Zion Williamson has long been linked with the New York Knicks, and rumors of a potential move to the Mecca of basketball only intensified when reports about his apparent displeasure in the New Orleans Pelicans surfaced.
Many believe that Williamson won't last in NOLA and will instead move to New York and join the Knicks when the opportunity arises. Besides, for a player of Zion's stature, it could be difficult for him to stay in a small market team.
However, before ‘Bockers fans get excited about the prospect of Zion donning blue and orange, former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy expressed his skepticism over the prevailing thought that players always want to play in New York.
“It’s always a plan that all these free agents want to come there,” Van Gundy said in an interview with The New York Post. “And their fans think everybody wants to come to New York to play. But what is the example of that to use — the high-profile free agents who have come there? A lot of New Yorkers think everyone has New York at the top of their list and the Knicks are picking and choosing. That’s not the way it’s been working the last 20-plus years.”
Zion Williamson got a lot of Knicks fans jumping off their seats last year when he mentioned after his professional debut in MSG that he loves playing in the said stadium. He went as far as to saying that outside of New Orleans, New York is his favorite place to play in.
Zion Williamson's smile was as bright as Times Square on New Year's Eve when talking about playing in New York at Madison Square Garden. pic.twitter.com/eDXd8D2L6i
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) April 18, 2021
However, Stan Van Gundy thinks the Knicks faithful shouldn't read too much into it given the fact that a lot of players always like playing in New York. However, it doesn't necessarily mean they want to live there and actually play for the team.
“I don’t know a player who didn’t like going to the Garden,” Van Gundy added. “I never understood the allure of it myself. But the players think it’s a big deal to play [there], from everybody I coached. That doesn’t mean they want to play for the Knicks or live there.
“But everybody thinks this guy loves playing at the Garden: ‘Oh, s–t, he’s going to want to play for the Knicks.' I don’t know if that holds up. Even if you want to go to New York, is the Knicks where you want to go to?”
SVG certainly makes a good point, but then again, anything can happen in the NBA. While Williamson has maintained his commitment to the Pelicans, things can quickly change in the league.
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