Let’s gear up for another few years of mismanaging a superstar, I guess.
So, the 2019 edition of the NBA Draft Lottery has concluded.
As a Dallas Mavericks fan that had more or less given up on keeping our pick from the beginning, I am virtually a neutral in looking at this lottery. So I’m not being sour or trying to drop a hot take when I say the New Orleans Pelicans getting the top pick and likely choosing Zion Williamson in the upcoming draft is probably the most boring possible result from the night’s proceedings.
You know why? Because Anthony Davis. Because of how they tried and failed to build around Davis for so many years.
I’m not at all condoning Davis’ behaviour in trying to force a trade out of New Orleans this past season, but you can at least see why he felt it might be necessary to do so. And what has changed with the Pelicans to assure that they won’t mess it up with another No.1 pick again?
Zion Williamson is one of the most exciting draft prospects in recent history, and we’re probably going to see a rehash of the botched Anthony Davis era, ON THE SAME TEAM NO LESS.
And therein lies my personal dissatisfaction with the lottery results. From a neutral POV, Zion on the New York Knicks or the Phoenix Suns or the LA Lakers would’ve been infinitely more interesting, even if I don’t feel like any of those clubs remotely deserve him.
Any of those alternatives would’ve made for a fresh set of stories and angles to follow.
Still, the Pelicans definitely deserve Zion, after Davis decided to shit all over the franchise (and his own standing in basketball fans’ eyes). They needed the good vibes, and got them. But their team is still the not-good-enough mess it has been for the past few years, and new GM David Griffin is the only hope that they’ll do things right this time.
Who knows? He did help bring the Cleveland Cavaliers their first ever title. So it could work out.
But right now, man… it all just looks so disappointingly boring to me.