If you think Zion should stay at Duke another year to avoid New Orleans, please never watch basketba

SOURCE -- Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery produced a somewhat stunning result when the New Orleans Pelicans cashed in a 6% chance and leaped past six teams with better odds to claim the top pick, universally expected to be Duke superstar Zion Williamson.

Among those shocked at the turn of events may have been Williamson himself, and it wasn't long before informed speculation turned to the possibility that he might balk at beginning his NBA career in New Orleans. The 18-year-old sensation does have a few options, including returning to play another season for the Blue Devils.

The basketball world was sent into a state of shock on Tuesday night when the New Orleans Pelicans, not the New York Knicks, came away with the number one overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Now, why people thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Knicks were getting number one when the team had just a 14% chance of doing so is already mind-numbing enough. But some of the takes coming out in the moments since have been just as ridiculous.

WHY WOULD ZION EVER WANT TO GO BACK TO DUKE?!

Sure, Zion could probably make a cool 100k if he stayed at Duke for another season, or whatever the going rate is at the school. But why would he choose to go back to college instead of making upwards of $8-million playing in New Orleans? And why is everyone pretending that Durham, North Carolina is a better place to live for a young millionaire than New Orleans?

Forget the fact that Zion would never go back to college when he has millions of dollars on the table from the NBA, and let’s instead focus on these people out there that are saying that Zion should force his way out of New Orleans. I imagine the same people wanting Zion to avoid New Orleans are the same ones that were enraged when KD joined Golden State because ‘it hurt the integrity of the game’ and ‘made it unfair for every other team.’

If you hated KD for joining Golden State while also thinking that Zion should go back to school to avoid the Pelicans, please never watch basketball again. How can you support a fair and level playing field for all teams in the NBA, how can you want a balanced league without super teams, while also advocating for a potential superstar to avoid a small market like New Orleans that is about to lose their current star because he wanted to form a super-team elsewhere?

If you didn’t like the forming of the Golden State super-team you should be ecstatic that Zion is going to a place like New Orleans, rather than ending up in New York where he would be joined by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and as a result be pushed to the side. You should have been horrified at the thought that Zion could have been playing alongside Lebron James in Los Angeles. And now, we should celebrate the fact that a possible once-in-a-generation talent is going to a small market team and could help to restore balance in the NBA in the years to come.

Yeah, Zion going to the Pelicans sucks for 29 other teams but it is great for every fan that wants a competitive product night in and night out in the NBA. Basketball fans outside of New York City should be rejoicing that the team that put out a terrible product on a nightly basis in an effort to purposefully lose games was not rewarded.

Is New Orleans the best franchise in the NBA? Probably not. But unlike the New Yorks, or Philadelphias, or Memphises of the world, New Orleans actually tries to put together a good team. I know it never worked out in New Orleans during the Anthony Davis era but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort. They went out and re-signed Jrue Holiday - a move everyone agreed with - it wasn’t their fault he never took that ‘next step.’ They went out and signed Rajon Rondo, they couldn’t help that he only showed up in the Playoffs. They even went out and made a blockbuster trade for DeMarcus Cousins. It’s just too bad he tore his achilles and then signed with Golden State. New Orleans tried to field a winning team to surround Davis, but a string of bad luck coupled with the misfortune of playing in the same conference as the Warriors, never allowed the Pelicans to compete for a title. But now, after all the drama in New Orleans the past 12 months, the future looks bright for the Pelicans. And NBA fans should celebrate that.

Side note, if you’re anything like me you have to love the fact that ESPN won’t be posting about what Zion had for a midnight snack anymore, now that he won’t be in a big market. At the very least, we can all be happy about that.