The former No. 1 pick is already a garbage contract, and the Pelicans will not get any quality picks even if they send him away.

According to US journalist Shamit Dua, many executives in the league believe that the trading value of the New Orleans Pelicans forward star Zion Williamson has been very limited under the current circumstances. If the Pelicans want to send him away, from the current situation, it may only be exchanged for some garbage contracts, and it will not include any high-quality draft picks.

Dua said: This situation in Williamson is easily reminiscent of Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis of the past. Because there are always teams who don’t care about the players’ reputation off the court, as long as they have enough information to be sure that the allegations will not be established and can settle out of court, they can. However, such teams often need to meet two conditions: one is that they have urgent enough demand; the other is that they will not pay any valuable chips. So in this case, the Pelicans can only get some junk contracts at most, and it is almost impossible to get any valuable draft picks. Even if there are, they will only be some last signs. For example, if the Miami Heat were interested in Williamson, the deal they might have given would be Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson in exchange for Williamson and some top players who are used to balance their salary.

In the NBA regular season this season, Williamson played a total of 30 games due to injury, averaging 28.6 minutes per game, averaging 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2.7 fouls, shooting percentage of 56.7%, three-point shooting percentage of 23.1%, and free throw shooting percentage of 65.6%. Williamson's performance this season is actually pretty good. He has also shown good scoring ability. He still has strong impact, explosive power and ending ability at the basket on the offensive end. He also has certain passing ability and organizational ability. However, the problem is that Williamson's attendance rate is still a mess, his playing style still cannot keep him at a stable attendance rate, his stability in outside shooting is still seriously insufficient, and his performance on the defensive end is not satisfactory, and he cannot provide enough help and support to the team on the court.

Considering that Williamson's contracts in the next few years are all maximum salary contracts, and his role in the team and his influence on the game are very limited, and his injury risks are so serious, such players should not be very interested in most teams. The most critical issue is that it is difficult for him to be regarded as the core of the Pelicans' future team building. With him building a team, the team is likely to be unable to succeed. In this case, how should the Pelicans deal with his contract?