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The draw of the NBA on Tuesday night pitted Cleveland against the long-time bad luck of New York – and one way or another, New Orleans won. The Pelicans clinched the # 1 overall ranking when they only had a 6% chance to do so, and are generally expected to use it on Duke star Zion Williamson . "This is an incredible blessing for our organization," said David Griffin, general manager of the Pelicans.
Of course, any team would be likely to make the same choice. The mega star of college basketball could have become a new centerpiece of a Cavaliers franchise that has not participated in the series without LeBron James since 1998; he could have brought a little luck to the Knicks, who have no more choice since Patrick Ewing in 1985; or he could have strengthened a bull's forehead that already includes Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen.
But in the first year of the new lottery format, pelicans were lucky. Williamson's explosion over the past six months and the dramatic and disorderly saga of Anthony Davis are now intertwined. Davis asked for an exchange in New Orleans in January, and this story dominated the rest of the Pelicans season. New Orleans refused to trade its superstar in February, and its ultimate answer is still unclear, but Griffin now has plenty of possibilities.
So, question # 1 on Tuesday night: Does the lure of playing with Williamson make Davis think twice before leaving New Orleans? Williamson became a show during his college season, leading all of Division I men's basketball in terms of percentage goals scored (.708) and player effectiveness (.40.8), according to Sports-Reference.com. At 6 feet 7 inches and 285 pounds, he has athleticism throwing dunks out of windmills, while pulling a load from him has been likened to being hit by a jeep.
If Davis stays, the pelicans can win with a core of Davis, Williamson and Jrue Holiday. In attack, the Williamson-Davis tandem would be a match-up nightmare. They would manage like pick-and-roll, or they would attract the defense to the paint and throw the ball at the shooters on the perimeter. The addition of the top athlete in the repechage category would also strengthen the transition offense in New Orleans, which ranked penultimate in the league in points per possession in the regular season.
In defense, this trio is even more formidable. Davis Inside is ranked fifth in block rate and 13th in defensive rebound rate, even in a season marred by a finger injury and trade drama. Holiday is a winner of the first fully defensive team that can keep positions 1, 2 and 3. The addition of Williamson would give New Orleans another flexible element in defense. We do not know what kind of players he will be called to keep in his career, but he is versatile. Duke's defense was underestimated last season – the best program since 2010 in terms of defensive efficiency adjusted, according to KenPom.com.
In April, Davis was well prepared for the Pelicans season finale, wearing a shirt with the slogan "It's everyone!" If he always ends up leaving, New Orleans still has work to do, but the options are much better than they were on Monday. Any deal involving Davis would require a more promising comeback and could include players more likely to stay and excel early in Williamson's career. (Davis may become a free agent after next season.) The Pelicans could take a young player like Jayson Tatum from Boston or Ben Simmons from the Sixers. And then, there is the persistent option of the Lakers, which can now include this juicy choice No. 4 that Los Angeles has resumed Tuesday night.
The new lottery format, with less favorable odds for top candidates, has changed a number of franchises. The Cavaliers and Knicks – who, along with Phoenix, had a 14% chance of getting the # 1 pick – ended up with the fifth and third picks, respectively. If New York does not use this choice as a bait for trade, it will be guaranteed to choose one of the other hopes of the project, slightly less excited, by his teammate Blueson Devil, RJ Barrett, or the guardian Murray State, Ja Morant.
But as expected, everything returns to Williamson. Asked what he would say to the qualifying team, Williamson told ESPN on Tuesday night: "All this team needs to do with me, I'll be able to do it." It's a common chorus of professional hopes, which are trained by agents to say it. But with a talent from a generation like Williamson, that may be true.
Discover our latest NBA forecast.
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