Pelicans’ Zion Williamson on future: ‘I could be traded… that’s the realism of it’

Pelicans star Zion Williamson isn’t ignoring the noise. He’s acknowledging it.

Speaking to Yaron Weitzman of Yahoo Sports, Williamson addressed the possibility of being moved this offseason.

“New Orleans is home for me. It’s where I want to be,” Williamson said. “But at the end of the day, if we’re going to be realistic about it, the NBA is a business. I could be traded in the offseason, or I could be traded before [next season’s] trade deadline. Not that I want that to happen. But that’s just the realism of it.”

That’s pretty direct.

Williamson, the No. 1 pick in 2019, has yet to appear in a playoff game, largely due to injuries. He’s still been productive when available, averaging 21.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season.

New Orleans is headed toward a second straight missed postseason. So yes, questions are coming.

“Right now it’s about, just, self-identity,” Williamson said. “We know what we want to do and how we want to grow… I feel like we’re taking a step in the right direction because at the moment we can only control what we can control.”

There’s still belief internally. The Pelicans have a young core that includes Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen, Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones and Saddiq Bey.

On paper, it works. In reality, it hasn’t translated yet.

Williamson is eligible for an extension this offseason and is set to make $42.2 million next season. He doesn’t have a no-trade clause. So the door is open.

“I feel like I’ve shown enough this year to be able to say, like, ‘This is what it’s gonna look like,’” Williamson said. “Even when I did have an injury… I was back in two and then went on a long stretch of consecutive games.”

That may be the biggest factor of all. Production has never been the issue. Everything else still is.