Zion Williamson's $39.4M Salary Guaranteed in Pelicans Contract After NBA Trade Rumors

There have been rumblings about the New Orleans Pelicans potentially looking to trade star Zion Williamson, but that task gets trickier after a deadline passed on Thursday.

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, July 15 marked the deadline for Williamson's $39.4 million salary for the 2025-26 campaign to become guaranteed. He'll make $42.2 million next year and $44.9 million in 2027-28, though those salaries are non-guaranteed unless Williamson meets the games played threshold for the upcoming seasons.

At his best, Williamson is well worth $39.4 million guaranteed, but that figure is a little steep when you consider his health issues early on in his career. In his first five seasons, Williamson has played 70 or more games just once and 60 or more games just twice. He's played 30 or fewer games in three seasons and missed the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign.

Last season, he played just 30 games, but put up 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the contests he did play.

But the guaranteed money diminishing Williamson's trade value might be a moot point. New Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told Rod Walker of The Times-Picayune in June that he has had "really good conversations with Zion" and said that Williamson is "going to continue to be a focal point here."

So while there was chatter about New Orleans moving on from Williamson earlier this offseason, it seems as if the franchise is committed to him for now. The Pelicans just hope they can get the best version of their star this year.