Zion Williamson recently fired his agent and he isn’t represented by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) anymore. While discussing the issue on The Players’ Tribune, Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles tried to understand the reasoning behind Zion’s decision.
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Richardson stated that adding several clauses in Zion’s contract with the Pelicans was a recipe for disaster, so it’s not surprising to him that they ended up parting ways. Miles, on the other hand, believes that those clauses work as a safety net for a franchise like the Pelicans, so he understands why they were so important.
Richardson then presented a different perspective on the issue. He said that Zion is a superstar in the game today and a small market like New Orleans doesn’t get to have superstars very often. In that setup, Zion’s agent must’ve realized the leverage his client has in the negotiations and pushed for no additional clauses in the contract.
Q said, “If I’m his agent, I’m not coming in for no clauses. Either you take and give him everything or we walk. You know everybody wants him. If we walk, I’m gonna get the max [contract] from somebody.”
Although the clauses are fairly simple for the amount of money that Zion is up for, they are still unnecessary to Richardson.
Zion has to play in at least 41 games in the 2024-25 season, he has to pass six weigh-in checkpoints, and the sum of Williamson’s weight and body fat percentage has to be less than 295 lbs for him to earn his salary. Richardson said that the agent shouldn’t have finalized the contract with those clauses as it weakens Zion’s case and puts more power into the organization’s hands.
Adding clauses to an athlete’s contract is pretty much standard practice in the NBA. For example, Glen Davis also had a weight loss clause in his contract. While Richardson might just be looking out for Zion, the Pelicans star isn’t being fooled by the franchise.
Considering the fact that Zion’s career has been on a downward spiral in the last few years, it’s probably in the best interest of any franchise to give him additional reasons to get better.
The reason why Zion Williamson fired his agent
As per a report by Kris Pursiainen, the 24-year-old wanted to land a deal with the Knicks. He was on the lookout for the same for a long time and his representatives were aware of it. Despite waiting for years to make it a reality, his agent couldn’t make it happen, which made Zion cut ties with the CAA.
“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 report read.
The last few years haven’t been good for the Pelicans star. Even this season, they are struggling. The Pelicans are sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference table with a six-game losing streak. So Zion probably doesn’t have the kind of leverage Richardson is talking about.
