Zion Williamson Gets Great Reward For Sticking Out With Pelicans

Despite his struggles of getting healthy, Zion Williamson was handed a five-year rookie max contract extension by the New Orleans Pelicans worth $193 million.

Given that the 6-foot-6 cager is a talented cager, his rise to fame has been hampered ever so often by injuries.

Part of that is his struggles to maintain the ideal playing weight, and such has raised questions on whether he can truly flourish in the NBA.

While he is already staring at big money, Williamson could get added motivation with claims that he may be given a super-max contract next season.

According to sources cited by Shams Charania of The Athletic, there are protections in place for such.

Aside from that, the top pick of the 2019 NBA Draft will also need to make the All-NBA team next season to be eligible to get the $231 million.

However, there seems to be something unclear as far as the super max criteria and the contract guarantees.

With that being said, Williamson could raise the value of his extension to $231 million without the extension being fully guaranteed, NBC Sports reported.

More so, if the former Duke Blue Devil has both the supermax and a full guarantee on the line next season, the stakes would be pretty high for him.

Given his talent, Williamson could have easily made the All-NBA team in 2021. Although he has shown to be an offensive gem, his defense is an area that needs work.

He failed to see a single minute last season due to an injury. It is another concern that the Pelicans need to address, a reason why there are injury protections included in the deal.

Given these conditions and what Williamson stands to make, activating or maintaining the things listed in his contract will entirely be up to him.

After missing the entire 2021-22 season, the South Carolina native needs to get his act together–the first of which is making sure he stays away from another major injury that will force him to sit on the sidelines for an extended period.