EIt’s very likely that some clueless NBA fan has forgotten to Zion WilliamsHe has completely erased it from his mind. He is logical, after all, after an extraordinary second season in the NBA in 2020-21, in his third (2021-22), he disappeared from the map.
Although more than disappearing, his situation was a continuous reason for destabilization for some Pelicans who finished the season much better than expected after the arrival of CJ McCollum. A foot injury prevented him from playing the entire season and in that period there was talk on numerous occasions of his almost certain exit from New Orleans.
did not happen and Zion remains the beacon for the Pelicans in his current direction, as it was when he was chosen as number 1 in the Draft in 2019. His first year was complicated, because he was late in playing and so only acted in 24 games, but the second did show the conditions that were presupposed for him as the new dominator of the League. Then came the nightmare of last year.
Now, Williamson is about to sign a contract extension with the Pelicans. The franchise continues to believe in enough to mortgage his future with an extension, yes, with clauses on both sides.
Zion will sign for five years and 231 million, the maximum for a rookie contract, but he will have to play the All Star this season, win the MVP award or win the best defender so that the total does not fall to 193 million. The contract will come into force in the 2023-24 season.
At this point you have to value what the Pelicans see that Zion can give them. In the end, in three years he has only played 85 games. And on more than one occasion, last season, it was leaked from his environment that the player wanted to leave New Orleans and sound out more solid markets like New York or Los Angeles.
To sign an extension like this there must be the commitment of the franchise in its investment, and of the player in the team. Yes, there is, the Pelicans may have done a snap operation, because Zion has already shown that he is a very special player. But if he goes wrong…