Presumptive 2019 number one draft pick Zion Williamson was not happy when the New Orleans Pelicans snagged the top spot in the draft lottery earlier this week.
Word is he wanted to go to the New York Knicks, who had the best chance at winning the lottery but then pulled a Knicks and didn't.
Now the word is he really doesn't want to play for New Orleans, whose star player Anthony Davis will be entering his second straight season of demanding a trade (unless he is traded.)
Might Williamson try to force the Pelicans to trade him, too?
"He does have some options. I'm not saying he's going to pick these options, but he has not signed with an agent and he has not signed a shoe deal yet," ESPN Brian Windhorst said. "He could threaten to go back to Duke. It's a conversation that's happening in the NBA right now."
Windhorst added going back to Duke is unlikely. But Zion did seem genuinely sad that the economics of being the number one pick more-or-less pushed him out of Durham after just his freshman season.
So it's a threat the Pelicans may have to take seriously.
The Pelicans insist they are going to keep trying to convince Anthony Davis to stay. Zion Williamson has yet to sign with an NBA agent to theoretically leave open the possibility he returns to school. The Leverage Playoffs are underway, too
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 15, 2019
Update: On another ESPN show this morning, Zion's stepfather says he's not considering returning to Duke.