Zion Williamson has looked like the franchise anchor New Orleans thought he would be since his return from his latest injury. In his last 15 games, Zion is averaging 25.8 points on 60.6% shooting with 6.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists — and that’s all on minutes limit keeping him under 30 a night.

Which fits the first part of what the Pelicans were hoping for from his return this season — he increased his value, something reported earlier by Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks at ESPN. MacMahon expanded upon that this week on the Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip Real GM).

“I remember Bobby [Marks] and I wrote a story just as he was about to come back and kind of like ‘What’s coming with Zion?’… Somebody told us then the goal is to ramp him up and restore his value whether that’s for the Pelicans or another team. And he’s handling the first part, to his credit, he is absolutely handling the first part.”

Considering his injury history and contract, would there really be much trade demand for Zion? MacMahon said:

“There’s some teams that would have significant interest.”

Zion has three years and $126.5 million remaining on his contract. Because he has not met a games played clause, the Pelicans could void the final three years and walk away from him, but multiple league sources say that is not expected to happen. If the Pelicans decide to move on, they would rather trade him and get something in return.

Or, the Pelicans could welcome Zion back, pair him with a healthy Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones (both out with torn labrums the rest of the season) and eventually a healthy Dejonte Murray (torn Achilles) and try to make a “we’re finally healthy” run more like Memphis this season. Whether to hang on to him or move on may depend partially on just how high Zion’s value is and how much a team would be willing to give up to take a swing with him.

One way or another, it’s going to be an interesting summer in the Big Easy.