Joe Dumars, hired in April as the Pelicans' executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke on the plans for Williamson in an interview with The Times-Picayune Wednesday morning.

Newly hired New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told The Times-Picayune the franchise will continue to build around Zion Williamson as its star player, settling speculation that Williamson could be either a trade candidate or could get cut outright amid new legal issues.

This past season, Williamson put up impressive numbers—averaging 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 56.7 percent from the field in just 28.6 minutes of action. However, if a team were to pursue a trade for him, the return package would likely include picks projected toward the back end of the draft.