It appears the New Orleans Pelicans are primed to offer Zion Williamson a big-time contract extension, despite his recent injury history.
During a recent appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast, Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin responded to a question about Zion’s impending contract negotiations.
Griffin believes the former No. 1 overall pick deserves every bit of a max contract.
“It’s not a big decision, it’s a pretty easy decision,” Griffin said. “The kid’s historically good when he plays … this is a max player, that’s easy.”
The NBA world took to Twitter to react to these comments.
“He’s definitely resigning this summer,” one fan wrote.
“I’m surprised there’s any debate about the max number. The conversation is about guarantees/injury protections and always has been. Will be great if we get a really short negotiation. That’s the piece I’m hoping for,” another added.
While Griffin feels Zion is no doubt a max-contract player, he also feels the Pelicans need to include some protections in the injury-prone forward’s upcoming deal.
“What becomes significant as a team that’s a small-market team and as a team that can’t make mistakes in terms of injuries over time, you have to indemnify yourself in some way for that and that’s fine,” he explained. “But the decision of whether or not this is a max player is an easy one. It’s really going to be about if you’re all the way in with us this is what it looks like and we’re all the way in with him and I think we always have been.”
Zion missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season after suffering a preseason foot injury. The year prior, he averaged 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds en route to an All-Star game appearance.
Do you think the Pelicans should commit to Zion with a max contract?