New Orleans Pelicans: 3 reasons to go for title during Zion’s rookie deal

New Orleans Pelicans: Winning with Zion Williamson on a rookie deal will be easier

Reason #3: Winning with Zion on a rookie deal will be easier

Zion Williamson is one of a handful of players in the league that you can build a championship roster around.

There aren’t many guys who have the talent to be the centerpiece, to be the one who all the other moves are based around. Zion is one of them.

The rest of them are all making between $30-40 million a year.

Zion Williamson is under contract through 2022-23 and making only $10 million next season and ramping up to $13 million in the final season.

Do you have any idea how huge an advantage that is?

The Pelicans are getting potential superstar production out of a guy who is making less than Luke Babbitt and Cody Zeller, Will Barton and Jordan Clarkson. Zion Williamson makes less than all of the Plumlees.

That gives the Pelicans the advantage of having a superstar who is getting paid like a role player, which means they have another slot for a big salary.

They could use their ample draft capital to try and trade for a guy like James Harden or Bradley Beal. The Pels have the ammo to do a deal like this and still have draft picks in every draft.

They can do it and they should, as you never know what could happen. Zion could get hurt or decide he wants to be a Laker.

The Pels should go for it now while their best player is cheap and the window is open. Otherwise, they may just be another small-market team that no one wants to play for sitting on top of a pile of hope.