STEPHEN A. Smith thinks an NBA superstar is looking for a trade.
According to the First Take host, Zion Williamson is looking for a way out of New Orleans.
2
2
Williamson has been a member of the New Orleans Pelicans ever since he was drafted in 2019.
However, Williamson’s career has been filled with injuries and other drama.
He has only played more than 60 games in a season twice in his six-year career.
So far this season, Williamson has played just eight of the Pelicans’ 40 games.
Despite not making much of an impact on the team, Stephen A. has indicated that Williamson wants to be a part of a different franchise.
“Zion doesn’t want to be in New Orleans,” Stephen A. said.
“He doesn’t want to be there. He wants to be in a major market like LA, New York…
“He wants the marketability.”
NBA fans weren’t thrilled with Stephen A.’s suggestion and shared their concerns with Williamson’s play.
“STOP TRYING TO TAKE STARS AWAY FROM SMALL MARKETS,” one fan said.
“He doesn’t need to be in a major market, he needs to play more,” another fan said.
“He already has trouble showing up to practice on time in NOLA what does he think is going to happen in LA or NY?” a third fan said.
“He’s only played 8 games this year. Doesn’t matter what city he’s in, you need to play to be marketable,” a fourth fan said.
“He is good, but not good enough to justify that salary on 26 games a year,” a fifth fan said.
The NBA trade deadline is still weeks away, so teams have plenty of time to inquire about a potential trade for Williamson.
New rights deal
The NBA signed an 11-year deal with three networks for the league’s rights from the 2025-26 season.
And there will be no games on TNT for the first time since the network launched in 1988.
The Walt Disney Company will continue to show the league with 80 regular-season games across ESPN and ABC.
They will also show around 18 playoff games from the first and second round, a Conference Finals series for 10 of the 11 years, and remain the home of the NBA Finals.
NBC will return as an NBA broadcaster for the first time since 2002.
The network will show up to 100 games per season across it’s channels and Peacock streaming service.
It will also be the home of NBA All-Star and show approximately 28 playoff games from the first and second round.
NBC will show one Conference Finals Series for six of the 11 years, rotating with new broadcaster Amazon Prime.
Amazon will show 66 NBA regular-season games including one on Black Friday.
The streaming service is also the home of the latter stages of the NBA Cup and the entire Play-In Tournament.
Prime will also broadcast around one third of the playoff games in the first and second round.
If he does get traded it would have to be before 3 pm ET on Thursday, February 6.
Williamson isn’t the only member of his team that could be traded.
Forward Brandon Ingram is also a candidate to be traded at the deadline.
Ingram is in the final season of a five-year, $158.2 million contract with the Pelicans.
The team could move him for some draft capital so they don’t lose him for nothing in free agency.
