Zion Williamson may have missed a whole of time already in his short NBA career so far, but that is not going to stop him from getting paid this offseason. Zion missed the whole of the 2021-22 campaign after fracturing his foot before the season began, and while there were talks about him returning at various points of the season, it never materialized.
There were rumors for most of the season, too, that Zion wanted to leave the New Orleans Pelicans and move to a bigger market, but Zion recently stated he plans to stay with the team. He also expressed his excitement to get back on the court after watching the team play so well in the playoffs. Pelicans VP David Griffin also stated that the Pelicans are going to give Zion a max extension, and he said it’s a pretty easy decision. Not everyone agrees with that decision, however, and when the potential amount of the extension came out, fans expressed their displeasure with it.
Zion Williamson is expected to sign an $182M extension with the Pelicans this summer.
Too high, too low, or just right? pic.twitter.com/8G7jmsfGqc
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 12, 2022
“Overweight, overpaid & over-hyped.”
“$182M for what? To eat Doritos and play FIFA…shoot, you can pay me half and I’ll get fat and stay hurt.”
“An unproven player who can’t stay healthy isn’t worth $182M.”
“3 years in the league and has totaled a little over one full regular seasons worth of games. Talent wise he’s worth the money but it’s a big risk”
“For what lol. I hope for the best for this young man but what has he done on the court to prove he deserves that kind of deal?”
“Imagine getting payed 182 mil to sit and watch the games all season mans living the dream”
“What exactly has he done? He is always hurt, out of shape and seems not motivated. There is talent, there is skill. But what has he done to deserve such a contract?”
“For a guy who’s injury prone and hasn’t really proven anything I would give him a one year deal and if he can bring it..give him the extension”
“People forgetting a healthy Zion put up 27ppg on 61% shooting in his 2nd year while also showing potential playmaking skills.”
“Lol..not worth half that but cool. Glad I’m not a Pelicans fan”
“Too high, just like the number of trips he has to McDonald’s everyday”
“Too high. Given his lack of discipline with conditioning and diet, and lack of accomplishments, I’d trim it down. $25M/year sounds more reasonable, given he’s likely going to miss a lot of games. Seriously, I wouldn’t sign him to any deal without TEAM options on each year.”
“People act like him not being healthy is a coincidence.Nah he’s over weight and has been overweight .Pels will destroy their future if they give him that money .He’s a great player when he plays but if he don’t take his conditioning serious and take his weight loss serious then…”
“Zion Williamson one of the most overrated players He need to proveed too much”
“Too high. Sorry the guy’s a bust. Maybe too much expectations but yeah, he just didn’t deliver at all. He was called the next Shaq, no way.”
“If healthy for the next 4 seasons, great signing, if unhealthy terrible signing. So high risk high reward which means I would say this is too high. 2 years 80M and see how it goes imo. Don’t marry your future to a guy who has played 85 games over his first 3 seasons.”
“I’ll be honest with you I know the talent is generational but I’m not sure this guy is not JaMarcus Russell when it comes to the buffets I’m not sure he’s committed to stay in shape because he is overweight I think is part of his injury problems and I just can’t give him the $$$”
“If in shape and on the court than he is worth every dime of that contract in the modern NBA. Zion, Ingram, & CJ along with Herb Jones on ball defense and ability to play the passing lanes should really make New Orleans a legit playoff team.”
“If any of u say too high u simply don’t know how good this dude is when he is healthy. And yes he isn’t always healthy but he’s generational, u pay the dude and hope he can stay healthy”
“Why give him that much money?! He DOESN’T PLAY”
The Pelicans are in a bit of a rough spot, as they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Giving him a big extension like this will backfire tremendously if he can’t stay healthy but he might want out if they try to low-ball him. A small market like theirs cannot afford to have a big name want to leave as they won’t be able to land someone else like him.
The Pelicans will take the plunge here and all they can do is hope that Zion is able to put his injury issues behind him the rest of the way. They will be hoping that the Zion situation ends up being like that of Joel Embiid, who missed a lot of time early on but has managed to stay upright for the most part despite some issues here and there.
