NBA Draft 2019: 3 reasons Zion Williamson should be happy with New Orleans

3. It could be a lot worse

I mean… It’s a lottery. There were plenty of places that Zion could have gone, and New Orleans at least an above-average option. Williamson is going to get his money and ratings no matter where he goes, so I’m going to look too much into a smaller market. People will want to buy his jersey no matter what.

There were plenty of teams that had better odds to land the first overall pick that would have been genuinely bad for Zion. Phoenix hasn’t proven anything with all of the top draft picks they have won in recent years. Outside of Booker, they haven’t shown the ability to develop a superstar.

Chicago would have been interesting, but there are a lot of things that have to happen before the Bulls can succeed moving forward. Also, they have plenty of wing talent, and Zion would just upgrade the only thing they are good at.

Cleveland still has most of the core group of players that played around LeBron, but Collin Sexton is their only building block for the next five years. Also, Zion would have to live in LeBron’s shadow.

The Washington Wizards have been in the middle of the road for the past few years, but they have too many bad contracts to build around a superstar like Zion. His talents would simply be wasted in Washington.

At the end of the day, NBA Draft prospects have to roll the dice with the NBA owners. You don’t always get the best scenario with the first pick. However, Zion should not be disappointed. New Orleans has the potential to be a great situation for him.