Questions have arisen over Zion Williamson’s future in the wake of the disturbing new lawsuit against him. But there is at least one good reason to believe that he may stay put with the New Orleans Pelicans.
This season, Pelicans star Williamson hit the weight benchmarks contained in his contract with the Pelicans, Shamit Dua of WDSU in New Orleans reported on Friday. As a result, Williamson will be owed a guaranteed $7.9 million next year if New Orleans waives him before July 15 (a figure that, according to previous reporting on Williamson’s Pelicans contract, would have been $0 if he had missed those weight benchmarks).
Additionally, Dua notes that the guaranteed money in Williamson’s contract means the Pelicans will not have any functional cap space if they waive him. Dua does note though that New Orleans can potentially get around that by operating as an above-the-cap team, allowing them to retain both the full $14 million non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception plus the trade exception they received in the Jonas Valanciunas deal with the Washington Wizards.
Nevertheless, it won’t be nearly as financially advantageous for the Pelicans to waive Williamson at this point than it would have been if he had missed his weight benchmarks. That is a consideration that matters right now in the wake of the troubling allegations that Williamson is facing.
A woman claiming to be Williamson’s ex-girlfriend filed a lawsuit against the former No. 1 overall pick claiming that he had subjected her to “abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior.” The woman claims that Williamson forced her to have sex with him on multiple occasions and also allegedly choked her, threatened the lives of both her and her family members, and once even pointed a loaded gun at her head (full lawsuit details here). Williamson’s legal team has since issued a scathing response, categorically denying the accusations.
We already know that Williamson and the Pelicans organization have had a long history of issues over their six-year partnership. A couple of months ago, team ownership was even said to be furious about Williamson’s then-latest bout of off-court drama (prior to this week’s lawsuit).
Meanwhile, New Orleans, after finishing a woeful 21-61 this season, recently hired a big name to serve as the new head of their front office. All things considered, the Pelicans have to at least be thinking hard about a potential exit plan when it comes to the two-time All-Star Williamson.
