With the NBA Draft coming up next week, teams are prepping for numerous trade scenarios that could occur in the lead-up to Thursday night. There are an unusual amount of teams that are both unsatisfied with their roster and determined to make a serious push next season, which has made the NBA rumor mill more fervent than usual.
The New Orleans Pelicans serve as one of those teams after a season that saw them climb to the No. 1 seed in the West and then completely miss the playoffs. It’s a roster that certainly has the talent to compete, but has been riddled with injuries to their stars. Recently, New Orleans was rumored to be interested in acquiring a top-3 pick to draft phenom point guard Scoot Henderson. A trade of that magnitude would require New Orleans to give up a star-level player, but Shams Charania went on the Pat McAfee Show to reveal that one team wouldn’t want that player to be Zion Williamson.
“To my knowledge the Pelicans haven’t called the Hornets and offered Zion for the number two pick..
The Pelicans want Scoot Henderson and I’m told that the Hornets would want Brandon Ingram” ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/xsSv6YnYYA
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 16, 2023
It’s a bit surprising that Charlotte would prefer Brandon Ingram over Williamson considering what we’ve seen out of the latter when he’s played, but the injury list for Zion has reached an alarming point. The former No. 1 overall pick played in just 29 games last season, and there have been consistent questions about his conditioning. That’s an alarming trend for any franchise interested in a player on a max contract.