The Los Angeles Lakers are seemingly always involved in the rumor mill when it comes to star players potentially being traded, and New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is one of the latest names added to that list.
There are several reasons for the Lakers always being talked about when it comes to NBA trade rumors. One of them is that they have historically taken swings for stars who have helped bring them several championships.
With that history of being alongside the Boston Celtics, the most decorated NBA franchise, the Lakers have been an attractive place for players to come play for most of the modern era.
Another part of the allure of playing for the purple and gold is the city of Los Angeles.
In a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith stated that Williamson no longer wants to be in New Orleans and is seeking the bright lights that would come with playing in a bigger market.
“Zion doesn’t want to be in New Orleans, he doesn’t want to be there. He wants to be in a major market like L.A., New York, or whatever, because he wants the marketability,” Smith said.
Should The Los Angeles Lakers Pursue Zion Williamson
While trading for Williamson would generate a ton of buzz and be an exciting name for Laker fans to talk about, the Lakers should steer clear of this one.
Williamson looked like he was going to be the next big thing when he entered the league out of Duke in 2019. Primarily due to his health, Williamson has yet to live up to the hype.
He played just 24 games in 2019-20, missed the entire 2021-22 season, played 29 games in 2022-23, and has just played nine games so far this season after recovering from an injured hamstring.
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The injuries aren’t just plentiful but are almost all lower body ones. A criticism of Williamson throughout his young career has been his conditioning and how that correlates to him being so injury-prone.
Whether that criticism is justified or not is a different matter but the facts are he just can’t stay healthy and that is not what the Lakers need.
Aside from his injury concerns, the fit isn’t ideal. It would almost guarantee that Anthony Davis would play more minutes at center, which isn’t his favorite thing to do and Williamson’s lack of consistent three-point range could make the spacing on offense clogged.