Zion Williamson: Top Five Draft Landing Spots For Duke Star

Zion Williamson’s college career is over. The Duke freshman couldn’t help his team reach the Final Four of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, so now it’s time to turn his focus to the next chapter.

Virtually everyone believes Williamson will be the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. After an All-American season that is likely to garner him multiple National Player of the Year awards, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him drafted first.

With that in mind — and considering the NBA draft lottery can lead to crazy things — here’s a look at the top five fits for Williamson in the NBA.

5. Los Angeles Lakers

Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers are currently a mess and will currently only have a three-percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick. That said, this would be a great fit for Williamson.

Not only would Zion get to play with LeBron James, he’d also have a ton of talented young players around him. While this season has been a mixed bag for most of the Lakers, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart still have a lot of promise. With Williamson in the mix, LA would have an insane amount of young talent, plus LeBron. Oh, and they would still have a max contract slot available.

On top of all that, Williamson would be in Los Angeles with all the marketing opportunities that would afford him.

4. Phoenix Suns

No one quite knows what the Phoenix Suns are doing, but they do have a ridiculous amount of young talent. The Suns currently have a 19.9 percent chance of landing the top pick, and they have a spot wide open at forward for Williamson.

Adding Zion to Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Josh Jackson and Mikal Bridges would make the Suns dangerous.

At some point the Suns are going to start winning. A team can’t accumulate that much talent and just lose forever. Williamson would be surrounded by an insane amount of talent and could use his personality to shape the franchise moving forward. It would take a lot of pressure off him having a scorer like Booker and an elite talent like Ayton next to him in the starting lineup.

3. Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are not a good team and they might be a long way from getting there. They currently would have a 4.3 percent chance of getting the top pick in this year’s draft. That said, Williamson would move into a situation with support from veterans and a a solid group of young talent and would fit in really well.

Mike Conley, Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Anderson will still be on Memphis’ roster next season, but there’s youth there too. Williamson would have Dillon Brooks to play with and he could pair with Jaren Jackson Jr. to form one of the league’s most exciting young front courts.

As a rookie this season Jackson is averaging 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 26.1 minutes per game. He and Williamson are both ridiculously athletic, versatile forwards who can score from all over the court. Those two would immediately form a dynamic duo that would be incredibly difficult to stop.

2. New York Knicks

The New York Knicks currently have a 25 percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. They also have a horrible team and awful ownership. So why is this a good spot for Zion Williamson? Let me explain.

The Knicks may have a garbage team right now, but there are good pieces in place. Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox are all young players with high upsides. Plus, the Knicks could potentially have two max contract slots this summer and both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are thought to be interested in joining the team.

That would be a fantastic roster for Williamson to join. He’d either be the center of the Knicks’ universe on an insanely young team or part of a young core attached to a squad with one or more max players. On top of that, current Knicks head coach David Fizdale is a really good basketball mind and has a reputation for relating well to players.

Plus, Williamson is already a star and landing in New York would be a perfect fit for his personality.

1. Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are undoubtedly the top landing spot for Williamson and, frankly, I don’t think it’s close. The Hawks have the fifth-worst record in the NBA this season, but this is a squad ready to break out. Oh, and they own Dallas’ first-round pick this year (top-five protected), which means they could land another star from this deep draft.

Atlanta currently has one stud up front already, as John Collins has blossomed in his second season. The Wake Forest product is currently averaging 19.4 pounds and 9.6 rebounds per game. The backcourt is set with 20-year-old shooters Trae Young and Kevin Huerter. Young is averaging 18.9 points and 8.0 assists per game as a rookie, while Huerter is hitting 37.7 percent from 3-point range.

The Hawks also have a young ball of potential in rookie forward Omari Spellman, plus solid veterans in Kent Bazemore and Taurean Prince. Orchestrating it all is head coach Lloyd Pierce, who was a big part of a rebuild with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Hawks would be a perfect spot for Williamson. He’s from the South, he could help Collins occupy the middle of the floor and his presence would help space things out even more for guys like Young and Huerter to work on the perimeter.