The New Orleans Pelicans have no plans to move on from superstar Zion Williamson despite another round of off-court headlines, and the team made that clear this week.
Speaking exclusively with columnist Rod Walker of NOLA.com, new Pelicans executive VP Joe Dumars affirmed that the team is committed to their embattled former No. 1 overall pick.
"I've had some real honest conversations with him," Dumars said in the report. "Some real direct and honest conversations. We're going to go forward with Zion. He's going to continue to be a focal point here as we go forward."
Those meetings have included lunches and dinners and the pair have spent time watching playoff basketball. Dumars said there have been discussions regarding his availability and what's expected, as well as accountability. Dumars confirmed that sending Zion to the NBA draft lottery as the team's representative was a calculated decision and an indicator of what they expect of the face of their franchise.
Dumars also indicated that the team was expected to stick with head coach Willie Green. The longtime NBA star and Hall of Famer took the Pelicans top job earlier this offseason after the team moved on from David Griffin in that role, who had been with the team since 2019. Williamson was the first draft pick of the Griffin era.
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Dumars, who spent the past several years with the NBA league office, declined to address the civil suit filed recently in an L.A. court that accused Williamson of rape, among other allegations. Zion's legal representatives hit back quickly with a clear statement that labeled the lawsuit as an extortion attempt and that they intended to countersue for defamation. Team owner Gayle Benson did speak on the issue recently, as reported by WWL-TV, with comments suggesting the team does not see the lawsuit as a major concern.
"People can sue you for anything," Benson said. "There's no reason. You can be innocent or not. It's just something that people do, unfortunately."
There has been siginificant buzz that the legal situation could prompt the Pelicans to move on from their embattled star, but the team's statement suggest the opposite. Should they stick with Williamson, it'll be with the hope that he can buck the injury difficulties that have marked his first five NBA seasons. When healthy Willamson has proven to be among the best in the NBA, landing one All-Star game nod and with career averages of 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Over five seasons Williamson has appeared in 214 games, an average of more than 30 games missed per year.
Williamson's fitness has been a near-constant source of criticism, though he did appear to be in the best shape of his career in the 2024-'25 season. That campaign was limited to just 30 games -- with several rest absences later in the season -- as he battled multiple injuries and the team scuffled to its worst season (21-61) since rebranding to the Pelicans. New Orleans finished with the NBA's third-worst record but will pick No. 7 in the upcoming draft due to poor lottery luck.
The Pelicans will go into this next season with major questions after dealing Brandon Ingram to the Raptors in a trade and PG Dejounte Murray expected to miss the start of the year as he works back from a torn achilles.