When the New Orleans Pelicans won the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, the narrative surrounding this franchise quickly changed. Zion Williamson was going to be joining the organization and giving them the boost they needed to rise up from the bottom of the Western Conference standings. While competitive through the years with Zion as their focal point, the Pelicans have yet to really achieve anything other than making the playoffs with a 36-46 record during the 2021-22 season.

The main reason for this team's lack of overall success is directly correlated to Williamson's availability. Entering the 2023-24 season, Zion had played in just 114 of the Pelicans' 308 total games, just about 37 percent. So far this season, the high-flying big man has played in 23 of the team's 28 total games, a step in the right direction.

Nonetheless, WIlliamson's availability has been the talk of the league for quite some time. In fact, many have questioned the Pelicans' patience with the player who was supposed to be the face of their franchise for at least the next decade. Now, despite signing him to a five-year, $197 million contract extension in July 2022, the Pelicans once again have major decisions to sort through regarding Williamson's long-term future with the franchise.

Zion Williamson's contract update

When the Pelicans agreed to their massive contract extension with Williamson, they added certain stipulations and protections for themselves. This was done because New Orleans could not count on Zion to play in even half of their games every season, something the 23-year-old has done just once through the first four years of his career.

As a result, the Pelicans included a clause in Williamson's contract stating that he would have weigh-ins over the course of his deal in order to measure his combined weight and body fat percentage to ensure it doesn’t exceed a total of 295, according to NOLA.com. Should Zion exceed this number, guaranteed money in his agreement would be reduced by the team. Williamson's health and conditioning has limited the Pelicans through the years, which is why the team now has the option to revisit this clause in the contract.

Williamson is in the first year of his five-year extension with New Orleans. However, as a result of what has occurred through the years, the final three years of his contract with the Pelicans are no longer guaranteed, according to The Athletic. As a result of missing more than 22 games last season, the final three years of this massive extension are no non-guaranteed, giving the Pelicans the option to possibly waive Zion with no financial penalties or sanctions against them pertaining to the league's salary cap. If Williamson is to miss an extended period of time this season, the $36.7 million he is guaranteed for the 2024-25 season could suddenly become non-guaranteed as well.

It's also worth mentioning that half of his base salary for the 2024-25 season can become non-guaranteed should Williamson have any further issues with the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. Williamson suffered a broken fifth metatarsal and missed all of the 2021-22 season as a result. As The Athletic notes, a fracture or a stress injury to that bone or the healed callus will result in part of next season's salary becoming non-guaranteed.

While a lot of guaranteed money has been taken away from Zion, he does have the chance to redeem himself and fulfill the contract at hand. Should he play in enough games and hit specific marks during his weigh-ins throughout the years, Williamson can once again make the money on his contract guaranteed.

Did your parents ever take a toy or device away from you and make you do chores around the house to earn it back? Shoveling the snow or taking out the trash or even cleaning all of the dishes after dinner was not fun, but you still did it because you wanted to get whatever it is they took from you back. The fact of the matter is that you had to earn their trust back, resulting in you getting what was yours.

This is what has occured with Zion and the Pelicans as a result of this clauses in his contract. New Orleans has essentially taken money away from Williamson, so if he wants to get it back, the All-Star will need to meet certain criteria over the course of the next couple of seasons. Basically, the Pelicans protected themselves in this new contract, giving themselves multiple opt-outs should this relationship ever go south quickly.

Zion's future in New Orleans

The way Williamson's contract is structured gives the Pelicans options on how they want to go about their future. There is no reason to believe that the Pelicans will part ways with Zion anytime soon, but how the 2023-24 season plays out will be very telling as to if they will consider moving him in the offseason.

Just this past summer, there were rumors surrounding the former top overall pick and the Pelicans possibly dangling his name in trade rumors in order to move up in the 2023 NBA Draft. Nothing ever materialized, but the idea that Zion is not in New Orleans' long-term plans has been a widely discussed topic amongst league circles.

Aside from the possibility of moving on from Williamson in a trade, the Pelicans can now begin to think about voiding his contract entirely past the 2024-25 season. Should Zion be unable to regain is guaranteed money and continue to miss games for this franchise, perhaps it would be in the best interest of the organization to head in a different direction. The good news for the Pelicans is that this is two years down the road and they still have plenty of time to work with the young star on his diet and health plan.

There has not been any clues pointing towards the Pelicans looking to move on from Zion in the near future. He was drafted to be the face of this franchise, and the Pelicans believe they have a team that can compete for a title. Finally having their full core group healthy for once, it will be very interesting to see how the 2023-24 season plays out in New Orleans. Another big injury to Zion or the All-Star failing to meet expectations during his check-ins may very well result in a change of strategic thinking moving forward.