The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in a difficult situation of having a terrible record and not owning their upcoming first-round draft pick. Moves were made with the intent of the Pelicans trying to compete for a playoff spot this season. However, New Orleans currently holds the worst overall record in the league at 3-22.
Zion Williamson has only played in 10 of the 25 games so far this season and is expected to miss a couple more weeks at the very least. NBA insider Bill Simmons pitched a trade idea of sending Willamson to another struggling team badly needing a change. The Bill Simmons Podcast featured Simmons naming the Los Angeles Clippers as the ideal trade partner.
A trade package of Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins and an unprotected 2030 draft pick is what Simmons believes would appease the Pelicans. Collins and Bogdanovic are contracts that match Willamson’s salary, but the draft pick is the real temptation in this package. The Clippers are currently struggling with an aging roster and could see that pick become a massive asset in five years.
Why Clippers Would Want Zion Willamson
Simmons discussed the overall topic of teams that need to take risks at the trade deadline. The Clippers have a similar problem of not owning their upcoming first round draft pick. Los Angeles expected to contend with the duo of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden leading some noteworthy role players.
A terrible 6-18 record sees the Clippers trending towards having a lottery pick that goes to the dominant Oklahoma City Thunder. Simmons stated that they need to find a team with a top-level talent currently at a low market value. Willamson is the perfect name to fit that formula since he looks great when healthy, but he’s barely on the court.
The logic of Simmons is that the Clippers can keep swinging for the fences and improve their ceiling by risking on Zion’s health. If Willamson can play even 65% of his games for the Clippers, it could help them sneak into the playoffs and have an interesting younger piece for the next few years to gamble on.
Why Pelicans Would Trade Zion Willamson
The controversial trade that sacrificed this season’s draft pick saw the Pelicans sending it to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a package to move up in the 2025 NBA Draft. New Orleans strongly believed in the talent of Derik Queen, and he does look like one of the best rookies so far this season.
However, it makes the season’s embarrassment far worse with the usual saving grace for losing going to another team. Simmons suggests that the Pelicans would just give up since 3-22 is a deep hole to get out of and the team shows little sign of improvement.
New Orleans would take to bite the bullet of the season ending poorly and their pick likely being a great one for Atlanta. The bright spot at the end of the tunnel would be investing in Williamson’s health woes continuing and the Clippers being in a terrible situation by 2030.
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