Zion Williamson to the Hornets is the big-time trade that needs to happen

Buckle up, because things are about to get wild. With the NBA Draft fast approaching it’s becoming increasingly possible that the Pelicans are ready to part ways with Zion Williamson. The once-franchise centerpiece is still one of the most exciting players in the league when healthy, but that simply doesn’t happen enough to get New Orleans to the next level.

It appears the team is looking for consistency and reliability moving forward, two things Zion doesn’t offer at this point. The 2023 Draft might be the last best chance to get a good return for Williamson, and there is a potential franchise-defining player the Pelicans covet: Scoot Henderson.

The initial knee-jerk reaction is to assume this is a ridiculous trade, but it’s a buyer’s market for Zion at this point — especially with a chip like the No. 2 overall pick. Williamson at best is going to give you 25-35 games a season, and unless something dramatic happens with his recovery that’s the ceiling here. If anything the Hornets are taking a more significant risk, but here’s why this makes sense for both teams.

Why would the Hornets do this?

The question for Charlotte is less about whether they’d prefer Scoot or Zion, and more whether they’d prefer Zion over Brandon Miller. It’s extremely iffy to project Scoot Henderson working in the backcourt with LaMelo Ball, with the players not really complementing each other very well. Even the most positive reading of a Scoot/Melo pairing would require an immense amount of coaching creativity to piece it together, which is why a lot of people believe Charlotte would take Miller over Scoot at the No. 2 spot.

Selecting Miller makes sense from a team construction standpoint, but it’s a woefully un-sexy move. This is a team going through an ownership change, with a major need for a pop of starpower — and the allure of putting LaMelo Ball and Zion Williamson together would move the needle in a major way.

We’ve also seen that the new ownership group, which includes North Carolina natives Eric Church and J. Cole wants to evoke a connection to the community. It’s a big PR win to bring Zion, a Charlotte native and former Duke player, back to the Carolinas.

Finally, it proves a point to Charlotte’s biggest star in Melo: Telling him that this team is ready to make big moves to improve the team around him, potentially heading off risk that he’d force a trade to a big market over helping Charlotte rebuild.

There is significant risk here. The Hornets are essentially putting all their eggs into a Melo/Zion future, two players who have injury concerns. However, if this team wants any hope of pulling themselves out of the cellar, they need to take a risk.

Why would the Pelicans do this?

Any Zion trade works off the supposition that New Orleans has lost faith in their star. This is what would push them to get another in return, and Scoot Henderson would be a legitimate No. 1 pick in any draft not involving Wemby.

Scoot fits really nicely in the Pelicans’ current lineup. He’s in a prime position to be an effective rotational player in year one, even start at the point when needed, while giving the team a bridge away from CJ McCollum in the future. A long-term pairing of Scoot Henderson and Brandon Ingram is a compelling duo, with a chance for immediate success with Terry Rozier helping to carry the scoring load lost by trading away Zion.

The Rozier element is more than just salary filler too. He’s had great success being an off-ball guard while letting LaMelo Ball carry the load, so essentially he’d be in the same position in New Orleans, but with Henderson instead of Melo. This could also open up a chance for the Pelicans to trade away McCollum to a contender in a separate deal, getting more assets to build their team for the future.

Could this actually happen?

Absolutely. The weird thing about this trade is that it feels very much like “who says no?” but the answer is “nobody.” If reports are true that the Pelicans are desperate to make a move for Scoot, and Charlotte isn’t sold on the possibility of Henderson working in Charlotte — then why not?

The Hornets aren’t in a position to take a haul of future draft picks for the No. 2 without getting immediate impact in return, and they’re one of the few teams who you could see rolling the dice on Williamson, purely because they are in desperate need of an impact player.

Keep watching both these teams as we approach draft night, because the stage is set for something wild to happen.