Zion Williamson Claiming He Wants to Stay With the Pelicans His Whole NBA Career is Beyond Bold

The New Orleans Pelicans have seen a remarkable turnaround in their fortunes this offseason, spawned by the hiring of star GM David Griffin along with some lottery luck. The new outlook of the franchise is exciting, as they're strapped with a talented young roster and an abundance of draft picks in the next half decade.

Clearly, first overall pick Zion Williamson is already buying in, and he's thinking WAY down the road.

Now, any 19-year-old should be thrilled to become a part of such a promising young core in the great city of New Orleans. Still, though, that is a bold statement for a young player to make before he's even stepped on the court for his first NBA game.

As evidenced by this past offseason, things change quickly in today's free-agency and blockbuster trade-driven league, and it's hard to imagine Zion will never consider other possibilities once his contract expires with the Pelicans.

At the end of the day, there's nothing wrong with Zion drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid during his first year with the Pels. It's nice to see a kid so excited to get on the court with his new teammates.

But in the social media age, Williamson will probably learn quickly to choose his words a bit more wisely and avoid speaking in absolutes, because when you go back on your word, fan bases generally don't take it to be so innocent.