Zion Williamson Deemed 'Too Risky' For Trade By West Contender

After the New Orleans Pelicans hired Joe Dumars as their new president of basketball operations, Shamit Dua of In The N.O. reported that the Hall of Famer could trade Zion Williamson this summer. 

Williamson has played in just 45% of his possible games with the Pelicans since being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke. The lefty has never played in a playoff game.

Williamson appeared in 30 games for the Pelicans this season. He averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 56.7% from the field and 65.6% from the free-throw line.

A two-time All-Star, Williamson has career averages of 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 214 games. While there could be teams interested in trading for the forward, Sam Amick and Kelly Iko of The Athletic reported that the Houston Rockets likely won't pursue Williamson. 

"As for Williamson, who has spent the majority of his first six seasons falling short of expectations while experiencing health issues along the way, team sources said the Rockets see him as too risky," Amick and Iko wrote.