It did take quite some time, but Zion Williamson left the injury behind. The New Orleans Pelicans star, who is expected to receive a maximum-wage contract extension according to an ESPN report about two weeks ago, also expressed a desire to succeed in his current team after recovering from a foot fracture that prevented him from playing this season.
Williamson spoke to the American media during the day of registration for the basketball camp he runs, saying, “I want to be here, it’s no secret. I think I made it clear the previous times I spoke. It has been a long year for me, of rehabilitation and mental coping, but I’m fine now and ready “Go to work.”
Senior reporter Andrew Wozniacki announced that New Orleans would exercise the option to extend the contract with Zion for another five years for $ 186 million per season, but the first-round pick in the 2019 draft maintained discretion when asked about the issue: “You’ll have to ask the Pelicans,” he replied.
New Orleans vice president of basketball David Griffin said Tuesday when he was featured on The Ringer’s podcast that there was no hesitation in deciding whether to exercise the option on Williamson, even though he missed a large number of games due to injuries: “When he plays, he’s good on a historical level.”
By that dunk, Zion is definitely at his peak of fitness
Lil man at the end ????Zionwilliamson (via PelicansNBA)pic.twitter.com/mqqldEe8zS
— Overtime (overtime) June 11, 2022
For his part, Williamson provided proof that he was back at peak fitness when he stunned the camp children with the “windmill” ring whose documentation immediately spread on the networks. Zion drew great motivation from his team’s appearance in the last playoffs, despite being ousted by Phoenix: “Pelicans in the first round, that’s all I needed to get excited to get back there.”