From the off-season expectations to the mid-season reality, the Pelicans have found themselves in a contrasting spot. Honestly, I felt that the Pels would become another competitive team in the West with the inclusion of Dejounte Murray. But the season went horribly wrong, as the team’s core players kept getting injured one after the other. Now, after the recent Murray turmoil, the team may fail to keep the promise that they had given to Zion Williamson.

We have to get to the bottom of the promise in order to better understand it. So, in 2019, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson joined the New Orleans team, marking the beginning of a chapter in Pels basketball. Trusting the young blood, the front office decided to build a team around them.

Over the years, the team has recruited impressive assets like Trey Murphy III, CJ McCollum, and Herb Jones. However, things didn’t go as planned, as Ingram and Zion struggled to stay healthy for most of the period. In the meantime, the assets became expensive, leaving the team to hit the second apron and pay $1.4 million in luxury taxes. Despite having a stacked roster, the team seemed to have less desire to pay the luxury tax.

So, the only option left for them is to trade one of their core talent and have a flexible purse. Moreover, with Brandon Ingram traveling with an expiring contract, the star forward ultimately became the easy target to get traded out. Zion Williamson, despite a shaky career riddled with injuries, seemed to have a lifeline. However, it may go crashing down, as the Charlotte Hornets have inquired the Pels about Williamson’s availability, as per NBA Insider Evan Sidery.

Moreover, the Pelicans don’t necessarily have to rely on the Hornets to cut their luxury tax, as they have found another way too. Let’s find out.

Can the Pelicans stick with Zion Williamson longer?

Since the 2024 off-season, the team has permanently kept Brandon Ingram on the trade block. The star’s five-year contract worth $158 million will expire in the 2025 summer. Ideally, the team should have extended his contract long back, clearly indicating that the team has given up on him.

So, if the team doesn’t find a suitable trade before the deadline, the Pels will receive nothing in return when Ingram enters the free agency. At the same time, it’s been a painful process for the team to find a suitable buyer for the star, no one’s ready to risk a massive contract on a player who hasn’t proved anything.

While Ingram’s unfortunate situation continues to run, parallelly the team needed to cut down on their $1.4 million luxury tax as well. The team seemed to have found an alternative for that as well. As per John Gambadoro, an NBA analyst, if the team doesn’t find a suitable trade for Ingram, the Pels have a ” cost-cutting trade agreed upon with the Pistons to dip below the tax.” The bottom line is that the Pels have a case to stick with Zion Williamson for longer. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.