormous expectations that came with him, but his talent is still obvious enough to keep the conversation alive. At the same time, the roster around him doesn’t look like one ready-made to compete, and there are two clear centerpieces who may still have to come off the bench again.
Joe Dumars has made it clear that he wants to give Williamson and Derik Queen more time to develop together. He has brought up the pairing more than once this offseason and even compared them to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Pelicans have also been open to trade offers for Williamson, at least publicly, but none of those discussions have ever really moved forward.
This will be Williamson’s eighth season in the league, and last year didn’t settle much of anything. He finally started showing more of the right signs, and teammates praised him for the way he handled himself as a leader. The effort level stood out, too.
That applied away from the floor as well, where he worked to stay conditioned and healthy. It was by far his best season in terms of availability, but one healthy year isn’t enough to erase the bigger questions. This season now carries real weight, because it could end up being his last in New Orleans or the year that locks him in there for the long haul.
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Anthony Davis Just Reopened A Painful Pelicans What-If
Anthony Davis has reopened one of the franchises most painful alternate timelines by saying on Draymond Greens podcast that he might have stayed with the Pelicans if they had drafted Ja Morant instead of Zion Williamson. It is the kind of what-if that still hangs over New Orleans, because the Davis era ended with the sense that a different lottery outcome could have changed everything, not just for the roster but for the relationship between the star and the organization.
Davis said he had discussed the idea with David Griffin, though the timeline is hard to square because his trade request came months before the draft lottery. Even so, the remark lands because neither Williamson nor Morant has fully become the franchise-altering answer their teams hoped for, and Davis long ago moved on from New Orleans. What remains is the familiar Pelicans ache of wondering how much differently the story might have gone with one different name at the top of the board. [Read more 🡒]
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Zion Williamsons place in New Orleans has shifted from star centerpiece to a more complicated hold-and-see situation as the Pelicans move through a rebuild. He still has two years left on his current contract, and last season offered a reminder of why the franchise has been willing to keep investing time in him, with 62 games and solid production to show for it.
The issue is less about talent than trust. Williamsons injury history and conditioning questions have hovered over his career, and the Pelicans are not ready to rush into a long-term commitment while the roster gets reset around him. For now, the next season looms as a major evaluation period, with New Orleans watching to see whether he can give the team another full, convincing year before any extension talk gets serious. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Fans May Not Love This Dream Trade Debate
The Pelicans offseason conversation has a familiar ring to it: a talented wing becomes available, his name pops up in trade speculation, and New Orleans is left weighing upside against fit and long-term sense. Michael Porter Jr. checks a lot of the boxes that usually make a team pause and listen. He is coming off a strong season, he is on a one-year contract, and he would give the Pelicans another scorer on the perimeter in a roster that can always use more shot-making.
But this is also the kind of move that can make fans uneasy before it ever gets serious. Porters injury history is part of the equation, and the extension question looms over any pursuit of a player in his situation. Then there is the Trey Murphy III comparison, which makes the debate even trickier for New Orleans, since the Pelicans already have a wing who fills an important role. The idea is intriguing enough to spark discussion, but not necessarily wise enough to chase. [Read more 🡒]