Getty Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans and RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks meet on the court after an NBA game on October 30, 2021.
It seems like forever ago that photoshops of Zion Williamson under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden made up a majority of the general New York Knicks discourse online.
But it’s been just 978 days since he was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans, and already, rumblings of a potential career in the Big Apple are recapturing headlines, given his shortcomings in the Big Easy.
The first overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft has played just 85 games over three seasons in the NBA, and there isn’t any firm timeline on a return to the floor in New Orleans.
And the longer that takes to develop, or if Zion Williamson maintains his radio silence, then the louder the aforementioned rumblings will grow.
In the meantime, trust that the New York Knicks fandom will ensure no one forgets about his uncertain future with the New Orleans Pelicans.
It’s been an absolute frenzy of a discussion on Twitter in recent days.
Williamson to New York?
If you go to Twitter’s search bar and simply type in “Zion” as the keyword, the second result is New York Knicks related:
Best I can give you for Zion Williamson is Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, and a bagel with cream cheese. Final offer.
The post after that?
A theoretical reaction from Williamson on being traded to the Big Apple:
When Zion find out he getting traded to the Knicks
Two tweets later, a highly-engaged take from popular Knicks Twitter voice Shwinnypooh, on a potential deal:
My thoughts on trading for Zion:
1. If the Knicks trade for Zion I’ll claim that it was a risk they HAD to take.
2. If another team trades for Zion I’ll say that the risk was simply far too great for the Knicks to have taken.
And two more tweets later there’s Kris Pursiainen, on-air personality for Knicks Film School, mocking the Pelicans from the perspective of a New Orleans fan:
And so on, and so on, and so on…
In the “fans campaign for a Zion Williamson trade on social media,” no other fanbase is even remotely as represented.
All of this could seem trivial if you view it through the prism of the New York Knicks’ recent history, one where they’ve failed to attract and/or acquire top talent despite its incessant availability.
But something about the Zion speculation feels different.
For the first time, the fandom’s glaring hope seems justified.
Because as much as you may want to ignore the murmurs, Zion Williamson’s done nothing to shut them down.
Zion Recaptures Headlines
It was Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated who kicked the dust up on Zion speculation, reporting that teams around the league were keeping tabs on the 21-year old, amongst others:
Around the league, team executives are already bracing (and/or plotting) for the next disenchanted star to ask out, with speculation focused on Zion Williamson in New Orleans, Damian Lillard in Portland and Donovan Mitchell in Utah.
That was followed up by CJ McCollum, now a teammate of Williamson’s, saying on national television that the two hadn’t spoken since he was traded to New Orleans some weeks ago:
CJ McCollum — the president of the NBA Players Association — says he hasn’t spoken directly to teammate Zion Williamson.
McCollum tells TNT broadcast crew, “I know about as much as you do right now. But I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
Those qualms have since been resolved, but not before retired 15-year veteran (and former teammate) JJ Redick blasted Zion on national television, calling him a “detached teammate” of the Pelicans:
Adding pure oxygen and fuel to the forest fire that has become the NBA’s latest star watch, 14-year veteran Matt Barnes flat-out countered that he doesn’t think Zion wants to be in New Orleans:
I don’t think Zion wants to be there. There’s been rumblings, not from him but from his family, from the jump. And it’s hard for small market teams to keep young superstars… I think the writing’s been on the wall for a minute and the Pelicans have overlooked it, hoping they can change things.
Zion Williamson averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game over 65 games last season.
The hype surrounding him is certainly warranted, but would a trade, given the character and medical concerns?
This is the question the New York Knicks (and likely many more teams) will have to ask themselves as the NBA’s latest star saga takes shape in real-time.
READ NEXT: Knicks Draft-and-Stash PG is ‘Going Nuclear’ Overseas