Zion Williamson

The New Orleans Pelicans made Zion Williamson the centerpiece of their organization when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft, and now they are nearing a deal to keep him with the team for years to come.

The two parties are nearing a five-year max contract extension that will be worth up to $231 million, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Williamson was eligible for a rookie contract extension after the 2021-22 campaign, and Christian Clark of NOLA.com noted in May 2021 it could be "a five-year deal with an annual value worth anywhere between 25 percent and 30 percent of the salary cap depending on what accolades he receives."

Clark also pointed out no player on a rookie deal had turned down such an offer over the last decade, although his report in September 2021 suggested there was at least some tension between the 21-year-old and the organization.

Much of that tension stemmed from how the team handled his injury rehab process during his rookie campaign:

"Throughout his rookie season, Williamson had grown increasingly frustrated with the Pelicans for the number of hoops they required him to jump through to return from the knee injury he suffered in the preseason. The team initially provided a return-to-play timetable of six to eight weeks, but it took more than three months for Williamson to get back on the floor. When he was finally given the thumbs up to play, he was placed on 'burst' limits, which he detested. The way Williamson's return was handled caused significant tension between him and the team's medical staff, sources said."

It reached such a point that Williamson's relationship with executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin had "begun to sour."

The power forward played a mere 24 games during that rookie season and averaged 27.8 minutes a night. The Pelicans fell out of contention inside the Walt Disney World Resort bubble when he averaged just 20.6 minutes per game in five contests.

Williamson was still named to the All-Rookie first team despite the limited playing time, and he averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the season. He then took another step in his second season as an All-Star, averaging 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 61.1 percent from the field.

However, health again became a primary concern during the 2021-22 campaign.

The Pelicans announced in December that he suffered a setback while rehabbing his surgically repaired right foot before he even made his debut in his third season. "As a result, the volume and intensity of his training will be reduced for an extended period to help allow for further bone healing," the update read.

He ended up missing the entire season.

When healthy, the Duke product can overpower defenders on the blocks, help control the glass, attack off the bounce and soar through the air for high-flying dunks and alley-oops. He is an ideal building block at his age and will surely look to lead the core alongside Brandon Ingram in the future.

As for the Pelicans, things never fully came together with their last superstar who was a No. 1 overall pick.

The franchise won a single playoff series when Anthony Davis was around from 2012-13 through 2018-19 and struggled to put enough pieces around him to compete with the league's best teams.

Whether the Pelicans are more successful in doing that with Williamson will likely determine how this contract extension unfolds in the coming years.

Zion Williamson insisted Saturday that he wants to remain with the New Orleans Pelicans.

According to ESPN's Andrew Lopez, Williamson said the following while speaking at a YMCA youth and basketball camp registration in New Orleans: "I do want to be here. That's no secret. I feel like I've stood on that when I spoke. Currently, this does not really have anything to do with that. This is just me wanting to be a pillar in my community."

Williamson, who missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a foot injury, could be in line for a huge contract extension this summer, as he can become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign.

Lopez noted that Williamson may receive a five-year, $186 million max rookie extension offer, although it is possible the Pelicans would stop short of making it fully guaranteed due to Zion's injury history.

In addition to missing all 82 regular-season games and the Pels' first-round playoff series this season, Williamson was limited to 24 games as a rookie. He did play in 61 of the Pelicans' 72 games last season, however.

When healthy, Williamson is a force, as evidenced by the 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game he averaged in 2020-21 en route to an All-Star selection.

Even without the 2019 No. 1 overall pick, the Pelicans reached the playoffs this season, which has Williamson and others around the team excited about the future.

Last month, Williamson was cleared to return to action without limitations after a lengthy rehab process, meaning he should be good to go for the start of the 2022-23 season.

While there has been some speculation about Williamson not being fully committed to the Pelicans over the past year, he erased those doubts in April when he said he would sign an extension with the Pelicans and "couldn't sign it fast enough."

The Pelicans have an exciting core in place aside from Williamson in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, the latter of whom was acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers before this season's deadline.

Williamson hasn't had a chance to play alongside McCollum, but the outside shooting ability of McCollum and Ingram should pair well with Zion's interior presence.

There are some obvious risks that would come with signing Williamson to an extension, but the potential rewards would likely be worth it given what he has shown he can do.

Zion Williamson is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, but the New Orleans Pelicans might not offer a fully guaranteed deal for the oft-injured forward.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported the latest Friday:

From what I have been told, the Pelicans, at this point, are not willing to offer a full five-year guaranteed deal. And a lot of it is flowing down from ownership. Gayle Benson, the owner, is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints. And I have been told they're gonna take a football-style, Saints-style mentality with this contract negotiation. They will offer him a huge contract but will not guarantee all of it.

A max contract for Williamson could be worth at least $180 million over five years, but Windhorst projected closer to $100 million in guaranteed money. It could be structured similarly to the deal Joel Embiid signed with the Philadelphia 76ers early in 2017, which included triggers for games played to guarantee the money.

Williamson has played just 85 games in his first three NBA seasons, missing all of 2021-22 because of a foot injury.

The Pelicans announced Thursday that Zion is cleared to return without any restrictions, setting him up to play at full strength in 2022-23.

The 21-year-old has impressed when on the court, earning an All-Star selection in his only full season. He averaged 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds across 61 games in 2020-21, shooting 61.1 percent from the field.

Williamson led the team with 8.7 win shares that season, per Basketball Reference, living up to the hype as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.

The upside is clearly enough for the Pelicans to offer an extension when first eligible this summer. Williamson also indicated he would sign a deal if offered.

"Of course, I couldn't sign it fast enough," Williamson said in April.

The question is whether injuries will prevent him from reaching his potential, a concern that could affect his next contract.

While few NFL contracts are fully guaranteed, it is much more common for top players in the NBA. Williamson and his camp might have to agree to the major concession for the two sides to come to an agreement.      

The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to offer Zion Williamson a rookie contract extension in the range of five years and $186 million.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news on Friday during NBA Countdown before the Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat playoff game.

He’s eligible for his rookie contract extension. The expectation around the league is that a healthy Zion Williamson now—beyond that foot injury—coming off a second season where he was an All-Star, put up some historic offensive numbers—that Zion Williamson is going to land in that range of that max contract of 5 years, $186 million.

Williamson, 21, has averaged 25.7 points on 60.4 percent shooting, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his two years on NBA courts.

The former Duke standout, who made the All-Star team in his second NBA season, missed all of last year with a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot.

However, the Pels released some encouraging news on his status this week:

There's no question Williamson would sign the extension based on comments made in late April.

Offering Williamson the deal is an easy move to make assuming he's healthy.

The table is set for the Pelicans to be a perennial playoff contender with CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and a host of young role players who were integral to the team's late-season run (e.g. Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy).

That core made the playoffs without Williamson and pushed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games. With Williamson in the mix, the sky could be the limit for this group.

For now, all signs point to a healthy Williamson returning and sticking around for the foreseeable future to lead a team with a tremendous amount of upside.

The New Orleans Pelicans announced Thursday that star Zion Williamson "has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions."

The team said a checkup on his right foot "showed continued improvement."

Williamson underwent foot surgery before the 2021-22 season tipped off and missed the entire year.

Thanks in part to the shot in the arm they got from acquiring CJ McCollum ahead of the trade deadline, the Pelicans advanced to the playoffs and pushed the Phoenix Suns to six games in the first round.

Still, nobody questions Williamson's value to New Orleans and what he represents for the franchise. Through 85 career games, he's averaging 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

The foot injury, however, added to the concerns about whether the 21-year-old can hold up enough to be the centerpiece the Pelicans need. A meniscus tear sidelined him as a rookie and forced the team to diligently monitor his workload in 2020-21.

Williamson is also eligible for an extension this summer ahead of the final year on his rookie contract, leaving the front office with a conundrum.

The 2020-21 All-Star said in April he "couldn't sign it fast enough" if presented with an offer from the Pelicans, but his foot and meniscus injuries are likely to linger throughout negotiations. For New Orleans, giving him a fully guaranteed max contract might be too risky, while Williamson will understandably want as much long-term security as possible.

Seeing the 2019 No. 1 overall pick back on the court will generate a ton of excitement.

Thursday's announcement also represents a step forward in his recovery.

But the Pelicans are likely to remain cautiously optimistic about his odds of avoiding a setback or picking up another injury.

When Zion Williamson has been healthy, he's looked like one of the most exciting young superstars in the NBA. The issue, of course, has been that he's only been on the court for 85 total games in his first three seasons, which included missing the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign because of a fractured right foot. 

So as he heads into his fourth season, soon to be extension-eligible, there are questions about what financial commitment the Pelicans will be willing to make for the oft-injured Williamson and whether he'll be willing to commit his future to New Orleans. 

"Obviously, that conversation is going to be one that will be a challenge," executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin told reporters. "When it's time to have that, we'll have it. And right now what we're focused on is him being healthy, and [being in] kind of elite condition to play basketball, and we'll start there."

The other issue for the Pelicans is that Williamson and the team have never appeared to be on the same page when it comes to his injury rehabilitation and timeline for return, with reports over the summer that there was a rift between the two parties. 

If there is a rift, however, it's one the Pelicans would assuredly want to work past. After all, Williamson is averaging 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, shooting 60.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three. 

There's little doubt that he has superstar potential and is the sort of player to build around, injuries or not. 

And there is precedent for giving a potential superstar who struggled with injuries early in his career a max contract. The Philadelphia 76ers did it in 2017, signing Joel Embiid to a five-year, $146.5 million deal that protected the franchise if he didn't hit certain games-played benchmarks. At the time of the contract, Embiid had missed his first two seasons and only played 31 games.

The Sixers most certainly don't have buyer's remorse on that contract, as Embiid has gone on to be the MVP runner-up two seasons in a row. 

And the Pelicans have built a solid roster, making the playoffs this past season behind the play of Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and a young supporting cast. That Pelicans team gave the Phoenix Suns fits in the first round before bowing out in six games. 

Returning Williamson to the mix would make New Orleans a real threat in the Western Conference. And at least publicly, he's said he wants to be back.

"I can't control rumors and how people feel about certain things. ... Anybody who knows me, knows I want to be here," he told reporters in early May. "If they feel otherwise, I can't help that. But if you know me, you know I want to be here."

The extension talks to keep him in New Orleans, however, may prove to be complicated.