Mar 30, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, wearing street clothes and hat, smiles as his team gains a lead late during the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Pelicans Executive Gets Honest On Zion Williamson's Future

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 7:06 PM ET

The New Orleans Pelicans have been one of the most puzzling teams this offseason, especially with all the different reports coming out on them. While it seemed as though the team was exploring trade options for wings Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, it now seems as though they remain in the long-term plans of the franchise.

After drafting both Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen in the lottery this offseason, questions still continue to circle around the future of Zion Williamson in New Orleans. A dominant player when healthy, he's lacked availability throughout his career. Speaking with the Pelicans executive, Spotrac's Keith Smith got the intel on where the organization stands with him.

Zion Williamson last season:

24.6 PPG
7.2 RPG
5.3 APG
1.2 SPG

Did it in under 30 minutes per game. pic.twitter.com/aAj3wpzbT3
— StatMuse (@statmuse) July 5, 2025

“Zion is still our guy. If he wasn’t, we could have waived him for like nothing on the books. We could have reset everything. But we believe in Zion. He wants to make it work, and so do we. This partnership hasn’t even come close to reaching our best yet,” the Pelicans front office executive told Smith.

Williamson was impressive in the games he played this past season, averaging 24.6 points and 7.2 rebounds on 56.7% shooting from the field. He even managed to log his first two career triple-doubles, showing that he can be a facilitator if needed.

Zion Williamson has become one of the most underrated players in the NBA. When he’s on the floor and healthy he’s one of the best and most dominant players in the league. pic.twitter.com/iKMbPtQrMH
— Will Rucker (@Will_Rucker3_AD) July 18, 2025

Looking at his contract, Williamson is under contract through the 2027-28 season. However, Williamson's contract is easy for the Pelicans to get out of due to its non-guaranteed nature. But for now, it looks as though the Pelicans will try to build around their former first-overall pick.

This article first appeared on New Orleans Pelicans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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