NBA Rumors: Zion Williamson, CAA Split as ‘Contract Situation in Doubt’ amid Injuries
Julia StumbaughNovember 23, 2024
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson will no longer be represented by the Creative Arts Agency, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon and Sam Amick reported.
Williamson’s “contract situation” is “in doubt” due to his injury history, according to Vardon and Amick.
He had been represented by CAA since 2019.
The news of the split comes the same day ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Williamson is “not close” to returning from an ongoing hamstring issue.
Williamson originally signed with CAA Sports as a 19-year-old NCAA star.
Since entering the NBA as the top pick of the 2019 draft, injuries have limited Williamson to fewer than 50 percent of the Pelicans’ games. He has played in six of New Orleans’ 16 games so far this season.
Williamson is playing in the second season of the five-year, $197 million contract he inked with the Pelicans in 2022.
However, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic has previously reported that the Pelicans have an out built in to Williamson’s contract after this season.
Because Williamson fell short of a games-played clause in his contract during the 2022-23 campaign, the final three years of his deal are not guaranteed, per Vorkunov. That opens the possibility for the Pelicans to waive Williamson after the 2024-25 campaign without taking on dead money.
Williamson, who has not played since suffering a left hamstring strain during a Nov. 6 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, has “undergone multiple treatments” on his hamstring, according to Charania.
Charania reported that Williamson could be sidelined past mid-December “as he rehabilitates a body part that has sustained multiple strains over the past few years.”
Williamson missed the last 53 games of the 2022-23 campaign due to a right hamstring injury.
He returned to play a career-high 70 games in 2023-24, but the Pelicans lost Williamson for the postseason after he suffered a left hamstring strain during a play-in tournament loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Pelicans advanced to the postseason without Williamson, but were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
New Orleans has similarly struggled to cover for a crowded injured list that has included not just Williamson but also CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado, Dejounte Murray and Herbert Jones.
The Pelicans hold the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 4-12 heading into Friday night’s NBA Cup action against the Golden State Warriors.
