Pelicans Guarantee Zion Williamson’s $39.4M Salary For 2025-26

Rumors have been swirling around NBA circles about a potential trade involving New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson, but that gossip may now be irrelevant after a deadline passed on Tuesday.

Zion Williamson Must Meet The Games Played Threshold

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, July 15 marked the deadline for Williamson’s $39.4 million salary for the 2025-26 season to become guaranteed. He’ll then make $42.16 million in 2026-27 and $44.9 million in 2027-28.

But those salaries, of course, are non-guaranteed unless Williamson meets the games played threshold for the upcoming seasons. For example, approximately 40% of his 2025-26 salary would have been guaranteed had he played at least 41 games this past season.

In his first five NBA seasons, Williamson has played 70 or more games only 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 season.

Per Spotrac, 20% of 2025-26 salary is guaranteed for passing all six weigh-in checkpoints during the 2024-25 campaign. An additional 20% would have also been guaranteed had he played 51 games, and the remaining 20% would have been included had he appeared in 61 games with the Pelicans.

This means he’s not out of the woods just yet.

Williamson Was Limited To 30 Games With Pelicans Last Season

Last season, Williamson played just 30 games and averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in those contests while shooting 56.7% from the field and 65.6% from the foul line.

It seems New Orleans still has faith in its former No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 draft.

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.”

Trade rumors could heat up later this year, especially if Williamson suffers another injury during this upcoming season. Dumars, however, seems willing to move forward with the 25-year-old.

“The first thing I would say about Zion is he’s an incredibly good guy,” Dumars recently told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “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.”

The Pelicans are pretty much counting on Williamson to stay healthy.

New Orleans traded its first-round pick in 2026 to the Atlanta Hawks this offseason, and it was one valuable pick that the team couldn’t afford to lose. The Pels are hoping to return to the playoffs in 2026 with a healthy Williamson.