The NBA was built for parity, but at times the national media doesn’t do it any favors in that aspect
The sports airwaves is a buzzing with non-stop chatter about how Zion Williamson will be a New Orleans Pelican. Hours upon hours worth of programming have been devoted to this topic.
The media has reacted to Zion going to New Orleans like it is a national tragedy. That this talented young man must go and live in New Orleans of all places. You know, that small market of New Orleans which only has a Metro population of 1.2 million people. It is currently the 50th most populated city in The United States of America.
Why couldn’t Zion go to the New York Knicks? TV debaters and their hosts scream and shout. Even though, the Knicks only had a 14 percent chance of getting Zion. Which means there was an 86 percent chance they would not receive the right to select Zion.
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The media has villainized New Orleans and made it seem like it is some ghost town. A city that only cares about the Saints. A team in disarray.
Debate shows started saying Zion should hold out. Or that Zion should return to Duke for one more year. Both of those ideas were shot down immediately by Zion’s father.
Some “talking heads” have said we should change the whole process entirely. Why should teams have the ability to select a player? But the player must wait till free agency to pick his team.
The whole purpose of the Draft is to even the playing field for teams. In a free market, the NBA is uneven. New York and Los Angeles will always be more attractive than Cleveland and Sacramento.
The Draft doesn’t only help improve “bad” teams. It also gives not as attractive destinations an ability to sell themselves to players. As a first round pick can usually be team controlled for around seven years. After those seven years, the player owes the team nothing. The player can leave for personal reasons or to just simply find a better team.
Zion fell into one of the better situations in the draft. The Pelicans’ ping pong ball bounced in their favor. The Pelicans could have kept Anthony Davis which would have been a nice pairing. They granted Davis’s trade request.
Now Zion will be playing with three young talented players. In Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart. The Pelicans already have a fringe All-Star in Jrue Holiday. Will have a cache of draft picks to use for years thanks to the Lakers.
Why are the major sports networks obsessed with the Knicks? The league has evolved and its audience has grown in the last 20 years. While the Knicks have been forgettable.
Zion doesn’t need to be in a “BIG” market to be a star. Zion just needs to keep doing what he does. We will be watching wherever he plays because where he goes winning follows.