Sources: How Zion Williamson's Knicks connection impacted agency split

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New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson and his agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), have split up, as first reported by Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. This agency represents a variety of NBA stars like New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as other All-Stars like Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker. The interesting thing about Williamson’s decision to change agencies is that the Knicks themselves indirectly played a role in the split between the Pelicans forward and CAA, sources told ClutchPoints.

Even before the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery sealed Williamson’s fate as the Pelicans’ No. 1 overall pick, he had long made it clear to the agency that he wanted to play in New York. After beginning his career in New Orleans, Williamson expected more from his representation in regards to pursuing a trade to New York. This was one of the two driving factors that resulted in the split, source said.

Aside from his connection to the Knicks, Williamson’s contract was another element in the deterioration of the relationship between the two sides. Zion extended his time with New Orleans in January 2022 by agreeing to a five-year, $197 million contract. Initially, this deal was unusual due to the extent of injury and weight-related benchmarks that made certain aspects of the deal non-guaranteed.

Right now, Williamson’s contract will become fully guaranteed for the 2024-25 season as long as the Pelicans don't waive him on or before Jan. 7, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. His contract for the 2025-26 season is 100 percent protected should Williamson be on the team’s roster after July 15. There is also a handful of weight checkpoints that will result in Zion earning 20 percent of his salary should he pass all six throughout the 2024-25 season.

Essentially, this deal was signed with the intent of protecting the Pelicans from Williamson’s health and conditioning impacting their future.

Since the deal was initially signed, Williamson has gained a greater understanding of how his contract was structured and the various clauses involving his weight that make said deal not fully guaranteed moving forward. Both the agency’s perceived inability to land the forward in New York City, as well as Williamson’s understanding of his contract situation, pushed the relationship to the point where the parties felt a divorce was the best resolution.

The exact timeline of how specifically the split happened is not clear at this immediate moment. Williamson won’t be able to dispel any talk about this decision for a while. Currently one month through the 2024-25 season, the Pelicans forward is not close to making a return to the court due to yet another hamstring injury.

Zion Williamson’s season off to a rough start in New Orleans

After seeing about 31 minutes per game in six of the team’s first nine games of the new season, Williamson hasn’t played since Nov. 6 due to a hamstring injury. When he has played, it’s been a tale of two different players. Over his first, third, and fourth games of the season, he made 12 of his 47 shot attempts, roughly 26 percent. In the other three games, the Pelicans star dominated the paint, making 35 of his 57 attempts, which equates to about 61 percent.

Six games is a small sample size to fully dissect. But Williamson was on pace for a career-high in turnovers per game and his lowest scoring average since his rookie season. To make matters worse, New Orleans has also been without Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, and a few other key talents. Fellow star forward Brandon Ingram has missed time too as a result of lower leg issues. The Pelicans have struggled at 4-13 to begin the season.

Like every season, injuries are impacting the league at large. However, the Pelicans have been hit harder than most teams. But the Pelicans cannot say that they did not at least prepare to be without Williamson for extended periods of time over the course of his contract.

Williamson is in the second year of his aforementioned extension. The games he missed in 2022 and 2023 triggered a clause in his contract that rendered the remainder of his deal non-guaranteed.

As a result, the Pelicans could opt to waive Williamson after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season without facing any financial ramifications. Close to 80 percent of Williamson’s salary for the 2025-26 season is directly tied to how many games he plays during the 2024-25 campaign, according to Vorkunov. He is scheduled to make $39.5 million next season. This means close to $31.5 million is at stake if Williamson is unable to reach the 41-game plateau this year.

If Williamson does eclipse 41 games played, he’s eligible for 40 percent of his salary — or $15.8 million. He unlocks another 20 percent of his salary at 51 games played, and another at 61 games played. The final 20 percent can only become guaranteed if Williamson’s weight is up to the standards outlined in the contract.

At this time, Williamson’s future with any agency is uncertain. For the time being, he holds no business relationship with new representation in what has become a pivotal time of his career. Zion did not play in Friday night’s 112-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Cup.

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