Day: June 16, 2023

While there have been some reporting to suggest the New Orleans Pelicans will not entertain trading Zion Williamson, but Brian Windhorst of ESPN suggests there have been a surprising level of discussions involving the All-Star.

“It’s surprising to me how out there it is in the league that the Pelicans are discussing Zion business,” said Windhorst on his podcast. “I want to be very careful about the word ‘offer’ because that word is a dangerous word. I’m not sure the Pelicans have ‘offered’ Zion to anybody, but every day that passes over the past five or six days, I hear different discussions the Pelicans have had that implies they are going to make Zion available. Him or Brandon Ingram. I wouldn’t rule out anything I guess, but the events of the last six months with Zion are what they are.”

The Pelicans have been strongly linked with interest in trading up for Scoot Henderson.

“It is extraordinarily out there about how much the Pelicans are interested in Scoot Henderson. To the point where I’m like, ‘How is this out there so hard unless the Pelicans want it out there?’

“So I’m nervous about giving that attention, but it is still there.”

While the Pelicans may be high on Henderson, there does appear to have been a change in how they view Williamson’s future with the franchise at this point.

“The Zion thing is there,” said Windhorst. “At the very least, it is very clear that the Pelicans’ thought on Zion Williamson’s future with the team is evolving. That’s putting it mildly.”

Williamson and the Pelicans haven’t been on the same page for much of his tenure with the team and that appears to be the case currently.

“There is no relationship between Zion and the organization,” added Windhorst. “And minimal relationship between Zion and his teammates, from what I understand.”

The NBA will issue a 25-game suspension to Ja Morant.

Morant was seen flashing a gun on Instagram Live this offseason following an eight-game suspension for a similar incident at a nightclub in Colorado.

Morant met with Adam Silver in March after leaving his brief stay at a counseling program in Colorado.

The suspension will come with conditions for his return and it will cost him $7.6 million. Morant is beginning a five-year, $194 million extension he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2022 offseason.

“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” said Silver in a statement released on Friday. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.

“For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”

Michael Jordan is finalizing a sale of the Charlotte Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. The sale will end Jordan’s 13-year run as the majority owner of the Hornets.

Plotkin is currently a minority owner of the Hornets, while Schnall is a minority owner of the Hawks. The sale is expected to be approved in the coming weeks, with Plotkin and Schnall becoming the Hornets co-governors. After the NBA completes the vetting process, the NBA Board of Governors is expected to vote to approve the sale.