Yesterday on ESPN’s The Jump, Brian Windhorst was on with Richard Jefferson to talk all things NBA and he suggested that Zion Williamson has options if he doesn’t want to play in New Orleans with the Pelicans after they won the NBA Lottery a few days ago. He said that even though it’s not in his character, since he hasn’t signed with a shoe company or an agent, he can threaten to go back to Duke if he doesn’t want to play with the Pels.
The panel thought the idea was ridiculous, but Windhorst suggested it’s only an option.
Today, Williamson’s step-father had to respond to the chatter around the league, claiming that Zion is excited to get to New Orleans and getting started with his NBA career.
Zion Williamson’s step-father, Lee Anderson, says on the Off the Bench radio show in Baton Rouge that Zion is "excited about the prospect of getting down there and getting settled” in New Orleans & added that returning to Duke “is not something that we have even considered."
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) May 16, 2019
Though the Pelicans won the draft, they’re not in a bad position moving forward. They still have a solid squad that has some playoff experience and if they decide to trade Anthony Davis, the chances they get draft picks and/or young players back from teams like the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, etc. seems appealing for the future.
Either way, Zion is about to take the NBA by storm next season and you can bet he’ll be grabbing a whole lot more headlines, selling tickets and being one of the main attractions of the season.
OS REWIND: Zion Williamson Reportedly Does Not Want to Play For Big Market Team in NBA