When the New Orleans Pelicans secured the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft lottery, basketball fans went wild exploring the possibilities for Zion Williamson.
The Pelicans had their own drama with former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, which didn’t exactly scream stability for another budding star. If Williamson decided that he didn’t want to play in New Orleans — the NBA’s second-smallest market — he had options at his disposal to keep that from happening. Those options included a return to Duke for his sophomore season.
Well, there appears to be good news for Pelicans fans because Williamson’s stepfather, Lee Anderson, told 104.5 FM ESPN in Baton Rouge that Zion is excited about playing in New Orleans. He also shut down the possibility of a return to Duke.
Anderson said when asked about his thoughts on going to the Pelicans:
“We’re excited. We’re excited about that. One thing that Zion has always been taught is to accept the things that you can’t change. You change the things that you can change. This is one of the things that he had nothing to do with. It’s the process of the NBA. Certainly, we’re excited about the Crescent City down there in New Orleans.
“And you said about returning to Duke. There has been a lot of speculation, but that is nothing that we have even considered.”
At that point, co-hosts Jordy Culotta and T-Bob Hebert audibly celebrated Anderson’s remarks. Which went to show how nervous Pelicans fans were about the possibility of Zion leveraging his way out of New Orleans.
But for now, it appears that Williamson is committed to playing for New Orleans without asking for a trade or doing the unthinkable and turning down millions to play for free at Duke.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday that Williamson had a meeting in Chicago with the Pelicans and left feeling positive about the situation.
Pelicans fans can officially calm down now.
