No. 1 trade for Zion Williamson: Hornets for No. 2 pick
The Pelicans have rumored interest in G-League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, who is a strong candidate to come off the board with the No. 2 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Teams expect the Pelicans to trade Williamson before then, according to Bill Simmons. It’s not hard to connect the dots with Charlotte.
Even with owner Michael Jordan on his way out the door, it’s impossible to ignore his influence over the franchise. He will oversee team operations through draft night and he’s still a massive figure in the Charlotte sports world, which is not a sentence anyone would have anticipated two decades ago.
Zion is a Jordan Brand athlete and, frankly, he’s also just a damn good basketball player. The Hornets have been stuck in purgatory forever and have a shaky-at-best track record in the NBA Draft, with the glaring exception of LaMelo Ball. The Hornets have the chance to add another franchise talent with the No. 2 pick, but Williamson’s ceiling is arguably untouchable.
If he can just stay healthy and motivated, Williamson has a legitimate Best Player in the World upside. It’s getting more and more difficult to visualize the path to that level of stardom, but even the present version of Williamson can single-handedly elevate Charlotte into the postseason mix in the very winnable Eastern Conference.
For many of the same reasons that make Haliburton and Indiana such a prime fit, LaMelo Ball is the perfect Zion Williamson co-star. He’s not ball-dominant, but he’s a genius playmaker who keeps the ball popping and who is more than comfortable bombing deep 3s on the perimeter. His ability to orchestrate and connect dots while Williamson battery-rams his way to the rim would make Charlotte one of the best offenses in the NBA.
The Pelicans get a very safe All-Star bet in Scoot, who would have been the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft in this writer’s book. Gordon Hayward is one big expiring contract. Mark Williams looks the part of a rotational big, something the Pelicans could use, and Kai Jones has untapped upside as a mobile 7-footer with shooting touch.