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Pelicans get next superstar in Zion Williamson

By Joseph Ochoa

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Zion Williamson poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Zion Williamson poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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Zion Williamson lands in the Crescent City

After a month of speculating what most of us already knew, The New Orleans Pelicans selected Duke power forward Zion Williamson with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

The Pelicans drafted the first big name player since traded away Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers this past weekend for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and multiple first-round picks, including the fourth overall pick in 2019.

Williamson now joins a young core of players still developing and a plethora of picks around him to surround him with talent going forward

What does this mean for New Orleans?

Basically what we’ve all known for about a month now, that the Pelicans got lucky and replaced a superstar with someone who tracks to become an NBA Mega-Star.

The Pelicans seem to have the worst luck when it comes to keeping superstars on their roster, whether it’s having to trade away Chris Paul to the Clippers or having to trade Davis away to the Lakers.

With David Griffin, former Cleveland Cavaliers front office executive, running the show in New Orleans as GM, the Pelicans have a chance to actually put forth a contender that is focused on winning basketball.

What does this mean for Zion?

As for Zion, he goes into a decent situation with the Pelicans as the guy the team will build around going forward. He has a decent chance to give Ball and Ingram room to improve, as the two’s development was stymied by the Lakers organization the moment they secured LeBron James in free agency last season and became a team that needed to win-now and not win-later.

Zion does have few holes in his game, such as the fact that he only hit 24 three-pointers in just 33 games while playing for the Blue Devils, and the fact he only hit 64-percent of his free throws, but because he has such a unique skill set, it is worth overlooking for now.

The biggest issue will be can his body hold up with the extremely physical playing style? I’m going to say yes, but he needs to improve his midrange shot and three-point shooting in order to extend the longevity of his career and help him prevent him from taking so much punishment down in the post.

Regardless of his weaknesses, Zion has the potential to replace Anthony Davis and uplift a franchise that can’t keep a superstar in town.

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