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Pelicans Tank Is Now In Full Effect

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Two weeks remain in the 2024-25 NBA regular season and the New Orleans Pelicans’ tank is in full effect.

On Monday, the Pelicans announced that stars Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum will miss the remainder of the season “due to their respective injuries.” Williamson, who has played just 30 games in 2024-25, sustained a lower back contusion on March 19. McCollum, who has played 56 games this season, “was diagnosed with a right foot bone contusion” less than a week later.

Pelicans Tank Is Now In Full Effect

New Orleans is currently 21-54, 14th in the West.

They currently have the fourth-highest lottery odds. However, they could feasibly drop under the Charlotte Hornets (20-56), who are right below them. This would put them in a three-way tie for the highest odds of landing a No. 1 (52.1 percent) or top-four pick (14.1 percent) in the 2025 NBA Draft.

With that in mind, the Pelicans were 10-20 with Williamson and 17-39 with McCollum this season. That’s nothing to jump for joy over, but they were 11-34 without Williamson and 4-15 without McCollum. That being said, New Orleans objectively has a higher chance of losing games if they don’t play.

That isn’t to say they’ve really been ruled out so that their team can jostle for draft position. However, the Pelicans don’t have any incentive to have them risk further injury. Frankly, that’s not even dependent upon their futures with the team. Whether they wanted to keep one or both of Williamson and McCollum or if they wanted to trade them, they have more value if they’re as healthy as possible heading into 2025-26.

Cooper Flagg Or Dylan Harper?

If the Pelicans get the No. 1 pick, Duke forward Cooper Flagg is all but guaranteed to be taken off the board. There’s definitely some overlap in he and Williamson’s skillsets. Nevertheless, their versatility could –if not should –make for a dynamic pairing. Furthermore, if they do decide to move on from Williamson, having Flagg makes the choice easier to stomach.

If New Orleans lands a top-three pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, their decision could come down to a guard prospect. As previously mentioned, they could replace McCollum or simply use him as a trade chip. However, they could be looking for Dejounte Murray‘s replacement, as he tore his Achilles on Jan. 31. Ideally, said player would have better size, be able to score on- or off-ball, and defend at a high level. With that criteria, Rutgers guard Dylan Harper might come to mind.

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