Three weeks following officially signing his XXL extension with the Pelicans on his birthday, Zion Williamson is already starting to see the small – but oh so important – details of his new contract revealed in the press. Among them, Christian Clark of Times-Picayune explained in particular that the young star would now undergo regular tests, such as weighing, in order to maintain Thanos under a certain limit of weight and body fat, otherwise his wallet would be directly targeted.
From the opening of the Free Agency 2022, the news had quickly fallen: for an amount of 193 million dollars, Zion Williamson was going to sign a five-year extension with New Orleans. So yes, certainly, for a guy who has only played 85 games in three seasons, it may seem a bit… let’s say daring. But that would be to overlook the potential of the hottest prospect we’ve had since LeBron James. Little reminder, for his second season, and while he is still hampered by injuries, Zion was shooting 27/7 at 61% shooting. Not bad is not it ? The Pelicans them, have in any case not forgotten. In this sense, the latter therefore wanted to add clauses allowing them to go up to 231 million dollars over the same period if Thanos were to join an All-NBA Team, become DPOY or outright be named MVP next season. But the franchise isn’t completely blind either. Indeed, NOLA has not forgotten the ability of their nugget to abuse snacks too much and thus become very, even too, prone to injuries. So while there are ways for Williamson to improve his extension, others might also lessen it. According to Christian Clark of Times-Picayuneif the sum of Zion’s weight and body fat percentage exceeds 295 lbs (regarding 134 kilos), then the boy’s contract amount will decrease. It’s very simple: the Pelicans simply ask for guarantees that the man’s health remains stable and does not go to extremes, as has already been the case…
“(Zion’s) contract stipulates that he will have weigh-ins periodically throughout…his new deal. The sum of his weight & body fat percentage must be below 295. If it is not, the amount of guaranteed money in (his) contract can be reduced.”
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— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 28, 2022
Few months ago, Bleacher Report claimed that Williamson weighed more than 136 (300 lbs) kilos. The kind of information that the staff and the front office of New Orleans never want to hear regarding once more. To achieve the objective set by his contract, Zion will therefore no longer be able to take the risk of approaching 130 (285 lbs) kilos on the scale. Admittedly, the measure is only an incentive, but given the motivation of the guy to come back in force and the financial risks of wanting to play with fire, we can undoubtedly imagine that the former Dukie will do everything to keep in shape. These clauses are also reminiscent of those that had been included in Boris Diaw’s contract with the Spurs and which pushed Babac to drop below the 115 kg mark to receive up to 500,000 dollars in bonuses. Well, this “bonus” system clearly works better with small contracts like that of the Frenchman at the time, but perhaps less on boys like Zion who will receive astronomical sums no matter what, and on whom a system of “malus” might be more restrictive. If the exact amount of the financial penalties is not known, one can easily imagine that it will be counted in millions of dollars. Currently, Williamson is listed at 128.8 kilos (285 lbs) by the Pelicans, so we will have to continue working to reduce this weight, which remains a critical factor in avoiding repetitive injuries.
The New Orleans franchise is well aware that it has gold at its fingertips. With an Ingram – McCollum – Williamson trio surrounded by lieutenants like Valanciunas, Graham, Alvarado, Nance Jr. and then golden kids to develop (Jones, Murphy, Liddell)… the Pels can afford to approach the future with strong expectations. However, it will be difficult to reach a milestone without a Zion at the top of its abilities. The staff is therefore ready to monitor the body of Thanos very closely, who will not be entitled to error on this aspect.
Source texte : NBC Sports / Sports Illustrated / NOLA.com
