Pelicans open Zion Williamson era on draft night

METAIRIE, La. (AP) - The Pelicans have officially begun the Zion Williamson era - just days after agreeing to trade away their last No. 1 overall draft choice.

Based on the celebrating crowd jammed into a downtown New Orleans promenade on Thursday night, it appeared Pelicans fans couldn't have been happier to move on from Anthony Davis - who requested a trade last January - and welcome their newest hope to transform New Orleans from a languishing small market franchise into an NBA contender.

Williamson, who starred one season at Duke, was widely seen as the top pro prospect to enter any NBA draft since the Pelicans took Davis first overall in 2012. And because of an unlikely NBA draft lottery victory last month, the Pelicans had the right to select Williamson first overall.

The 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson was just the second freshman to be a consensus national player of the year, along with Kevin Durant with Texas in 2007.

While Williamson has yet to exhibit consistent outside shooting, he has displayed a dominant mix of power, quickness and skill that has convinced scouts of his extraordinary promise as a pro.

He averaged 22.6 points per game at Duke and also was voted to the ACC's All-Defensive Team after averaging 8.9 rebounds, 2.12 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game. He leaves Duke as the holder of several freshman records, including single-game scoring after his 35-point outburst against Syracuse in January.

The Pelicans moved on from the Davis era last weekend when they agreed to a trade sending "the Unibrow" to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for point guard Lonzo Ball, forward Brandon Ingram, shooting guard Josh Hart and three first round picks, including this year's fourth overall choice.

However, a person familiar with situation said shortly before the draft that Atlanta acquired the No. 4 pick from the Pelicans in exchange for the No. 8, No. 17 and No. 35 overall picks, along with a protected first-round pick from Cleveland in 2020 that Atlanta had.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal - like the Davis deal days before it - can't be finalized until at least until July 6 when the new NBA league year begins.

That meant the Lakers would be making the pick for the Hawks via the Pelicans.

New Orleans also sent Atlanta the No. 57 pick, a future second-round pick and forward Solomon Hill. The deal helped the Pelicans create more salary cap space by unloading the nearly $12.8 million owed to Hill next season, and also save about $2.2 million by moving their second first-round pick down from fourth to eighth overall.

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