Is Zion Williamson’s time in New Orleans nearing its end? ‘I could be traded … that’s just the realism of it’

On March 1, the New Orleans Pelicans took the floor without Zion Williamson. Normally, this wouldn’t be worth highlighting. NBA star misses game isn’t exactly a rare headline these days, and Williamson isn’t exactly known as an ironman.

Except that, leading up to that night, Williamson had played in 35 straight games, a career-best streak. He returned two days later and, despite playing for a Pelicans squad stuck in the Western Conference cellar, hasn’t missed a game since. In a season defined by

To this point, according to a source close to Williamson, neither Williamson nor anyone in his camp has been given any indication that his time in New Orleans is nearing an end (both Dumars and Weaver declined interview requests). And yet, the awkward fit with Queen, combined with how deeply Dumars and Weaver are now invested in his success — the 2026 pick the Pelicans owe Atlanta as part of the Queen trade currently has a 32% chance of landing in the top four of a draft that scouts say features a loaded class — has many executives around the league assuming that Williamson, who is extension-eligible this offseason, will soon be on the market.

Williamson is aware of the situation.

“New Orleans is home for me. It’s where I want to be,” he said in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports when asked whether he thinks his time with the Pelicans is winding down. “But at the end of the day, if we’re going to be realistic about it, the NBA is a business. I could be traded in the offseason, or I could be traded before [next season’s] trade deadline.”

“Not that I want that to happen,” he added. “But that’s just the realism of it.”

The question then becomes: Should the prospect of adding Williamson excite other teams?

On the one hand, you have a not-yet-26-year-old former No. 1 pick and two-time All-Star coming off a healthy season in which he ranks among the league’s most efficient isolation scorers. That’s not the profile of a player who typically hits the market.

“He’s on another level in terms of his drives,” New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown said recently. “It takes all five guys being in the right position to try to make it tough on him, and you still may not even be able to make it tough on him. He’s that powerful, athletic, strong.”

On the other hand, Williamson remains a non-rebounding poor defender who has eclipsed the 30-games-played mark just three times in his seven-year career and whose usage and assist numbers have both dipped this season. Combine that with his injury history and contract — which guarantees him $42.2 million next season and, if he hits certain incentive markers, possibly $45 million the year after — and, in the eyes of some, he becomes too risky a proposition in the NBA’s apron era.

“Right now he’s a borderline All-Star who makes a lot of money,” said a Western Conference executive. “That’s the sort of player a lot of teams are now avoiding.”

Peek beneath the hood, though, and there are reasons to believe Williamson could rediscover his All-NBA form.

For one, the dip in some of his numbers may simply be a function of how the Pelicans have deployed him this season. “We’ve used Zion in more off-ball actions than he’s ever been a part of before,” Borrego said. “We’ve tried moving him around a bit to make it harder for defenses to load up on him.”

Williamson may be running fewer pick-and-rolls and posting up less frequently, but you can see the upside of Borrego’s decision in other metrics. Williamson is turning the ball over at a career-low rate. His efficiency from the floor is back at his prime-Zion levels. And his drives? “Some of his takes to the rim are unguardable,” was how an executive who recently watched Williamson described him.

None of that would matter, though, if Williamson weren’t able to remain on the floor. And it’s here where opinions once again diverge. Most of the executives and coaches Yahoo Sports spoke to outside of the Pelicans organization remained dubious. Some attribute his health to his incentive-laden contract in which his salary only becomes guaranteed if he plays a certain number of games. Others see the combination of his size and the force with which he plays as a combination destined to break his body. Others simply don’t believe one healthy season erases four injury-riddled ones.

Williamson understands the skepticism. But, he said, “I feel like I’ve shown enough this year to be able to say, like, ‘This is what it’s gonna look like.’ Even when I did have an injury (he strained his hip in early December), I was projected to miss four to six weeks, and instead I was back in two and then went on a long stretch of consecutive games.”

That, he believes, was no accident. In the offseason, Williamson began working with a new trainer. “Before, I’d get treatment and do basic stuff like table time,” Williamson said. “But now it’s things like hyperbaric chambers and red light chambers.” His teammates say they notice a difference. “He’s taking the management of his body more seriously than ever before,” Trey Murphy said. What Borrego points to, though, is that not only has Williamson played the majority of games this season, but “we haven’t even had to have a single conversation where I have to go and ask him if he’s in. He’s fully bought in.”

Is all that enough to convince another team to take a flyer? Maybe a playoff team stuck in purgatory and in desperate need of a ceiling-raiser. Or maybe a bottom-feeder that strikes out in the lottery and needs something else to sell to its fans. Or maybe, in the end, the Pelicans, who have more insight on Williamson than anyone else, decide that this post All-Star break upswing is real and that it’s worth keeping their best player around.

“Right now it’s about, just, self-identity,” Williamson said when asked about the Pelicans’ late-season turnaround. “We know what we want to do and how we want to grow going into the offseason and leading into next season.

“I feel like we’re taking a step in the right direction because at the moment we can only control what we can control,” Williamson added. He was referring to the team, but he might as well have been speaking about himself.

MLB umpire Mark Wegner makes crucial mistake that cost Red Sox in loss vs. Astros: ‘I’ve never done that before’

Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello had a tough night on the mound against the Houston Astros on Tuesday. Bello gave up eight hits and five earned runs during a 9-2 loss.

While it wasn’t a good start, it could have been slightly better if not for a crucial mistake by umpire Mark Wegner, which cost Bello a strikeout and forced him out of the game.

The call in question came with two outs in the fifth inning and Astros outfielder Cam Smith at the plate. Bello started the plate appearance with three swinging strikes, which should have resulted in a strikeout … except no one seemed to notice.

Wegner erroneously believed there was a 1-2 count on Smith after the third pitch of the at-bat, and Smith’s plate appearance continued. Six pitches later, he drew a walk … despite the fact that Bello threw only three balls during the at-bat.

With Boston trailing 6-1 at that point, Bello was pulled from the game. The Red Sox were able to get out of the inning without allowing any more damage but went on to lose the contest 9-2.

Wegner was asked about Smith’s plate appearance after the game, and he admitted he screwed up, per the New York Post.

“I just watched the video,” Wegner told reporters postgame. “I somehow didn’t count the second swinging one because I said the count was 1-2. It was actually strike three … I’ve never done that before. I’m not happy about it. Just made a mistake.”

When asked whether anyone else on the field caught his mistake in the moment, Wegner said, “No one on the field said a word.” That, presumably, includes Bello, Red Sox catcher Connor Wong and Red Sox manager Alex Cora, all of whom should’ve been aware of the count.

Wegner’s gaffe came the same night another umpire, C.B. Bucknor, came under scrutiny for a bizarre blown call against the Milwaukee Brewers. Bucknor initially ruled Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers out at first base, claiming he did not step on the bag while trying to beat a throw. Replays very clearly showed Bucknor was wrong, leading to both managers laughing following the Brewers’ challenge.

It marked the second time in just a few days that Bucknor came under fire for bad calls. On Sunday, Cincinnati Reds fans let Bucknor have it after he missed consecutive calls against Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Those calls were overturned thanks to ABS challenges.

The mistakes by both Wegner and Bucknor on Tuesday had nothing to do with ABS. Bucknor’s, at least, was reviewable. Because of that, Wegner’s call was arguably more egregious. A home plate umpire’s top priority is to keep track of the count.

But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the mistake did not affect the outcome of the game. With the Astros already leading by five runs, the game was mostly in hand, and Wegner’s error did not lead to more runs.

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Shohei Ohtani showcases altered pitch mix, a few flashes of wildness in 6 scoreless innings in first outing of 2026

Before Shohei Ohtani’s first bullpen session at the start of spring training, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was not subtle as he set the stage for the two-way phenom’s first full season as a pitcher in Dodger blue.

“I think there’s certainly a lot more in there,” the skipper said. “And regardless of my expectations for him, his are going to exceed those. And I think it’s fair to say he expects to be in the Cy Young conversation.”

The road to the game’s highest honor for pitchers is an arduous one, a six-month marathon of mound performance requiring both quality and quantity of innings. That’s true for those who are strictly pitching and also for Ohtani, the only Cy Young hopeful in history who doubles as one of the best hitters on the planet. As was the case with Ohtani’s many other past pursuits of greatness, this goal is unprecedented, bordering on unfathomable.

But he had to start somewhere, and his first outing of 2026 was a step in the right direction.

Facing the Cleveland Guardians on an unusually chilly and drizzly Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani delivered six scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory, allowing just one hit across an impressive outing that included a few flashes of wildness but mostly featured Ohtani on the attack to great effect. The lone hit didn’t come until Rhys Hoskins scooped a low-and-away sweeper down the left-field line for a double with two outs in the fourth inning.

Otherwise, Cleveland’s only offensive successes came courtesy of Ohtani’s occasional lapses in command, which led to three walks and a hit-by-pitch. On the whole, the Guardians’ bats did little to combat Ohtani’s deep repertoire, which helped him rack up six strikeouts, all of the swinging variety.

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Ohtani’s pitch mix Tuesday looked largely familiar to what we’ve seen in the past, with a few interesting alterations to keep an eye on. The velocity on all of his pitches was down a tick or two from his season averages last year, but Ohtani ran his heater up to 99.2 mph in the first inning, so it’s not like he was soft-tossing. In terms of usage, the most notable aspect of Ohtani’s plan of attack in his season debut was an increased reliance on his mid-70s curveball and terrific, high-80s splitter, two offerings that have generally lagged behind the sweeper, his go-to secondary pitch, in recent years.

The sweeper still played a key role against Cleveland — Ohtani punctuated his outing by getting Hoskins to flail at one for strike three to end the sixth — but it’s rare for that pitch to register as Ohtani’s fourth-most used offering. Whether that reflects just Tuesday’s game plan or a larger shift toward a new diet of offspeed and breaking pitches remains to be seen, but pitchers with Ohtani’s depth of arsenal are always worth monitoring for such evolutions.

The intrigue surrounding Ohtani’s pitching form was ramped up entering Tuesday, considering how little we saw of him on the mound in preseason. Ohtani did not pitch for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic, and he made just two official spring training starts, with the rest of his prep work taking place in bullpens and simulated settings on the backfields. A week before his regular-season debut, he struck out 11 Angels in his final spring training tune-up, a promising preview of what was to come. But that outing required 86 pitches to complete just four innings. On Tuesday, Ohtani needed 87 tosses to finish six frames, an encouraging uptick in efficiency, even factoring in the intermittent command woes.

The most amusing moment of the night came after Ohtani’s fifth inning of work. Upon getting Steven Kwan to fly out to end the frame, Ohtani calmly strolled toward the dugout, only to suddenly remember that he was due to lead off the bottom of the inning at the plate. Before he made it to the steps, Ohtani scampered back toward the on-deck circle to prepare for his third plate appearance of the game.

Shohei forgot he was leading off the inning 🤣 pic.twitter.com/zTuRChpnVV

— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2026

This unique sequence, in which he goes directly from pitching to hitting in-game, is hardly new for Ohtani, so perhaps the rare moment of forgetfulness was a physical Freudian slip of sorts, a subtle admission that his current focus is indeed tilted toward the mound, with the slugging the side gig. A more likely interpretation is that Ohtani is human and simply lost track of the batting order, but how he balances his two-way responsibilities this season will be fascinating to watch, especially if the Cy Young Award is indeed in his sights.

So far this season, Ohtani hasn’t quite settled in at the plate, as he’s still searching for his first extra-base hit. Granted, he’s far from the only Dodgers hitter trying to find his stride, and he did reach base three times Tuesday, with two walks and a single. But when the standard has been set at the heights Ohtani has reached with the bat, even small samples without standout production become noteworthy.

Based on his track record, it won’t be long before Ohtani starts swinging it as well as anyone. And while we wait for that inevitable hot streak at the plate, there’s plenty to appreciate about the pitching side of Ohtani, with one start down and a 0.00 ERA intact.

NBA playoff picture March 31: All of the scenarios and stakes for postseason contenders down the stretch run

The NBA playoff picture will come into clearer view each day between now and the end of the regular season on April 12. In the meantime, we will provide detailed daily updates on the landscape, including magic numbers, remaining schedules and the stakes for every day’s slate of games. And for those teams not in the postseason hunt, we also breakdown the “race” for the pole position in the upcoming NBA Draft lottery.

Jump to:Eastern Conference• Western Conference

CURRENT PLAY-IN BRACKET

Eastern Conference

(7) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (8) Miami Heat
(9) Orlando Magic vs. (10) Charlotte Hornets

Western Conference

(7) Phoenix Suns vs. (8) LA Clippers
(9) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (10) Golden State Warriors

CURRENT PLAYOFF BRACKET

Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) play-in winner
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) play-In winner
(3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Toronto Raptors
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks

Western Conference

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) play-In winner
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) play-In winner
(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Houston Rockets
(4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Minnesota Timberwolves

EASTERN CONFERENCE RACE

In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, in some order, appear bound for the top four playoff seeds and home-court advantage in the opening round. The Pistons are almost certain to capture the East’s No. 1 seed, barring a complete meltdown in the absence of injured Cade Cunningham (collapsed lung).

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Who, exactly, those four teams will play in the opening round is up for grabs, as just three wins separate the fifth seed from the 10th seed. The Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets are all jockeying for position down the stretch of a season that has surpassed 70 games.

Playoff-bound, seeding to be determined

1. Detroit Pistons

Record: 54-21 | Net rating: 8.3 (3rd)

Clinched playoff berth; clinches Central Division title with a win against Raptors or a Cavaliers loss to Lakers
Magic number for No. 1 seed: 3
Remaining schedule: TOR, MIN, @PHI, @ORL, MIL, @CHA, @IND
Highest possible finish: No. 1 seed
Lowest possible finish: No. 4 seed

What’s at stake: The No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

2. Boston Celtics

Record: (50-25) | Net rating: 7.9 (4th)

Clinched playoff berth
Magic number for No. 2 seed: 6
Remaining schedule: @MIA, @MIL, TOR, CHA, @NYK, NOP, ORL
Highest possible finish: No. 1 seed
Lowest possible finish: No. 4 seed

What’s at stake: The No. 2 seed and home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

3. New York Knicks

Record: 48-27 | Net rating: 6.3 (5th)

Clinched playoff berth
Magic number for No. 3 seed: 7
Remaining schedule: @HOU, @MEM, CHI, @ATL, BOS, TOR, CHA
Highest possible finish: No. 1 seed
Lowest possible finish: No. 6 seed

What’s at stake: The No. 2 seed and home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Battling for guaranteed playoff spot

4. Cleveland Cavaliers

Record: 47-28 | Net rating: 4.2 (9th)

Clinches playoff berth with win over the Lakers
Magic number for No. 4 seed: 4
Remaining schedule: @LAL, @GSW, IND, @MEM, ATL, @ATL, WAS
Highest possible finish: No. 1 seed
Lowest possible finish: No. 10 seed

What’s at stake: The No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round.