Tim Nwachukwu/Getty ImagesThe New Orleans Pelicans appear to be committed to Zion Williamson despite trade rumors involving the 2019 No. 1 overall pick this summer.
New Orleans never had "serious" talks about moving Williamson following the 2022-23 season, according to ESPN's Andrew Lopez.
Williamson had been included in numerous trade rumors leading up to the 2023 NBA draft.
The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania reported on June 12 that the Pelicans were "seriously pursuing" a trade for the No. 2 or No. 3 overall pick with eyes toward selecting Scoot Henderson, which fueled speculation about Williamson's future in New Orleans.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst then reported on June 14 that teams around the NBA were wondering about Williamson's availability ahead of the draft.
The Pelicans ended up not moving up in the draft as Brandon Miller went No. 2 to the Charlotte Hornets and Henderson went No. 3 to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Rumors surrounding Williamson died down after the draft, and Charania reported on July 10 during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that he "wouldn't count on" the big man being traded this offseason.
"I think the potential of him getting traded… a lot of that rested on the Pelicans trying to get in the top two, top three (of the NBA draft)," Charania said.
Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin then said on SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports) on July 16 that the franchise never had trade talks involving Williamson:
"I think what's unfortunate is he is a name that generates clicks no matter what the link says. 'Zion puts on his socks.' People click on that. And so it makes it really easy for people to manufacture rumors around him because they don't have to have any kind of actual credibility behind what they say to generate clicks. And we've, as a society, this isn't true of sports, this is true across all platforms, reality doesn't matter anymore. Generating clicks matters. And so, unfortunately for Zion, he's just, he's an oddity and somebody that people pay a great deal of attention to and manufacture a lot of stories around."We never had a single conversation that Zion was part of. I think people perceive that we would be willing to move off of Zion because of all the injuries, because there's always so much noise around Zion. And fortunately for us, the noise never actually matches what we're really experiencing."Williamson was expected to be a franchise-altering talent when the Pelicans drafted him in 2019, but injuries have ravaged the Duke product's career, casting doubt on if he'll ever be able to play a full season.
The 23-year-old was limited to 24 games as a rookie, as he suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during the preseason and was required to undergo surgery. He missed the first 44 games of the regular season before making his NBA debut.
However, Williamson's knee flared up again at the end of the regular season, and he missed the team's final games with right knee soreness.
During the 2020-21 season, Williamson was limited to 61 games with a sprained thumb and a toe injury. A fractured foot then made him miss the entire 2021-22 campaign.
Williamson returned for the start of the 2022-23 season, but he only appeared in 29 games before missing the remainder of the year with a hamstring injury.
Despite all of the injuries, Williamson has proven he can be highly effective when healthy. In 114 games across four seasons, he's averaging 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent from deep.
Entering 2023-24, the Pelicans are hoping Williamson can remain healthy as they aim to make the postseason for just the second time in six seasons.
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