Zion Williamson is indeed entering the 2019 NBA Draft.
The Duke star and future No. 1 overall pick has made his first-ever professional decision, deciding to latch on with CAA Sports as his agency just hours after the midnight deadline for college basketball's early entrants to remove their names from the draft pool came and went. CAA is notable for representing NBA stars such as Joel Embiid, D'Angelo Russell and Paul George. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Williamson will be represented by Austin Brown and Lisa Joseph-Metelus.
CAA agent Austin Brown and Lisa Joseph-Metelus will represent Zion Williamson, per sources. https://t.co/2ytuHZ5KFq
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 30, 2019
CAA welcomed Williamson via their official Twitter account.
We are proud to welcome Zion (@zionw32) Williamson to the CAA Sports Family! pic.twitter.com/GtWnJN47g7
— CAA Basketball (@CAA_Basketball) May 30, 2019
With the New Orleans Pelicans having won the draft lottery, there was mild speculation that Williamson could return to Duke for his sophomore season after reports emerged that he had been hoping for the New York Knicks to get the No. 1 overall selection. However, his stepfather Lee Anderson shut down that notion during an appearance on an ESPN Radio.
"We're excited about that. One thing that Zion has always been taught: You accept the things that you can't change, you change the things that you can change. And this is one of the things that he had nothing to do with," Anderson told the show, much to the relief of these folks.
"It's the process of the NBA and certainly we're excited about the Crescent City down there in New Orleans."
With the Pelicans holding the No. 1 overall selection in the 2019 NBA Draft and Williamson having hired his first agency, it's only a matter of days before Williamson is New Orleans' newest franchise star, with Anthony Davis likely on his way out.