Rumors

What kind of rapport have you built with Zion? How do you get the best of him? Dumars: The first thing I would say about Zion is he’s an incredibly good guy. He’s a really good person. He’s obviously immensely talented. He and I have had some incredible conversations. We are in constant contact with each other. I’ve talked to him about the responsibility of being great and the responsibility of being a leader, of being a captain, of being the best player, of being the face of a franchise. I’ve talked to him about how all of those things come with responsibility and how it’s time now at 25 years old to embrace those responsibilities.

Andscape

Zion Williamson’s contract has been the topic of discussion since the details were made public. The Pelicans were afforded a number of protections over the duration of the deal, but Williamson retained the ability to guarantee his money through various avenues. Based on language in Williamson’s contract, if the Pelicans did not request waivers on or by July 15, 2025, 100% of the Base Compensation would be protected. League sources indicate Williamson’s salary will become fully guaranteed for the 2025-26 Season.

In the NO

As of today, the subsequent 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons are fully non-guaranteed. Williamson can earn back money through the following avenues. 20% if Player satisfies the Weigh-In Criteria during the 2025-26 Season; 40% if Player satisfies the 41 Games Played Criteria during the 2025-26 Season; 20% if Player satisfies the 51 Games Played Criteria during the 2025-26 Season; and 20% if Player satisfies the 61 Games Played Criteria during the 2025-26 Season:

In the NO

Thursday’s Lakers-Mavericks NBA Summer League game, which marked the NBA debut of #1 pick Cooper Flagg, averaged 955,000 viewers on ESPN — marking the fourth-largest Summer League audience ever on the ESPN networks. The Mavericks’ win, which peaked with 1.12 million viewers, trails only Hornets-Spurs in 2023 (Victor Wembanyama’s debut: 1.39M), Pelicans-Knicks in 2019 (Zion Williamson’s debut: 1.61M) and Celtics-Lakers in 2017 (1.1M).

Sports Media Watch

Jim Eichenhofer: Derik Queen on playing with Zion Williamson for #Pelicans: "He's a killer. I can't wait to talk to him, and excited to be his teammate. Can't wait to talk to him, pick his brain, ask him questions about the game."

Twitter

Joe Dumars, hired in April as the Pelicans' executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke on the plans for Zion Williamson in an interview with The Times-Picayune Wednesday morning. "I've had really good conversations with Zion," Dumars said. "We've had lunch. Dinner. Watched playoff games together. We've done it all. I've had some real honest conversations with him. Some real direct and honest conversations. We're going to go forward with Zion. He's going to continue to be a focal point here as we go forward."

New Orleans Times-Picayune

Dumars' plans to continue building the franchise around Williamson were revealed less than a week after a lawsuit was filed against Williamson in Los Angeles for rape and assault in 2020. Dumars wouldn't speak on the lawsuit. "I've been advised not to venture into any of his legal issues," Dumars said. Pelicans' owner Gayle Benson spoke about the lawsuit Wednesday. "You know, lawsuits are lawsuits," Benson said. "You really can't … You don't know. I mean people can sue you for anything. There's no reason. You can be innocent or not. It's just something that people do, unfortunately."

New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Pelicans owner Gayle Benson addressing the lawsuit filed against star forward Zion Williamson, who is accused of rape and physical abuse by a woman claiming to be his former girlfriend. Benson spoke briefly about the matter on Tuesday, saying, “you know, lawsuits are lawsuits. I mean you really can't, you know...people can sue you for anything, there's no, there's no reason, you can be innocent or not, so it's just something that people do unfortunately.”

WWLTV.com

The second is Williamson's current contract and the leverage New Orleans loses if an extension is signed. Williamson's $39.4 million contract ($7.9 million protected) for next season is guaranteed July 15. The following two seasons ($42.2 million and $44.9 million) remain non-guaranteed. If Williamson does sign a two-year $128.4 million extension, his original contract will become fully guaranteed. What to expect: No extension, and Williamson enters free agency in 2028.

ESPN

Shamit Dua: I've just been texting random executives across the league. This is speculation, right? This is not them saying this is what we would do. This is just them guessing, right? I was like this is straight off asking people like would anyone touch Zion with a 10-foot pole? And there seems to be this general idea of like you kind of saw it with with like Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis that like there will be teams that do not necessarily care about the reputation provided they have enough general information to know that this is going to get settled out of court and the allegations won't stick. There will be teams who do not care and but those teams who do not care need to be sufficiently desperate one and two they're not going to give you anything of value. So you're going to get really bad contracts and likely no picks. But if you do get a pick, it's a late pick. So an example would be Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson for Zion and some small salary just to kind of make it even.

YouTube

The woman is seeking monetary damages, including punitive damages, for emotional distress. A source told ESPN that the woman is seeking "anywhere from $18 million to $50 million."

ESPN

The 12-page civil complaint, obtained by ESPN, says Williamson's alleged actions occurred in multiple states, including Louisiana and California. The court filing details two alleged incidents of rape in 2020, the first taking place that September in Beverly Hills, California. According to the complaint, the woman told Williamson "she was tired and wanted to go to sleep" but Williamson told her she could not go to sleep without having sex with him. He then allegedly pinned her down with her hands behind her back and raped her. The filing added that Williamson threw the woman's phone across the room afterward and choked her.

ESPN

In addition to the rape allegations, the lawsuit details accusations of strangulation "with such force that she reasonably feared for her life and eventually lost consciousness multiple times." The woman also accuses Williamson of entering her apartment without consent and stealing her belongings.

ESPN

A Pelicans spokesperson deferred comment to Williamson's legal team.

ESPN