From The Athletic's Josh Robbins this morning:

"With the Young trade as the template of a low-cost trade for a distressed asset, league sources speculated that New Orleans Pelicans big man Zion Williamson would be someone the Wizards would have to consider if the price is right."

"The Pelicans reportedly have told teams they’re not going to trade Williamson, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen or Jeremiah Fears. As it pertains to Williamson only, however, league sources expressed skepticism to The Athletic about that report."

"League sources said they cannot envision any scenario in which Washington would give up one of its own future first-round picks. But one source speculated that a pick owed to the Wizards, such as the least favorable of the Houston Rockets’ (top-four protected), LA Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2026 first-round picks, might satisfy the Pelicans’ goals."

"To be crystal clear: The Wizards trading for Williamson appears to be an extreme long shot. But it was mentioned as a possibility by enough league sources that it at least should be mentioned here."

What do you think about a potential Zion Williamson trade for the Wizards? Zion is an incredible talent when healthy, but the WHEN HEALTHY there is such a significant component. His games played by year go as follows: 24, 61, 0, 29, 70, 30, 29 (so far of 35 Pelicans games this season).

I loved the Trae trade because he came at a low cost and really fit with what the team needed, in terms of an on-ball facilitator. Trading for Zion, which would probably cost too much, would also significantly limit the minutes that guys like Kyshawn, Will Riley and Bilal should be playing. Additionally, that final piece of the puzzle should be filled by AJ Dybantsa or Cam Boozer, both of whom are seven years younger than Zion.

The Wizards' 2026-27 team should look like this:

Here's the rest of the story from Robbins: