Since becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Zion Williamson has played more than 60 games only twice in his six years in the league, yet the New Orleans Pelicans and new general manager Troy Weaver, just put an insane amount of faith in the former Duke superstar for the 2026 season.
When on the court and as close to the version of Zion Williamson that Duke fans rightfully fawned over for one unforgettable season, Williamson has been one of the more impactful players in the NBA. In 2023-24, he led New Orleans to a playoff berth, averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, and he’s been at his best in an oversized point guard role.
Well, he won’t be playing that role much anymore after Weaver swung a trade with the Washington Wizards on Tuesday that essentially exchanged CJ McCollum for a more ball-dominant guard in Jordan Poole and then drafted Jeremiah Fears out of Oklahoma at No. 7 overall. Puzzling moves, especially in tandem, but certainly defensible. Then, Weaver, who has spent most of his career drafting in the lottery and keeping teams stuck there across his previous stints in Detroit and Washington, made an unfathomable draft-night trade that makes 2026 the most pressure-packed year of Williamson’s career.
The Atlanta Hawks are trading the No. 13 pick in the Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first round pick (most favorable of New Orleans and Milwaukee), sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2025
New Orleans needs Zion healthy to avoid disaster in 2026 NBA Draft
New Orleans traded up from the 23rd pick to No. 13 overall to select Maryland center Derik Queen, a positionally redundant playmaking forward who operates in the same spaces on the floor as Williamson and shares similar concerns on the defensive end, but that’s not what makes the decision so utterly confounding. Weaver gave up the Pelicans’ unprotected 2026 first-round pick to go get him.
In a league where Kevin Durant was moved from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets, and the Boston Celtics have begun to dismantle their roster just two years removed from winning the 2024 NBA Title, this trade could become an afterthought, but it could end up being the most consequential.
The trade technically is for the best pick between the Pelicans and the Bucks, but with Giannis Antetokounmpo staying put in Milwaukee, it’s likely to be New Orleans’ own, especially if Williamson fails to stay healthy, which at this point is the expectation.
Not only did Weaver add players who detract from Williamson’s best skill sets as a grab-and-go forward in transition and an oversized half-court offensive initiator, but he forfeited his team’s safety net to do it. New Orleans has held firm to Williamson throughout his rocky NBA career, but this trade could leave the Pelicans with no choice but to eventually move on from their franchise’s biggest star if 2025-26 doesn’t go to plan in a loaded Western Conference.