Hours before the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, Jackie MacMullan, the Great Chronicler of Basketball’s Golden Age, appeared on ESPN’s Around the Horn and loudly proclaimed that she would like to see the New Orleans Pelicans be awarded the first overall pick and have first dibs on selecting Zion Williamson.
“If you’re the NBA, what you really need is to show your small market teams some love,” said MacMullan. “So if you’re really going to rig the lottery, which I’m sure they’re not — let me be clear — but you know what, he should end up in New Orleans.