Will Pelicans Move Zion Williamson to Land Scoot Henderson?

The Pelicans have an eye for G League Ignite point guard Scoot Henderson, per multiple reports and as we relayed right here.

But in order to land Henderson, the Pelicans would have to move up in the draft. Right now, they sit at No. 14 overall. To ensure they landed Henderson, they would likely have to move up to No. 2, the pick owned by the Hornets. 

That wouldn’t come easily. So the question among insiders is, how badly do the Pelicans want Henderson? Badly enough to move former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, a fantastic talent at power forward — but also an injury-prone talent.

“The Pelicans have had some cursory discussions (about moving up), from what I’ve been told. There haven’t been any offers made necessarily yet,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Get Up. “But it makes you really not take too far of a leap to wonder – and the league is certainly wondering – if the Pelicans are going to make, for the first time truly, Zion Williamson available ahead of next week’s draft. To get up to that level in the top five, you’d have to consider a player of this caliber.

“… I don’t know if anything’s going to truly develop there, but I think it’s fair to say based on my conversations, there’s an eye being kept toward whether the Pelicans would make Zion Williamson available.”

Meanwhile, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that the Pelicans would indeed be willing to move Williamson in a deal for the No. 2 pick.

Stein’s source cited the a “rising level of exasperation” from the Pelicans over Williamson’s inability to stay on the court. That very thing, though, could keep the Hornets from wanting Williamson in a trade.

Some have theorized that if Charlotte were to make a with New Orleans, they would prefer it be centered around forward Brandon Ingram. But all of that said, we don’t even know if the teams have talked yet.

Still, with all the chatter about the Pelicans taking place, there must be something going on — or at least being considered. And it’s become abundantly clear that they like Henderson. Whether they have the means to draft him, well, we shall see.

The NBA Draft is a week from Thursday.