New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson - 3 years, $126 million
At some point soon, the New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to make a stern decision about their future. At the forefront of those questions and concerns about the future revolve around Zion Williamson. With three years remaining on his deal, if he can't stay healthy, there's a tough pill that the organization may have to swallow - and it revolves around whether or not it may be time to trade Zion.
Some may seem to believe it may be a bit too premature for the Pelicans to do so at this point. However, there's reason to believe that if the Pelicans are going to cross that bridge, this may be the summer to do so. After trading Brandon Ingram, the team is clearly headed in a new direction. What the Pelicans will have to answer is whether they firmly believe Zion is going to be a big part of that. Considering his huge contract and projecting what his next one may look like, I'm not sure what the front office is going to conclude.
New York Knicks: Mikal Bridges - 1 year, $24.9 million
The New York Knicks don't have any truly terrible contracts on their books. The argument could be made that they should look to trade Karl-Anthony Towns. However, with how important he emerged this season for the Knicks and to their success in the regular season, that would be the team taking a pretty big step back. One player who is up for an extension after the season is Mikal Bridges.
Brdiges is in line to make upwards of $40 million per season on his next contract. Is that truly something the Knicks would want to pay? In an attempt to get ahead of the contract issues that could lie ahead for New York, it may be a best-case scenario for the Knicks to try to trade Bridges this offseason.