I don’t think Zion Williamson is long for New Orleans.
He never seems to want to be there, but it is odd to me because why wouldn’t you want to become a face of a franchise that has never done much of anything. Think about how Ja Morant embraced going to Memphis. If you are that good, you can make people care about a franchise.
No one was checking for the Warriors until Steph, Klay, and Draymond got there.
Whatever the case, Zion seems to want out.
Here is what Colin Cowherd had to say.
“Have you ever been in a relationship and somebody’s personality changes? Like she’s really joyful and fun to be around, and then she starts picking fights? She doesn’t want to be around you anymore. Why are they doing that? They’re trying to plant the seeds and create a fight, a disruption, maybe you’re just too nice of a person to break up with, she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings, and in the end, you realize she just wants out.
This is what Zion Williamson is doing. We always talk about teams tanking. I think what Zion is doing is he’s tanking. He’s putting on weight, he’s rehabbing in Portland, and he’s totally detached from the team. That’s not who he is. He’s a joyful and fun kid that everybody loved at Duke. He’s doing this for a reason because when they get forced to trade him, you don’t actually have to give up as much. If you tried to trade for Ja Morant you would have to give up half your team. But a team that is trading for Zion can say ‘HE CAN’T EVEN STAY IN SHAPE!’ That’s not who Zion is.
I think Zion is really shrewd here. Zion doesn’t want to be here and he has no interest. He’s literally rehabbing out at Nike in Portland. Chris Paul didn’t want to be there and AD didn’t want to be there. Everybody knows that Zion doesn’t want to play there. What Zion is doing I think is savvy. I believe he and his family have decided they’re not going to come. This is ending and it’s ending soon. If I was an NBA GM I would call the Pelicans tomorrow and say ‘we will make the deal’ because you are buying a beaten-down stock at a value price. He was a completely good dude and a joyful dude, and JJ Redick was right, he’s become totally detached. When joyful people suddenly detach you’ve lost them. NBA history tells you to trade the star early and you’ll get more than trading him late. I think this is a business decision by Zion, and I think it’s good for his brand and the league.”
Do you think Cowherd is right? I don’t think it is good for the league, but the rest sounds right.
While you ponder that, flip the page to see a Mardi Gras float clowning Zion for being fat.