I went to the New Orleans Pelicans game last Monday. Zion Williamson did not play. As a senior, I have been to about 10 or 12 Pelicans games since coming to Tulane University. Zion Williamson has played in two of them. Granted, both times I saw him play he hit some very impressive shots, but that was only twice. My memories of Zion sitting in a sweatshirt on the sidelines are much easier to recall. 

Last Monday, though, it wasn’t just Zion. Veteran wing CJ McCollum didn’t play either. And neither did big offseason acquisition Dejounte Murray. And, a true rarity, neither did first-team All-Defensive player Herb Jones. So, I was left to watch Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado play with a bunch of guys I had never heard of. They played the outright tanking Brooklyn Nets, whose star player Cam Thomas had a visibly off night.  

It didn’t matter. Thomas came to life in the last few minutes, hit a big step-back 3 and for what felt like the millionth time, I was one of many in a hushed crowd that walked out of the blender having seen Brandon Ingram play his tail off only for the injured Pelicans to lose to a far inferior opponent.  

It seems to me the Pelicans have two paths to take in the coming months on years. I begin with the road we are currently on: 

Option 1: The (Big) Easy way 

This option is essentially the one in which Pelicans management is currently invested. You wait for Zion to finally be healthy. It might not be in 2025, or 2026 or even 2027. But this dude just turned 24, he’s already been an All-Star twice and who knows how much more he could improve in the coming years. When he’s healthy, he looks like a top-10 player in the league with highlights like no other, and last year in the 7-8 play-in game, we saw some of this on display for most of the game. When Zion had Lebron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers legitimately on the ropes, the Pels seemed just moments away from clinching the No. 8 seed. But Zion got hurt at the end of the game. And then they had to be the No. 8 seedwithout Zion, and just like the “Brandon Ingram and Friends” team I saw play last Monday…they lost. Embarrassingly.   

In option 1, we wait for Zion to be healthy. We wait for a play-in game where he doesn’t leave injured, where the Pelicans advance to a non-No. 1 seed opponent, and with a healthy Zion we have just as good a chance as anyone. And now, with Dejounte presumably healthy by April, even without Zion, a team of Dejounte, Herb Jones, B.I. and CJ is a tough out for anyone and could make a little bit of noise…or at least not get swept. In this plan, we play the Zion game.  

Option 2: ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice — you can’t get fooled again’ 

It’s 2024. Zion was drafted over five years ago. What are we waiting for? It’s the same thing every year. New Orleans is a small market and needs playoff success to stay relevant and in Louisiana.  

Here’s what you do: You trade Zion while you still can. Get a huge return, either another star, some serious picks or a combination of both. You may also trade Brandon Ingram; while he is a certified bucket getter, his ability to be the first option on a contending team doesn’t seem legitimate, and he may be too ball-dominant to be a legit second option — see Bradley Beal and James Harden. It’s no diss to Brandon Ingram — he’s an All-Star player who can hand out 30, but his play style limits his role in a way. As far as CJ McCollum, he’s already 33, so I think it would be his choice about whether he’d want to stick around for a retool, or whether he’s gone.  

Even with Zion, Ingram and CJ all potentially traded, this is still a team with Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray. That is an elite young core filled with guys who can hit 3s and make All-Defensive teams. That is one superstar away from being a major problem in the Western Conference. The thing is just that that superstar has to play. Zion hasn’t been playing. Ingram hasn’t been enough. Use the assets you currently have to find someone just as good or better who will play.  

The Pelicans are 4-11 after Tuesday’s game and play the 15-1 Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night, a game that will almost surely see them go to 4-12. The season seems almost already derailed by injuries, and the West is just too loaded to try and limp into the playoffs. Maybe it is time for drastic change, and the Pelicans are in a great position to do just that.