The 2025-26 season has been an extremely slow start for New Orleans. Through their first 39 games, the Pelicans are 8-31. In their last 10 games, the team is 1-9 and has lost nine straight.
Zion Williamson has appeared in 23 of the team’s 39 games and made 16 starts. He’s already missed 15 games due to injury. Recently, NBA insider Brett Siegel reported that the Chicago Bulls could be monitoring Zion Williamson. He mentioned Williamson as an “ideal buy-low candidate” for the Bulls. How aggressive will Chicago be ahead of the NBA trade deadline?
League insiders believe the Bulls could pursue Zion Williamson
The Chicago Bulls are a team to monitor for Zion Williamson, per @BrettSiegelNBA
“I’ve heard that there’s been some smoke there about Chicago scouting New Orleans in recent weeks, and Zion would be the ideal buy-low candidate for a team like the Bulls who have a lot of expiring… pic.twitter.com/06ctcIjcE2
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 9, 2026
New Orleans PF Zion Williamson is in his sixth season with the Pelicans. The 25-year-old is currently on a five-year, $197 million contract that runs through the 2027-28 season. In 2025-26, he makes $39.4 million. That number increases to $42.1 million in 2026-27 and $44.8 million in the final year of his contract. This season, Williamson has appeared in 23 of the team’s 39 games. He’s already missed 15 games due to injury.
Around the trade deadline, Zion Williamson tends to hear his name in rumors. While injuries have significantly impacted his professional career, Williamson is an extremely talented player. In 237 career games, Williamson averages 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.0 steals. That’s all-star level production. However, availability has been an obstacle he continues to face.
Zion Williamson has wanted to play for the Bulls for a while.
Bulls assistant coach: Heard you want to play for us?”
Zion Williamson: “Whoah. Don’t say it out loud” https://t.co/iK30LF8GF1 pic.twitter.com/9VGEzmXx0P
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@Bullsfans) January 9, 2026
On his podcast, NBA insider Brett Siegel shared new information surrounding Zion Williamson. He reported that the Bulls are monitoring the two-time all-star ahead of the trade deadline. Siegel added that Williamson is an “ideal buy-low candidate” for the Bulls. He noted that Chicago has several expiring contracts on their roster. They would have the cap space to take on Williamson’s remaining deal.
As Siegel mentions, Zion Williamson is a buy-low candidate. His trade value is at an all-time low. New Orleans likely had chances to move on from the Williamson years ago. They kept the injury-prone all-star, and it’s resulted in zero results. If the Pelicans trade Zion, the return would be extremely low.
If the Bulls acquired Williamson, they’d be taking a major risk. In two of his previous three seasons, the all-star PF played 30 or fewer games for the Pelicans. Only twice in his years has he played 60+ games in a season. Trading for Zion Williamson could backfire. Will the Bulls seriously consider making that deal?
