Zion Williamson has been absent from the NBA court since last season after picking a foot injury. He was expected to return in the early stages of this campaign, but his comeback was delayed every month until it was completely discarded by the New Orleans Pelicans.
The young forward has raised some concerns about his health given his injury history, and it seems like the Pelicans are being careful with that, willing to offer a 5-year max deal to Zion but not guaranteeing all of the money. Even though the player has shown his desire to stay with the franchise that drafted him into the NBA, the Pels are studying all the options regarding Zion.
While some people consider this is smart for the team, others don’t think it’s fair for the player, and he should take a shorter deal only to be free to join another team soon. Shaquille O’Neal recently dropped this idea, saying that Zion could go to Los Angeles after the Pelicans ’embarrassed’ him by revealing their plans of not offering a fully-guaranteed deal.
During a recent edition of The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal had this to say about the Williamson’s situation (40-minute mark):
“So if I was him, I say, ‘Okay, no problem. I’ll take it,'” Shaq said, via Sportskeeda. “$90 (million) for 3, which is still 30 million a year. And then after that, third year with the way I play, you’re gonna get offers of 350 to 400, 500 million from other teams.”
“And then you say, ‘You know what, New Orleans? Remember that little thing you did back in the day? Now I’m going to the Lakers. Remember that little thing you did and you embarrassed me? And you didn’t have this conversation with me first and you wanna put this on Legion Hoops dot com? Well, I’m leaving you right now for 500 million for somebody else’.”
Shaq had to deal with these situations in the past, and he made a decision that raised many eyebrows within the Orlando Magic but worked perfectly for him. He felt he wasn’t appreciated by the Floridian franchise and signed with a team that wanted him to be the most dominant player in the league.
We’re not saying Zion will make the same decision in the future, but even after he’s stated he wants to remain in New Orleans for the long term, he could change his mind and seek a new challenge somewhere else. The Lakers are always linked with stars around the league, and Zion could be a good addition for them once LeBron James retires and Anthony Davis needs another partner.
