The Zion Williamson situation has taken almost a complete 180. There was previous speculation that New Orleans could potentially put him on the market, especially after Joe Dumars took over as their primary decision-maker. But Dumars shot down rumors of having a mandate to trade Zion, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic.
"I read that last week, that I had a mandate. I was just like, if I had, no one has called me and told me that," said Dumars.
Not only does Dumars not have a mandate to trade Williamson, but NBA insider Jake Fischer now reports that the Pelicans are not expected to make him available at all this offseason.
The Blazers’ path to landing a star just got a lot more complicated
Although the Pelicans are coming off a disappointing 21-61 and retooled their roster by sending Brandon Ingram to Toronto, it appears they won't be doing a complete roster teardown by trading co-star Williamson as well.
The Pelicans fell to the No. 7 pick in the lottery but will still have a prime opportunity to add another piece around their up-and-coming core, whether it's Jeremiah Fears, Khaman Maluach, Kon Knueppel, or someone else entirely.
Now, the Portland Trail Blazers will have to shift their focus elsewhere as they continue their quest to acquire a star to get them back into the playoffs after missing out four consecutive years. It's a challenging quest for general manager Joe Cronin to navigate because they need to find that missing piece to push them into the playoff conversation, but they can't afford to sacrifice their future by giving up too many valuable young assets.
That's why Williamson was the perfect trade target for Portland -- he presented a potential buy-low opportunity that the Blazers could have taken a flier on due to his injury history. His contract stipulations for weight and games played would have mitigated at least some of that risk, and his injury-proneness could have meant that Portland wouldn't have to pay a premium relative to what it costs to acquire other stars around the league.
In the best-case scenario, Williamson returns to his All-Star level, and the Blazers have a 24-year-old just entering his prime to lead this young core. In the worst case, he can't stay healthy, which is possible for someone who has only exceeded 30 games in four of his six seasons. But then the Blazers can simply wash their hands and move on, restarting from essentially the exact point they are at now.
Unfortunately, this no longer appears to be on the table. And now, the Blazers' offseason gets that much more complicated.
They must land a star, but despite understandable eagerness, it doesn't necessarily have to happen this summer. The Blazers need to be highly selective and make sure the player they go all-in for is the right fit. Otherwise, the premium they'll now have to pay for another star comes with much more risk and could potentially set back their rebuild.