Zion Williamson missed a season with injury and his absence from the New Orleans Pelicans was unusual during his recovery, but that didn’t stop the club from betting big on their long-term future.
The star power forward agreed to a five-year, $193 million extension that could reach $231 million with New Orleans, the player’s agent, Austin Brown, told The Associated Press.
The expansion, the maximum for a rookie under the NBA’s labor agreement, sets the stage for the 6-foot-6-inch-tall player with great offensive power to bolster his NBA Game of the Game quality. Stars to a team that until recently showed that it could reach the postseason without him.
The ESPN channel was the first to report on the agreement, also mentioning information provided by Brown, co-director of the basketball division of the CAA Sports company.
The Pelicans have not yet announced the extension, which according to NBA rules cannot be signed until July 6.
The deal hints at the desire of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft to see how much his return can bring to a team that improved considerably late last season and had a surprisingly competitive run in the playoffs.
It also shows the Pelicans’ faith in Williamson, who has been plagued by injuries and has played a total of 85 games in his first three NBA seasons but sat out last season because of a foot injury.
This spring, the Pelicans won two games in the Western Conference postseason qualifying minitournament and then played six games against top seed Phoenix in the first round of the 2022 playoffs.
The Pelicans did it with a team led by big offensive forward Brandon Ingram, veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum, center Jonas Valanciunas and a supporting cast of young players who thrived under NBA-first coach Willie Green.