Pelicans top trade deadline priority hints at inevitable outcome for Zion Williamson

The New Orleans Pelicans are 5-28. We see plenty of bad NBA teams every year, but we haven't seen a collapse quite like this in a while.

Lest we forget, the Pelicans were supposed to be good this season — a contender, even! New Orleans won 49 games last season and finished eighth in the West, then traded for Dejounte Murray in an effort to boost an ostensibly deep and talented rotation.

The story of this season is not very complicated. New Orleans has been ravaged by injuries, with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, and Trey Murphy all spending extended time out of commission. Naturally, however, the focus has been on Zion, whose career to date is defined not by his on-court exploits, but by his inability to suit up on a consistent basis.

Williamson's contract is the most unique in basketball — five years, $197 million, but riddled with injury protections and escape hatches for a weary Pelicans front office. Games missed have already rendered the final two years of Zion's remaining contract non-guaranteed. His salary for next season, as of this writing, is only 20 percent guaranteed, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.

How the Pelicans proceed from here is unclear, but Zion's immediate future does not appear to be in much doubt. New Orleans is going to keep him through the trade deadline, because that's really the only thing to do.

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Pelicans want to trade Brandon Ingram, but don't expect similar fate for Zion Williamson

Finding a trade for Brandon Ingram is "the priority" for New Orleans at the trade deadline, per ESPN. Extension talks have repeatedly stalled and there does not appear to be an amiable path forward for Ingram in a Pelicans uniform.

That is hardly unexpected news, but it does drive home the simple truth of New Orleans' situation. The Pelicans aren't going to find a taker for Zion right now. He's too volatile an asset. As such, their best path forward is to try and build a more cohesive and sustainable group around him — or, at the very least, to the set the table for a teardown when a more opportune escape plan does arise.

As one Pelicans source told ESPN: "Let's ramp [Zion] up and create value for him, whether that's with the Pelicans or another team."

Williamson is currently listed as week-to-week, but he returned to practice at the end of December and could be back on the floor before long. When he's healthy, Zion still dominates like a top-20 NBA player. In six games this season, the former No. 1 pick is averaging 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on .452/.333/.667 splits. That rests well below his usual standards, but it's not nearly enough of a sample size to draw substantiative conclusions from.

There are sensible landing spots for Zion if he gets traded or cut, but the Pelicans can't afford to cut ties without receiving something of value in return. For all his faults and the general misfortune of his circumstances, Williamson is a truly special talent. Right now, it's unclear if the Pelicans could even get a single first-round pick for him. As Bobby Marks notes in his report, New Orleans is not a free agent destination, and therefore won't benefit much from just shedding salary without a replacement in place.

For better or worse, Zion and the Pelicans are stuck in this marriage for now. It sure feels destined to blow up in the most unceremonious of ways, but New Orleans does not have a viable way out — yet.