Pelicans' GM Joe Dumars just stated that the franchise has no intention of trading its star, Zion Williamson, despite all the turmoil it has experienced in recent years.
Unfortunately for Dumars, when your two best players can't seem to click with each other, change is often inevitable—and that's exactly what's happening in the Louisiana bayou.
Derik Queen and Zion Williamson are ice and fire
Besides Williamson, Derik Queen is unquestionably one of New Orleans' core assets.
Having paid top dollar to the Atlanta Hawks to acquire the youngster last summer, it's easy to see that Pels executives—at least last year—had an immense amount of faith in Queen to be a quintessential part of their future.
Queen's minutes began to falter as a pit formed in the stomach of the Pelicans thanks to a tragic realization—Queen and Zion can't coexist.
In Zion's minutes without Queen, the Pels finished with a +2.0 Net Rating in over 1,000 minutes. Vice versa, and Queen led the Pels to a respectable -4.1 Net Rating in over 1,000 minutes. Together, the two played nearly 700 minutes with a putrid -12.9 Net Rating.
Zion has meshed far better with the more defensive-oriented, bouncy rim protector Yves Missi, generating overwhelmingly better results.
By themselves, Queen and Zion can scorch and chill defenses. Together, they fizzle out in categorically unimpressive fashion.
Joe Dumars has stated that he believes Queen and Williamson need time to gel together, a la Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Unfortunately for Dumars, these players are nowhere akin to those two defensive-minded wings, who can easily thrive with each other. Two ball-dominant interior scorers have always struggled to produce in tandem.
With Zion seemingly being the odd man out in a young Pelicans squad, Atlanta would have to ask themselves one elephantine question—do they believe Z can stay healthy if they wish to make a push for him?
Zion's health isn't nearly as red a flag as it was last year for Hawks
Zion's health has taken a sharp turn. As soon as this season began, he was visibly in much better shape, allowing him to play in an astonishing 62 games this season. While his numbers may have dipped due to splitting opportunities with Queen and restricting his minutes due to load management, he's still as dominant as ever on a per-minute basis.
Atlanta could make a sneaky push to trade for Zion at next year's deadline when the Pelicans inevitably realize they have to pick a direction. What would you do if you were in New Orleans' shoes? Trade Zion before it's too late, or trade the youngster you just paid a premium price for a year and a half prior?
The Hawks could add a premium scorer for a potentially cheap price, if New Orleans becomes desperate enough at the deadline. Having already advanced to a top-6 finish with two incoming first round picks and ample cap space on the horizon, Atlanta could not be any more enticing of a destination for a star on the move next year.
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