Report: Zion Williamson was hoping for Knicks to win draft lottery

Zion Williamson has been great in his dealings with the media about not tipping his hand regarding his preference of which NBA team he wanted to play for. But one report says he had a preference, and it did not come through the way he had hoped.

According to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, Williamson was hoping the New York Knicks would win the draft lottery.

Zion Williamson was QUICKLY whisked out of the room after Pelicans were announced the winner of the draft lottery. Source said the former Duke star was rooting to go to New York, but now is going to New Orleans.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) May 15, 2019

Instead, the Knicks ended up with the No. 3 overall pick, while the New Orleans Pelicans won the top pick.

Any team that won the lottery has been expected to take Williamson with the top pick, as he’s believed to be the best player in the draft class. He’s also a huge ticket draw, just like this video could tell you.

Even if he had his preference, it probably won’t take long for Williamson to get used to the idea of playing for the Pelicans. Now that they have a new front office person in charge in David Griffin, they should be on a much better path moving forward. Williamson is a great starting point.