If Zion Williamson is remotely available, almost every team in the NBA should be trying to trade for him

Opportunities like this are almost nonexistent in the NBA

Zion Williamson is one of just 11 players in NBA history to play in an All-Star Game before his 21st birthday. That list is as close to infallible as any in NBA history. The other 10 players are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, LaMelo Ball, Kevin Garnett, Isiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Shaquille O'Neal and Luka Doncic. Those 10 players collectively have made 83 All-NBA teams, won 10 MVP awards and racked up 23 championship rings. If you want to build a relevant NBA team, employing one of those players would be a pretty good start.

Of course, chances to get them are few and far between. Half of the players on that list played for the Lakers, and only three of them ever got traded. Kevin Garnett languished in Minnesota until he turned 31. Davis and Irving were younger than Garnett, but all three managed to exert some measure of control over their situations to land with preferred destinations. The only chance teams like the Jazz and Pacers will ever have of landing a player like this is drafting him. As Davis proved with the Pelicans, those teams don't exactly have an easy time keeping them.

Which makes the rumors about Williamson's availability all the more perplexing. The Pelicans are reportedly interested in moving up in the draft to pick Scoot Henderson, and ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted on Get Up that the league is wondering if Williamson might be the piece they offer to do it. For now, the rumors are in the early stages. The Pelicans have several other realistic paths to a top-three pick, and they might stand pat entirely. But if the Pelicans really are listening to offers for Williamson? Almost every team in the NBA should be trying to figure out how to get him.

The drawbacks are obvious. Williamson has only played in 114 games across his four NBA seasons. Even when healthy, conditioning has been a major concern. He's spent the past week dealing with the social media fallout of a dispute with an ex-girlfriend. At his best, he remains a flawed defender and total non-shooter from 3-point range. It's fair to say that Williamson's stock has never been lower than it is today.

History suggests that Williamson wouldn't be available under any other circumstances. Absolutely nothing could have compelled the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade a 22-year-old LeBron James. Players that young and with that much upside simply aren't available most of the time. But we've already covered what those players usually become, and the overwhelming majority of the NBA almost never has access to players of that caliber. 

But Williamson's five-year rookie extension hasn't even kicked in yet. He's locked in for the long haul, and if things in New Orleans are bad enough to warrant a trade, he'd likely be willing to at least keep an open mind about a fresh start anywhere else. If nothing else, he's incentivized to cooperate. Given his health issues, a failed tenure with a second team could seriously jeopardize his future earning power. It's in his best interest to commit to maximizing his potential on whatever team he plays for next season.

The downside risk of trading for such a player is considerable until you take the 10,000-foot view. Could giving up a haul for a player that can't stay healthy get a general manager fired? Absolutely. Could it set a team back half a decade? No question. But consider the rather obvious idea that 29 out of 30 NBA teams fail to win the championship every year. Only four even reach the conference finals. If your ambitions are more modest than that? By all means, pass on Zion Williamson. There are safer ways to lose in the first round.

But if have genuinely competitive aspirations? Williamson opens doors that would otherwise be shut to most of the NBA. Say a team like the Wizards trades for Williamson and it fails. What does it look like? Four or five years in the lottery? Some early playoff exits? Are those outcomes really all that different from what will likely happen to them if they don't trade for Williamson? The reality of team-building in most NBA markets is that risk-tolerance is a precursor for success. If you don't stumble into Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick or Nikola Jokic with the 41st, you're going to be stuck on the 35-win hamster wheel unless you make the active choice to get off of it.

One way or another, trading for Williamson would do that for the acquiring team. Either he's going to reach his considerable potential and help you compete for championships, or he's going to flame out and drag you down with him. The chance at the former more than outweighs the risk of the latter when the alternative of doing nothing is the worst option of the three. If the Pelicans are at all serious about hearing out offers for Williamson, any team with the stomach to play for something meaningful should make a realistic offer. If the other 10 players on that list are any indication, it is probably going to be a long time before the majority of the league has another opportunity like this.