A few years ago, Zion Williamson was the consensus number one pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after a historic season at Duke University. He was a freak of nature entering the league and was immediately impressive when he was on the floor. In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 27 points, and 7.3 rebounds, on a wildly efficient 61% field goal percentage.

However, the best ability in the NBA is availability, and Williamson has not been readily available for the Pelicans this season. The star has only played 85 games in the past three years, and he missed the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign with a foot injury. This coupled with rumors that the star was feeling frustrated with the Pelicans’ decision not to play him and NBA pundits circulating rumors of his desire to play elsewhere, caused Williamson’s future in New Orleans to be up in the air.

This was until David Griffin, VP of basketball operations, called Williamson a max player and said the prospect of offering him a max contract would be “an easy decision.” “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.”

Williamson himself confirmed this as he told reporters last week, “I do want to be here. That’s no secret, I feel like I’ve stood on that when I spoke… It was a long year for me for rehab and mental battles. I’m fine now. I’m ready to get to work.”

Regarding the potential of signing a max contract, he said, “Of course. Of course. I wouldn’t be able to sign it fast enough, I can’t control rumors and how people feel about certain things, but anybody that knows me knows I want to be here.”

The Pelicans are coming off a successful season under first-year head coach Wille Green. After going 36-46 and securing a spot in the NBA Playoffs as the eighth seed, the Pelicans will look to grow from that success with the current core of CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones and now, hopefully, Williamson.

It is expected that the Pelicans will offer Williamson the contract at some point this summer.  

Duke’s larger-than-life freshman group of Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, Cameron Reddish, and Tre Jones had their first taste of adversity in the second game of the season against Army. The teams battled it out until finally pulling away in the second half, topping the Black Knights 94-72.

Duke’s Freshmen Clear Army Hurdle On Way To No.1

Duke jumped to No. 1 in the AP Poll from the preseason rank of No. 4 and has now been ranked No. 1 in 135 weeks, passing UCLA for the most weeks in AP Poll history. But the hurdle of Army’s Black Knights to get there wasn’t so smooth.

The trio of Williamson, Barrett, and Reddish all surpassed the 20-point mark for the second consecutive game, thrusting them to a win at home. The sensational Williamson scored 21 first-half points off of making 11 of 14 shots, ending with 27 altogether. He also grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked six shots.