NEW YORK — Stan Van Gundy, the last person to actually coach Zion Williamson in a NBA game, believes the discussion about the superstar’s relocation to New York is not only premature, it’s indicative of false hopes created by the Knicks and the organization’s continued “arrogance.”
“It’s possible,” he said of Williamson going to the Knicks. “But listen. The Knicks have this thing and it’s amazing. No matter how many times people have proven they don’t want to play for the Knicks, the Knicks have this idea that everybody in the league wants to play for New York,” Van Gundy told ‘The Dan Le Batard Show.’ “Now when is the last time it actually happened that somebody actually came and tried to get their way to New York? Like, never in the last 20 years? But still the Knicks and the Knicks fans think everybody is trying to get to the Knicks. I’m not saying (Zion) won’t end up there — there’s all kinds of ways people can end up somewhere — but this idea that everybody wants to be a New York Knick. I mean if that were the case then they wouldn’t be as bad as they’ve been for the last 20 years.”
There’s renewed speculation about Williamson’s desire to leave New Orleans after his former teammate, JJ Redick, labeled the 21-year-old as “detached” from the team. It’s not exactly a startling revelation considering Williamson has been rehabbing an injury and ballooning in weight, but the Knicks have been at the forefront of the Williamson rumors for a few reasons:
1) Williamson went out of his way to express his love for MSG in his last appearance there.
2) Williamson is represented by CAA, the agency tied at the hip to the Knicks and their team president, Leon Rose.
3) The Knicks tanked a season for a chance at Williamson in the draft, and now desperately need a jolt during a depressing season. (Rose and William Wesley were hired to attract stars, and they’ve produced none in two years leading the front office).
Van Gundy, who was fired by the Pelicans in June, is skeptical. Williamson, who hasn’t played all season following foot surgery, is eligible for an extension in the summer. As Van Gundy noted, no player has turned down a max extension coming off his rookie deal.
“Yes, the league has changed. Yes, if a player like Zion decides he wants to force his way out and go to New York — assuming New York has anything that New Orleans would want — then he may go there. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Van Gundy said. “He’s up for an extension this summer. Even though he will have only played 85 games in three years, we’ve seen it with Joel Embiid and other people. No one yet has passed on signing the extension. No one yet. It’s too lucrative. So he’s first got to sign. And then it normally takes a year or two before people are forcing themselves somewhere else. So I think we’re a little bit premature on all of this. And I don’t know what the Knicks would have that New Orleans would jump at right now. I just don’t. Who would they want? Evan Fournier?”
The Knicks’ best asset is RJ Barrett, who was teammates with Williamson for a season at Duke. They also have multiple future first-round picks and Julius Randle, who the Pelicans passed on re-signing in 2019.
Still, the lack of talent on the roster is viewed as a detriment toward facilitating blockbuster trades, with Donovan Mitchell’s reported discontent in Utah fueling more Knicks speculation. Mitchell, who played AAU ball in NYC and wanted to get drafted by the Knicks, was represented by Rose.
Mitchell’s father, Donovan Sr., works for the New York Mets.
“(The Knicks) hired people thinking they’re going to get Donovan Mitchell, and because his dad works in New York and the whole thing and he’s here. Again, every scenario is all these guys want to play in New York and they’re going to set everything up for those guys to be there,” Van Gundy said. “My only thing is can we have one guy actually go there? One guy try to get there, because we act like this is a thing. The Knicks’ arrogance as an organization has astounded me the entire time I’ve been in the league. You would think this is a perennial champion, this great organization that everyone wants to play for. Please. C’mon. Can we stop it? Just because the Knicks fans want a player doesn’t mean everyone is trying to get there.”
With Williamson, the better question is whether the Pelicans have the stomach for re-signing a grouchy injury risk with weight issues. Williamson has only played 85 games over three seasons. He reportedly ballooned to well over 300 pounds. The Pelicans already dealt with a miserable star in Anthony Davis, who sat out most of a season while forcing a trade to the Lakers.
Would they consider trading Williamson before the extension?
Either way, Van Gundy, who coached Williamson’s only healthy season, pushed back at the idea he’s “detached.”
“I was surprised that JJ came out and said that. I know for a fact JJ likes Zion,” Van Gundy said. “Zion at times can certainly be detached. When he was playing, I didn’t think he was detached at all. But when he’s not playing — offseason breaks, injured, whatever — I just think he wants to be by himself. He doesn’t like not playing. He wants to be by himself and get ready. I think that’s a big part of it. At that point he just wants to get back and play to reattach. So I don’t know that he’s always detached. I think when he’s not playing, he is.”
