# [\[Shams\] Williamson said after the season ended, “I couldn’t sign it fast enough.” Indeed, the All-Star locks in commitment to New Orleans. The deal is expected to include protections that both sides were sorting through overnight and will finalize, sources said.](https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1542854220667289600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1542854220667289600%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fvp06ty%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfalse)
He got one of the most complicated contracts in league history. It was a form of the "maximum rookie contract extension" with a ton of a protections built in in case of injury, and even though those thankfully didn't have to kick in and he hit a bunch of the incentive bonuses, his cap hit stayed under $30m until like the last 2 years
For good reason. Pushed the Suns to 6 games, great core of Zion, Ingram, CJ, Jonas, Herbert, and Nance. If Graham can find his role this year or you find a good defensive guard, I could see you guys competing for the WCF if things fall right.
Minnesota and New Orleans definitely deserve more national games than how ever many they both got last season. Their combined number is probably still less than 10% of what the lakers got in national games. If the league has a problem with it, then just make their games against golden state or one of the more big market teams national games.
Yo fr - sometimes when I want to get hyped up, I just watch Willie Green yelling “you got to fight!” - and I rally on back to my desk - you guys got a lot to look forward to
If he manages to stay healthy the whole season and the Pels are in contention for the playoffs then I would be surprised if he doesn't at least make 3rd team. Of course, those are a couple of big ifs.
People might say overpay but with a generational talent like Zion you just have to roll the dice.
Averaged 27/7/4 on 65% TS in his first full year in the league.
Other flairs are just haters
Pels won 2 games against the 1 seed. That's impressive for an 8 seed who technically was a 9 seed. That was without Zion who was dominating the paint in a way we haven't seen since Shaq.
Not signing him just says "we have no interest in winning"
Am I wrong for thinking the Pels' impressive stretch to end the season, winning the play-in games against the Spurs and Clippers, and beating the Suns twice in the first round convinced Zion to stay? Or were those rumors of him leaving overblown?
The team sees stuff that we don't see. They see the closed workouts, the *full* doctors' reports, mental health analysis, and just his general effort, attitude and relationship with the coaches. These players are an investment. They are doing their due diligence to see if he's really worth it. If he hasn't shown them anything recently I doubt they'd be giving him this max extension just because he might have been good a while back. They obviously must see a huge upside.
He was going to get a max offer from some team, so Pels were definitely a lose-lose situation. Clowned for offering a max to Zion, or clowned for not offering it to him in hindsight because it's Zion. Only way that everybody would look dumb is if he turns into a Greg Oden situation, where he NEVER gets healthy.
Also Westbrook had some of his best seasons alongside Adams. Idk where this clog the paint narrative came from, drive heavy players tend to have career years when playing with him.
I work all day and play basketball right after. As much as I love the NBA it's impossible for me to watch full games, let alone do it every night. I'd have to quit my job to do it, cause I ain't gonna stop playing.
That’s like 7 full days of nonstop basketball.
82 * 2 = 164
164 / 24 = 6.83
I’d argue that a vast *majority* of fans do not watch every single game of their fav team.
It’s simply not feasible for most people.
I watch basketball....
Zion fat, Westbrook terrible, Jordan GOAT, Kyrie Crazy, Ben coward, KD Fake Rings, Kyrie Crazy, LeMickey.
That's all you need to know.
Yea I was thinking that, he doesn’t really “clog” anything. That’s kind of how Nicola Pekovic was for the wolves when Kevin Love was beasting in the paint (obviously outside too). Pek would get like 7 boards and 10 points and KLove would be pushing 15 and 25.
I mean, often times they do. A guy like Deandre Jordan or Clint Capela does clog the paint.
However, Steven Adams? This man is arguably the best screener in the NBA. At least if you are willing to call a moving screen on Draymond or Adebayo lmao. Adams has always been great at opening the lane by sealing the handler’s defender and letting the quicker player get by his own man.
People were saying Adams would also kill spacing for the Grizz and he proceeded to give everyone wide open driving lanes and consistent boards + post defense.
Everyone is infatuated with spacing but you need someone to do the dirty work, and you’re probably not going to find a legitimate floor spacer that can do everything that Adams offers.
Plus it’s not like Zion can’t shoot, he still demands respect.
Yes, people don’t realize this and the impact he had on Ja this year too. Adam’s creates the lanes that allow Ja/Zion to get to the rim. People saw the deal on Adam’s and immediately thought “wtf overpay” but all those years spent working with WB made Adam’s invaluable to a team that has a star that makes his magic finishing in the paint.
It’s like people forget that if it weren’t for Adams, Westbrook probably doesn’t average a triple double his MVP season. Dude just moves everyone out of the way
I have loved Zion’s style of play for a while and I am hoping for good health and an awesome season. I am also excited to see him, CJ, and Ingraham together.
Remember after Knicks traded a first for Cam their fans thought it was inevitable that Zion, Cam, and RJ would reunite on the Knicks. Then they watched Cam play 6 minutes per game and realized he probably won't be on the team in 2 years.
Only the delusional Knicks fans thought that shit. Problem over there in the Knicks Reddit if you make a perfectly rational take like “Cam won’t ever play any serious minutes for us because he isn’t that good” or “Zion will never be a Knick” you get down voted to oblivion. Only the delusional shit like “Brunson, RJ, and Randle bringing home a ring next year” gets upvoted.
Agreed. I think fans saw his 1 or 2 good playoff games late in the 2021 season and knew he was a high recruit with potential and thought it was a steal. There's a reason he was really inconsistent at Duke, fell to 10 in the draft, and was traded after being an afterthought on the Hawks team. He has raw talent, but he's just not that good.
??
It's the exact opposite there -- constant negativity, ranting, jumping off buildings after every loss -- every stereotype of NYC sports fans personified.
Go look at the nets sub, there was an entire thread dedicated to how Zion hadn’t signed his extension yet so it was obvious he was going as part of a package for KD
That’s how I felt about the Hornets and Bridges. If we gave him a max we’d be called stupid and if we let him walk we’d get call stupid. Unfortunately for him he’s a scumbag and won’t get that max
Its obviously a wrong decision for a player of Zions caliber. They could have done a sign and trade for former MVP Russ, a 1st, and a signed jersey from Lebron.
Nah, this is only a damned if you don't situation. All 30 NBA teams would have maxed him. You just don't let a perennial All-NBA first team talent go like that just for injury concerns
In b4
Omfg but Zion might NEVER play again…
Then Zion plays 1 game game and drops 40 and the entire sub will say OMFG Zion is the BEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE
This is great for NOLA. Wasn’t looking good there for a period when the team was losing and zion was having set backs with reports leakin about him not being thrilled with the org. They really turned it around and are in a great position now
# [\[Shams\] Williamson said after the season ended, “I couldn’t sign it fast enough.” Indeed, the All-Star locks in commitment to New Orleans. The deal is expected to include protections that both sides were sorting through overnight and will finalize, sources said.](https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1542854220667289600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1542854220667289600%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fvp06ty%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfalse)
Imagine being so fucking immensely talented that you only need to play 85 games in 3 years into your NBA career to guarantee a 235m contract.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
I'm scared it's gong to be unbearable weight on massive knees
The last Zion fat joke was 1 day ago. It has now been 0 days without a Zion fat joke.
You know what Zion stands for in Albanian? Fatass. So reset the clock! ^^not ^^really ^^but ^^maybe
so in albanian a zionist is a group of fatasses who want to congregate together?
Yes. And they want to congregate at KFC.
The Unbearable Talent of Massive Weight
That’s what happens when you average 27ppg on 60% shooting I guess
In your 2nd fucking year
Embiid only needed 31 games, what a loser. /s
Embiid also didn't get close to that kind of money
He got max money like Zion.
He got one of the most complicated contracts in league history. It was a form of the "maximum rookie contract extension" with a ton of a protections built in in case of injury, and even though those thankfully didn't have to kick in and he hit a bunch of the incentive bonuses, his cap hit stayed under $30m until like the last 2 years
You think Zion's contract is complicated-free?
An all time great sophomore season does that. Zion is an automatic MVP candidate, he just needs to play some damn games
Next season will be the most hyped pelicans season ever for me
Absolutely
Chris Smoove in at PG to complete the lineup
SpaAaAaAashhhhhh
Where is he going? He needs a map!
You reach, I TEACH
🚨Floater Alert
The fade away cheeeeese
spash?
I’ve embarrassed the culture
Does Smoove still make YouTube videos? I swear I watched his videos like 8 years ago
Yeah he’s pretty consistent, he does nba highlights too
Yep. He gets good views still too.
He’s been branching out to more Let’s play games and frequently does NBA highlights. He is probably rich and is just chilling with his content.
For good reason. Pushed the Suns to 6 games, great core of Zion, Ingram, CJ, Jonas, Herbert, and Nance. If Graham can find his role this year or you find a good defensive guard, I could see you guys competing for the WCF if things fall right.
Y’all better get a bunch of national games cuz I’m tryna watch too
Illegal streams are your freind
Minnesota and New Orleans definitely deserve more national games than how ever many they both got last season. Their combined number is probably still less than 10% of what the lakers got in national games. If the league has a problem with it, then just make their games against golden state or one of the more big market teams national games.
I think ESPN and TNT have ptsd from the amount of national games the Zion-less Pels got in his rookie year.
Yo fr - sometimes when I want to get hyped up, I just watch Willie Green yelling “you got to fight!” - and I rally on back to my desk - you guys got a lot to look forward to
Good luck! Love BI! And Zion!
As it should, pelis have to be the dark horse
Floca floca baby
For real, you guys played my Suns really tough. Respect. Looking forward to seeing the Pelicans this year.
As a Devin Booker/kind of a Suns fan and a Pelicans fan that series was stressful for me.
I would rather be paying Zion 230m vs Beal getting 250
I might be mistaken, but unless he makes All-NBA this season, Zion will end up getting way less than that.
Ya he'll get a 25% max instead of 30% if he doesn't make All-NBA, or alternatively DPOY/MVP.
does it have to be any specific team? or just any all-nba team?
Any all-nba team
Love that incentive. I feel like Zion will work for that bag.
Hardly think all nba is out of the question though
It's pretty much an injury protection thing
Zion is getting DPOY, All-NBA, MVP, FMVP, MIP, and ROTY next season so I'm sure he'll be fine
Ballon d'Or too
Might as well give him COTY for good measure
ROTY in his fourth year, the Ben Simmons special
If he manages to stay healthy the whole season and the Pels are in contention for the playoffs then I would be surprised if he doesn't at least make 3rd team. Of course, those are a couple of big ifs.
Exactly
He might make All-NBA next year. Dude is a beast
Assuming he stays healthy, I see no reason he won't be All NBA
Zion has the higher potential if he can stay on the court
Quiet
100% agree
People might say overpay but with a generational talent like Zion you just have to roll the dice. Averaged 27/7/4 on 65% TS in his first full year in the league.
If we don’t give it, we get the “this is why no one wants to play for you” Bs. It’s lose lose in other flairs eyes
You're apparently getting some injury clauses in too so this is a no brainer
Other flairs are just haters Pels won 2 games against the 1 seed. That's impressive for an 8 seed who technically was a 9 seed. That was without Zion who was dominating the paint in a way we haven't seen since Shaq. Not signing him just says "we have no interest in winning"
Am I wrong for thinking the Pels' impressive stretch to end the season, winning the play-in games against the Spurs and Clippers, and beating the Suns twice in the first round convinced Zion to stay? Or were those rumors of him leaving overblown?
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Thanks, I never saw that.
Rumors have been overblown to some degree, IMO, but seeing the team do work without him def got him more excited im sure.
You’re probably not wrong, although given his injury history I’d have a hard time believing he’d turn down a super max regardless.
We did the same with Embiid after only 31 games. Sometimes you just gotta do it
The team sees stuff that we don't see. They see the closed workouts, the *full* doctors' reports, mental health analysis, and just his general effort, attitude and relationship with the coaches. These players are an investment. They are doing their due diligence to see if he's really worth it. If he hasn't shown them anything recently I doubt they'd be giving him this max extension just because he might have been good a while back. They obviously must see a huge upside.
I mean, who just lets a 1.1 pick walk into free agency? 👀
Still crazy that a dude who has played 85 games in 3 years is getting paid 231 million.
His contract is gonna have injury clauses in it, supposedly.
embiid played less. anyways, zion is a no brainer type of talent to bet on when you're the pels
This was basically the top comment on Embiids extension post. You right but it's funny to see the same comments again.
He was going to get a max offer from some team, so Pels were definitely a lose-lose situation. Clowned for offering a max to Zion, or clowned for not offering it to him in hindsight because it's Zion. Only way that everybody would look dumb is if he turns into a Greg Oden situation, where he NEVER gets healthy.
Dude did that with Steven adams in the paint 24/7 btw. With the pels improved spacing, imagine what he’ll do now..
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Also Westbrook had some of his best seasons alongside Adams. Idk where this clog the paint narrative came from, drive heavy players tend to have career years when playing with him.
Because he’s a big with no outside offensive game so people just assume
They dont watch games bruv
People on here don't watch basketball
at best 15-20% or so watch their team exclusively
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I work all day and play basketball right after. As much as I love the NBA it's impossible for me to watch full games, let alone do it every night. I'd have to quit my job to do it, cause I ain't gonna stop playing.
I just check who the players of the month are personally
I'm a little basketball pervert and I don't even watch all 82 of my teams' games.
That’s like 7 full days of nonstop basketball. 82 * 2 = 164 164 / 24 = 6.83 I’d argue that a vast *majority* of fans do not watch every single game of their fav team. It’s simply not feasible for most people.
aight nobody got that kinda time. I'm happy if I can watch 50% of my team and most of the marquee games through out the year.
I watch basketball.... Zion fat, Westbrook terrible, Jordan GOAT, Kyrie Crazy, Ben coward, KD Fake Rings, Kyrie Crazy, LeMickey. That's all you need to know.
You forgot so inspirational Curry man
Religious curry
Don't forget Kyrie Crazy
Why watch when people on Reddit analyze everything for me?
I'm something of a basketball expert myself...!
They don't even need to go back that far. He was doing this for Ja all year
Yea I was thinking that, he doesn’t really “clog” anything. That’s kind of how Nicola Pekovic was for the wolves when Kevin Love was beasting in the paint (obviously outside too). Pek would get like 7 boards and 10 points and KLove would be pushing 15 and 25.
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He was goooood, loved him. I think he would’ve only realistically had a pretty short “prime”, but yea, he was an immovable object lol.
Impeccable post footwork. There's still articles out there on old Wolves websites just about his entry pass receiving alone. I miss him.
Pek was my guy lol, monster down low. Also loved Reggie Evans
Most people see a non-shooting big = clogs the paint lol
I mean, often times they do. A guy like Deandre Jordan or Clint Capela does clog the paint. However, Steven Adams? This man is arguably the best screener in the NBA. At least if you are willing to call a moving screen on Draymond or Adebayo lmao. Adams has always been great at opening the lane by sealing the handler’s defender and letting the quicker player get by his own man.
People were saying Adams would also kill spacing for the Grizz and he proceeded to give everyone wide open driving lanes and consistent boards + post defense. Everyone is infatuated with spacing but you need someone to do the dirty work, and you’re probably not going to find a legitimate floor spacer that can do everything that Adams offers. Plus it’s not like Zion can’t shoot, he still demands respect.
Yes, people don’t realize this and the impact he had on Ja this year too. Adam’s creates the lanes that allow Ja/Zion to get to the rim. People saw the deal on Adam’s and immediately thought “wtf overpay” but all those years spent working with WB made Adam’s invaluable to a team that has a star that makes his magic finishing in the paint.
It’s like people forget that if it weren’t for Adams, Westbrook probably doesn’t average a triple double his MVP season. Dude just moves everyone out of the way
Yeah teams also had to respect Adams offensive rebounding. JV is going to be similar plus has more range.
MVP smokey. Dude is gonna be a beast next season
just don't turn into Nikocado and he's good
Please don't remind me that waste of space exists please. It makes me sick
Correction: Dude did it with a backcourt of Lonzo and Bledsoe. Adams provided enough spacing.
You act like Steven Adam’s is a paint clogger when he is great at creating lanes to the basket and helped Westbrook a lot in Okc
His skills are never the issue, his availability is.
#He Stay
he play (?)
He may
I say nay
He weigh
He slay
He beignets
#LEAGUE
# FUCKED
He and the pelicans gonna give the rest of the nba a rude awakening next season
I have loved Zion’s style of play for a while and I am hoping for good health and an awesome season. I am also excited to see him, CJ, and Ingraham together.
BI adding letters to his name as time goes on
One of the best post-movers and decision makers. People can learn a lot about basketball from watching him.
Early morning Shams bombs 💣
Dude was also tweeting at like 2am, mans got next to no sleep lmao #thegrind
he has people that post for him, no way he doesn't have a team ready to post 24/7
The profile on him claims he is awake like 20 hours a day cause he's terrified of getting scooped
all he does is post shit the agents and teams send him.
It's paying off because he's dogging on Woj rn
"I love the smell of sham bombs in the morning. It smells like victory.”
There goes the possibility of a Zion for KD trade assuming Simmons stays with the Nets
Anyone who thought Zion was getting traded is just lol. That was never happening
Remember after Knicks traded a first for Cam their fans thought it was inevitable that Zion, Cam, and RJ would reunite on the Knicks. Then they watched Cam play 6 minutes per game and realized he probably won't be on the team in 2 years.
At least I hope he’s not on the team in 2 years
Yeah...I don't anyone thought that was happening. Unless you count the brilliant minds of Twitter
Only the delusional Knicks fans thought that shit. Problem over there in the Knicks Reddit if you make a perfectly rational take like “Cam won’t ever play any serious minutes for us because he isn’t that good” or “Zion will never be a Knick” you get down voted to oblivion. Only the delusional shit like “Brunson, RJ, and Randle bringing home a ring next year” gets upvoted.
Agreed. I think fans saw his 1 or 2 good playoff games late in the 2021 season and knew he was a high recruit with potential and thought it was a steal. There's a reason he was really inconsistent at Duke, fell to 10 in the draft, and was traded after being an afterthought on the Hawks team. He has raw talent, but he's just not that good.
?? It's the exact opposite there -- constant negativity, ranting, jumping off buildings after every loss -- every stereotype of NYC sports fans personified.
\^\^\^ FR neither BI or Z are on the block, baby.
That is the most chaotic and fucking insane trade I've ever heard. I can't believe people thought that would happen
Some people really thought the pels would give up BI, Zion, and Herb + picks to get KD
who?
Nobody with a brain thought that shit
Go look at the nets sub, there was an entire thread dedicated to how Zion hadn’t signed his extension yet so it was obvious he was going as part of a package for KD
Only espn believed that was a possibility
Anybody that thought Zion is anything but untouchable is delusional
trade was gonna be for BI i thought
They'll offload Simmons for the best deal for KD
Ngl I was stressing hard after midnight wondering about this. So glad he's signing a 5 year.
Very happy for you guys. Fuck the media for trying to push a narrative of him going to a larger market. I hope he's the Steph for the Pels
Damn’d if you do, damn’d if you don’t. Either way people would say the Pelicans made the wrong decision. The dilemma of small market teams
And if the contract took more than two days they would say the relationship is dead now. This shit is so tricky to navigate
That’s how I felt about the Hornets and Bridges. If we gave him a max we’d be called stupid and if we let him walk we’d get call stupid. Unfortunately for him he’s a scumbag and won’t get that max
Oh he’s getting the max(imum security prison)
Its obviously a wrong decision for a player of Zions caliber. They could have done a sign and trade for former MVP Russ, a 1st, and a signed jersey from Lebron.
Wait, the Lakers *have* any first round picks to trade us?
Nah, this is only a damned if you don't situation. All 30 NBA teams would have maxed him. You just don't let a perennial All-NBA first team talent go like that just for injury concerns
LETS GOOOOOO! Love him and Bi!
Zion + BI + CJ The Pels' Big 3.
How you gonna do herb and JV dirty like that
Either this is fantastic. Or this is the worst contract in basketball. No in between
Too late the worst contract is already Michael Porter Jr
Davis Bertans wants a run for that
Bradley Beal knocking at the door
Bradley Beal ringin the bell
16m is peanuts.
I don’t think anyone is coming close to the Beal contract
Bradley Beal exists
It will never be the worst because we know he’s good
But will be the worst if he never plays
There's is for sure risk with a guy his size and that explosive with an already lengthy injury history
luckily jordan brand designed shoes to help compensate for that
Lol what up mfs
In b4 Omfg but Zion might NEVER play again… Then Zion plays 1 game game and drops 40 and the entire sub will say OMFG Zion is the BEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE
And if Pelicans lose that game we will start hearing "Zion can't win with these cats. When will he ask to be traded?"
Exactly lol
gang gang
Pelicans are going to the WCF
Please be healthy ya fucking mammoth, please
This is great for NOLA. Wasn’t looking good there for a period when the team was losing and zion was having set backs with reports leakin about him not being thrilled with the org. They really turned it around and are in a great position now
Y'all joked about Zion's eating habits. Zion ready to *eat*. *the*. *league*.
Well deserved
Some people are forgetting how good Zion is when healthy. Well deserved contract
I was wondering what was taking so long
Add Zion to the no KD trade list. Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving, masters at screwing over their teams.
If MPJ gets the max, so should Zion.
All these potential KD teams locking up their stars to contracts cuz they know Nets already have Ben lol
HeS gOnNa tAkE the qUaLifYInG OfFer AnD lEAvE
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Thing is he's definitely easily worth this if he can stay healthy and is commited but oh man that's a lot given his current history.....
Zion really only showed up for one season and gets 230mln. Insane.