Zion Williamson Trade Odds: Will Pelicans Move Star Before The 2026 NBA Deadline?

By Josh Markowitz

Jan 26th, 2026 5:39 PM EST

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When the New Orleans Pelicans selected Zion Williamson with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, he arrived with the promise of becoming a franchise-changing superstar that could immediately help ease the pain of having to trade Anthony Davis. While Williamson has made two All-Star teams and holds a career average of 24.3 points per game, he has appeared in only 246 games and the Pelicans are 221-299 (a .425 winning percentage) over the six and a half seasons he has spent with them.

Now, the organization faces a crossroads as it sits with a 12-36 record this season, the third worst mark in the league ahead of only Indiana and Washington but lacks a first-round pick in the upcoming loaded 2026 draft thanks to last year’s Derik Queen trade.

As the 2026 NBA trade deadline approaches, Zion Williamson continues to surface in league chatter, but recent reporting indicates the Pelicans have been telling teams they plan to keep Zion through February 5th. Still, after recent shakeups around the league, a few clubs have been loosely linked as “monitoring” options if New Orleans pivots late. Bookies.com has developed hypothetical odds on where Williamson could land if a deal materializes before the deadline. Here’s who could be primed to add Zion under the right circumstances:

Bookies.com has surveyed the landscape and created hypothetical NBA odds as to where Zion plays his home games the rest of the season.

Zion Williamson Next Team Odds

Projected odds set by Bookies.com are not currently available at legal sportsbooks or betting apps. This page will be updated should odds become available.

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Williamson was considered a can’t-miss NBA superstar after two years in high school. The hype never relented. He played just one season at Duke, where he was a mainstay on “SportsCenter” and on Instagram pretty much each time the Blue Devils played. When the Pelicans won the NBA draft lottery to secure his rights, it was party time once again in New Orleans.

Will New Orleans Trade Zion Williamson?

Williamson remaining in New Orleans until at least the offseason still looks more likely than a pre-deadline swap.  He, Queen, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Jeremiah Fears are all supposedly unavailable in deals right now according to reports, though keeping all five would significantly hinder the Pelicans’ ability to recoup future assets at the deadline. 

However, if one of this group does get dealt, Williamson makes the most sense to move as Queen and Fears are both rookies and Murphy and Jones are both on much more team friendly deals.

Were Zion to leave New Orleans the expected top suitors all come from the Eastern Conference.  Any team acquiring Williamson would have him under contract for two more seasons at just over $87 million total.

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Keep Eye on Bulls, Heat For Zion

Chicago stands out as the most likely partner after recent reports of contact between the Bulls and Pelicans over both Williamson and second year center Yves Missi.  The Bulls have a bevy of expiring contracts to offer that could allow New Orleans to gain considerably more future financial flexibility.  The biggest question is whether salary relief alone is enough to motivate the Pelicans to move Williamson as the Bulls seem reluctant to part with the picks New Orleans covets.

The Miami Heat are another team to watch in the Williamson sweepstakes given their frequent pursuit of star power.  While the Heat would prefer to pluck Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks that is a far harder deal to execute.  Williamson would be an interesting option to pivot to at the same position with his explosiveness, finishing skills and free-throw generation ability.

Fresh off of trading for Trae Young, the Washington Wizards could have another opportunity to buy low on a former All-Star if they make a move for Williamson.  The Wizards can easily absorb his contract and it would give them a piece to lean on with some upside as their young core develops if he remains healthy.  Washington also has a stash of future picks that would interest New Orleans as well as some young players they could consolidate.

Both New York teams also provide intriguing options for Williamson.  Zion’s desire to play in New York has long been rumored, though the Knicks and Nets offer vastly different situations.  The Knicks are an established team hoping to contend in the playoffs whereas Brooklyn is in the midst of a rebuild with the league’s youngest roster.  A Knicks trade for Williamson would be for shakeup purposes as the team is currently slumping while the Nets would acquire him for reasoning akin to the Wizards.

About the Author

Josh Markowitz

More About Josh

Josh Markowitz is a freelance writer for Bookies.com. He is a lifelong sports fan with an emphasis on basketball, football, baseball and the scouting/evaluation process. A graduate of Elon University's School of Communications, Josh also has experience in television production.

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