Zion Wants To Spend His Whole Career With Pelicans
New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson says he intends to spend his career with only one team
Zion Williamson is planning on spending his entire career with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans forward was selected with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after a stunning freshman year at Duke and many expect him to blossom into a superstar.
It has been suggested Williamson will only spend a few seasons with New Orleans before leaving to sign with a major market for his prime years.
However, Williamson wants to emulate Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant and Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki by sticking with one franchise.
"I'm gonna try to give you the best answer I can give. Personally, I've always told myself I want to stay with one team," Williamson told Complex.
"Growing up, I loved what Kobe did and Dirk did, and I think if anybody's a Michael Jordan fan, they kinda erase the Wizards thing. He still did very well there, but at the end of the day, I don't think people look at it from the business point of view.
"Some people want to stay with one team but they get traded. My intentions are to stay with the Pelicans my whole career, but if something happens, I wouldn't leave because I hate the place. It's just the business."
Williamson believes New Orleans can be a championship contender in 2019-20 despite the fact the team missed last year's playoffs.
The Pelicans brought in a talented rookie class in 2019 by securing first-round picks in Williamson, Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. They also sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers for a massive haul that included Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and multiple future first-rounders.
"Me being confident in my team-mates, I would say I think the ceiling is [a] championship," Williamson said.
"But I have to be realistic about this. I have high expectations for us, but you gotta see how we're gonna work. I think we are going to work, but it does take time to adjust to each player — knowing what they like to do, finding out their tendencies.
"So, I think the quicker we find out those things, I think we have a very high ceiling."
