Pelicans reorganization is full of doubts: Zion stays at the team? McCollum is waiting to be sold

Although the New Orleans Pelicans sent Williamson to the 2025 NBA lottery ceremony as a representative, they did not close the door to trade this summer.

According to Yahoo Sports reporter Kevin O'Connor, there is "no non-sale product" in the Pelicans lineup and are "evaluating the market" for all the players on the roster. A team that has just experienced a 21-win and 61-los season and has frequent injuries to core players, obviously should not stick to its existing lineup. The Pelicans traded Brandon Ingram in the mid-season to free up cap space for the 2025-26 season to avoid triggering luxury taxes, which also gave them some financial flexibility.

However, there is no sign that Williamson will be traded.

In fact, Sports Illustrated reporter William Gillori wrote an article on May 27 that Williamson, as the representative of the Pelicans' lottery draw ceremony, "has profound meaning", and the two camps "have communicated", and it is "very unlikely" to reach a deal before the start of next season.

For the Pelicans, trying to trade Williamson will be in a dilemma. Due to his long injury history, his transaction value is obviously lower than his peak period.

But it is well known that when Williamson plays healthy, he has a much greater influence on the game than any player in the Pelicans' existing roster. In just 30 starts this season, he averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

Another factor that is beneficial to the Pelicans is Williamson's contract structure: his contract is not completely guaranteed, and he needs to meet multiple benchmarks such as the number of appearances and weight checks, otherwise the amount of protection may be reduced, which makes the team more flexible in operation.

The most likely candidates to be traded in the Pelicans are CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynick. In their health, they are the only two regular starters over the age of 30 and will both enter contract years.

In particular, McCollum's $30.7 million expiration contract may be very attractive to teams with long-term salary space restrictions. In addition, he is still a high-quality player, averaging 21.1 points and a three-point shooting percentage of 37.3%, which further enhances his trading value.

The Pelicans' core roster next season may include Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and the players they selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2025 draft. Jones will celebrate his 27th birthday on October 6, becoming the oldest player in this roster.

Despite the extremely high uncertainty of this roster due to age and injury history, the Pelicans still believe that after a disastrous 2024-25 season, they are moving along the right track, and the potential of the young roster is worth looking forward to.