Let the Games Begin!

The draft lottery was last night and once again the NY Knicks found a way to screw up tanking. They not only didn’t get the 1st pick and the prize of Zion Williamson, but they actually managed to finish 3rd in this lotto style stunt. This reminds me of the “Princess Bride” when Enigo Montoya spends his whole life plotting revenge on the man with 6 fingers only to fall short and be stabbed… but then, he slowly and forcefully says “Hello, my name is Zion Williamson, you killed my career, prepare to die”!!!

Zion is not just a prodigy but a product of NIKE, Duke, NIKE, ESPN, NIKE and have I mentioned NIKE? He is the most hyped and watched player since LeBron was a senior in high school. This isn’t Andrew Wiggins or Anthony Bennett. This is a marketing machine that has been in full gear for over two years. TV and shoe companies have been waiting 10 years for this and all of the sudden with millions on the line you are going to take him and put him into basketball purgatory in New Orleans? I don’t think so and neither does Nike. Cue the CSI music and get ready because this Bozo thinks things are going to get dicey for the NBA.

Nike and its various agents have a lot of money to invest in the legend of Zion. He is a captivating guy to watch on TV and his potential has been written about since he was in 4th grade. There is NO WAY Nike can be happy that he is going to NOLA, which is where stars go to kill their careers. Chris Paul wanted out, Boogie Cousins wanted out, Anthony Davis wants out and now we are to believe Zion will be happy playing in a small market with half the people drunk and half the people on food stamps? Nike wants NY or LA to explode this latest brand and that is just not going to happen in NOLA. If Zion just wants to play ball he will take the 30 million dollar deal from NOLA and go become the next Julius Randle, but if Nike gets involved, my guess is they will write him a check for 50 million and tell him to refuse to sign with NOLA and force a trade or enter the draft again next year. If you are NOLA, you will have no choice but to package him up and send him to one of the bigger teams and get assets for fear of losing him. In the meantime Nike will have the full court press marketing team at work showing his training, his sneaker and his new and improved jump shot. He literally can sit out a full year and still bet the 1st pick next year while making 50 Million bones. Anthony Davis wants out, the management, and the market is fat drunk and stupid so why would a star launch a career there? In addition, the way NOLA’s management treated the Lakers and their young stars in trade talks was a league wide embarrassment. They purposely leaked the names of all the young Lakers being offered in order to screw up Laker chemistry, only to back away from a trade. AD was never the same and felt used and moped and faked injury for the rest of the season after this stunt and you think Zion will not be warned of this? NOLA will have Zion locked up for close to five years and if Zion is averaging 25 ppg and 10 rpg, will anyone notice? The first few games will be covered for sure but as NOLA sinks into the toilet after about 20 games ESPN and TNT will have no choice but to show matchups that matter between relevant teams. If Boogie Cousins and AD can’t make it work, why are bobble heads writing Zion and AD will? One of the biggest problems they would face if he did go there is the same problem Ben Simmons and Joel Embid face in Philly. Simmons has a bad jumper and relies on his 6’10” frame and athleticism to overpower into the lane…but it doesn’t work if Joel Embid is standing there and there are already extra defenders. Due to this Embid is standing there and there are already extra defenders. Due to this Embid is forced to take his 7’2“frame away from the basket and try to be a shooter. While Zion clearly has a better jumper than Simmons, his game relies heavily on power and athleticism and it will literally be the same exact problem that the Sixers face.

I could be wrong and the kid just wants to play so badly, but if he doesn’t, get ready for a high stakes game of cat and mouse between the sneaker companies, Zion’s agents and the NBA.

-BSB