Pelicans reward Zion Williamson with a multi-year maximum rookie extension / News - Basketnews.com

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New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson will sign a five-year maximum rookie extension with the club, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

3-pointers this season

33%10,5Points made:10,5Accuracy:33,3%Place in standings:30Record max:17Record min:4Most made 3FGs:Devonte GrahamTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The deal is guaranteed to pay Williamson $193 million and could be worth as much as $231 million.

The agreement officially ends any concerns that Williamson could become the first player in NBA history to turn down a maximum contract extension coming off of his rookie deal.

"Of course, of course," said Williamson in late April with a big smile when asked if he'd be willing to sign an extension with the Pelicans. "I wouldn't be able to sign it fast enough. I can't control rumors and how people feel about certain things," he later added. "Anybody that knows me knows I want to be here."

As recently as February, the relationship between the Pelicans and Williamson appeared fractured. While Williamson was rehabilitating from right foot surgery in Portland, some within the organization believed the relationship between the two sides was irreparable.

Nearly two weeks after New Orleans acquired CJ McCollum in a trade, the high-scoring guard told TNT he hadn’t spoken directly to Williamson. "I’ve spoken to people close to him," McCollum said. "I look forward to sitting down with him sooner than later. I know about as much as you do right now. But I’m going to get to the bottom of it."

Without Williamson within their ranks, the Pelicans made an improbable run through the NBA play-in tournament, and gave a 64-win Phoenix Suns team a scare in Round 1, before falling 4-2 in the series. Williamson was supposed to re-join the team at some point during the season after undergoing foot surgery last off-season, but suffered a series of setbacks throughout the year that kept him out.

In May, a month after New Orleans had been eliminated, the team announced Williamson was fully cleared to return to play. In total, the Duke product has only played 85 games since being drafted first overall in 2019. The No. 1 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson has played just 85 games for the Pelicans. For his career, he has averages of 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over 31.7 minutes per match.

Heading into next season, Williamson will join a revamped Pelicans squad with a matured Brandon Ingram, a new acquisition in CJ McCollum, big man Jonas Valanciunas and sophomore Herb Jones.

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