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Pelicans have a $200 million decision to make on Williamson

Pelicans have a $200 million decision to make on Williamson

METAIRIE, La. (AP) Zion Williamson says he’ll jump at the chance to sign an extension with the New Orleans Pelicans this summer.

It doesn’t sound certain that one will be offered.

And that is the $200 million – give or take – question that the Pelicans face this offseason, whether to offer the former No. 1 overall pick a lucrative extension that would kick in starting with the 2023-24 season, or roll the dice and see if he can get healthy enough to be a contributor to a team that believes it has a bright future.

”When it’s time to have that (conversation), we’ll have it,” Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said. ”Right now what we’re focused on is him being healthy, and kind of elite condition to play basketball and we’ll start there. I think once we get to that point, all those conversations get a lot easier.”

Williamson played in 24 games as a rookie, then 65 games in his second year – and zero games this season, when the Pelicans overcame a 1-12 start to finish 36-46, then win two play-in games and make the Western Conference quarterfinals. He’s had knee issues, his weight has been a concern, and a fractured foot was the issue this season.

”I wouldn’t be able to sign it fast enough,” Williamson said when asked if he would sign an extension.

It’s a major decision for the Pelicans, who obviously would love to add a player of Williamson’s enormous skill level to a core that took the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games in the playoffs. There is excitement in New Orleans about the finish, and the future, and rightly so.

”Words cannot describe how excited I am,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said Friday, when the team held its end-of-season meetings before before dispersing for the summer. ”I’m ready to get right back to work.”

The question is when Williamson will be ready to work.

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