The Hawks have made concerted efforts to trim the fat off the roster. Hopefully, in preparation for a blockbuster move to finally get the club out of the play-in tier and into the contenders tier, with Zion Williamson a potential target this offseason
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Joe Dumars is finalizing a deal to become the new president of basketball operations for the Pelicans, who just fired David Griffin on Monday. According to NBA insider Shamit Dua, Pelicans ownership will “mandate” Dumars to trade Williamson this summer.
Williamson will make $39.4 million next season after he signed a five-year, $197 million extension with New Orleans in 2022. The Pels went a putrid 21-61 this season, the second-worst record in the Western Conference, but Williamson wasn’t much help, playing only 30 games.
Since being the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, Zion Williamson has played less than 50% of his possible games and has never appeared in a postseason contest. But that’s the only issue. When he’s on the floor, he’s a premier talent.
Williamson averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Pelicans this season while shooting 56.7% from the floor and 65.6% from the free-throw line. Those are right around his career averages.
For the Hawks, the idea of a Trae Young and Zion Williamson pairing is enticing on paper. Williamson has never played with a point guard like Trae, and Young has never played with a finisher like Williamson. It would be a lethal duo, but if you’re the Hawks, you have to wonder about Williamson’s will.
There’s clearly a part of him that struggles with conditioning, staying healthy, and just his overall want to play basketball. Is that because of the Pelicans organization? Williamson did infamously touch the Hawks hat ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft lottery, sparking much speculation that he wanted to come to Atlanta.
However, it’s not like the Hawks are the Celtics or Lakers. Would coming to Atlanta really ignite the fire in Williamson? I’m not sure. Some guys just don’t have the intestinal fortitude to be great, and the Hawks finally seem to have that fire with Trae Young, Quinn Snyder, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Zaccharie Risacher.
Atlanta undoubtedly needs another star to become championship contenders, but I’m not sure Zion Williamson is that star.
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