On April 30, Beijing time, the New Orleans Pelicans lost 2-4 to the Suns in the first round, and their season has ended; in an interview today, Zion responded to the absence of the entire season and expressed his willingness to renew the pelicans in advance, and salary experts explained the new contract, up to a 5-year, $223 million contract.
Speaking about the absence of this season, Zion said it felt terrible to watch the ball from the sidelines and also said he felt he could have made a comeback, but the team's coaching staff and management decided to let him continue to rest because they thought it was the best decision.
Talking about whether he was willing to renew his contract with the Pelicans early, Zion said: "Of course, I didn't sign fast enough.
Zion currently has a year left on his rookie contract, with an annual salary of $13.53 million next season, and he is eligible to renew his contract with the Pelicans early this summer, and NBA salary expert Yossi Gozlan explains Zion's renewal in detail.
Yossi Gozlan said Zion could renew a five-year, $185.7 million contract with the Pelicans, and that the Pelicans could include in their contracts a five-year, $222.9 million maximum salary if Zion is named to the Best Team next season (1-3 teams), and the salary expert also said the Pelicans may be willing to give Zion a top-salary contract, but players need to make some compromises, such as adding a limit on the number of appearances in the contract.
Since entering the league as a champion, the Pelicans have played 226 regular-season games, while Zion has only played 85 games with injuries and has missed all games this season due to a foot injury; so far in his career, Zion has played only 85 games in three years, averaging 25.7 points, 7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.