Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, NY Knicks. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
NY Knicks: Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett’s friendship
Any basketball fan knows the basics of these two young players’ relationship. They were heralded prospects who were college teammates for a Duke University team that received as much national publicity as any college basketball team in recent memory.
Williamson and Barrett’s bond was noted throughout their season college season by coaches, reporters, and teammates. At the time, teammate Javin DeLaurier said “Around us, they talk in this weird dialect-language. When they’re together, they’re trouble.” Another teammate, Tre Jones, said, “Neither of them really care about the outside stuff, and they don’t let it come between their friendship.”
The brotherhood the two formed as college teammates was a healthy one. Both were top-tier talents who knew wanted to be the best but never allowed jealousy to get in the way. Duke assistant coach Chris Carrawell commented, “They genuinely want each other to do well…They’re each other’s biggest fans.”
Not all college teammates form strong friendships. If players had played together in college or during AAU, it’s easy to make assumptions about those players’ connection when we’re on from the outside looking in.
With RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson, it’s an actual well-documented bond. These things don’t always matter in the NBA, but sometimes they do. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s friendship led them to craft a shared vision of joining the Brooklyn Nets. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade’s well-documented friendship was at the core of their teaming up with the Miami Heat.
Now, at the core of the potential Williamson to New York rumors, is his strong brotherhood with RJ Barrett. The connections don’t stop there.
NY Knicks</a> are heading into an offseason with cap space, it means they’re going to be linked to every superstar in the league.</p>
<p>It typically leads to photoshopped images, exaggerated “news” reports, and “hypothetical” articles about “trade packages” for superstars who aren’t even being made available.</p>
<h2>NY Knicks: Zion Williamson’s situation is actually worth monitoring</h2>
<p>So I’m not going to write a “What would it take for the NY Knicks to trade for Zion Williamson” article because we’re not there…yet.</p>
<p>The thing that differentiates Zion Williamson from previously rumored big-names is that there are actual, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/20/ny-knicks-zion-williamson-rj-barrett-relationship/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/04/03/ny-knicks-land-zion-williamson/">real-life ties to the Knicks that are, well, pretty obvious.</a> Not only are the connections there, but Zion Williamson is a player who appears to be in an incredibly murky, sinking environment in New Orleans.</p>
<p>It seems like with star players of the past, the “evidence” given that they want to head to New York is simply that they play in a smaller market, period. Thinking of the recent names like the Donovan Mitchells and Devin Bookers, those are the kinds of rumors that just come from thin air.</p>
<p>The early Zion Williamson rumors actually tie into recent reporting about his family, New Orleans’ front office, and his own personal happiness. His current situation is just the first piece of the equation. It starts with his close ties to the NY Knicks’ roster.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/20/ny-knicks-zion-williamson-rj-barrett-relationship/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett's friendship </a>
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@IQ_GodSon <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/20/ny-knicks-zion-williamson-rj-barrett-relationship/2/"https://twitter.com/ZionW32?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@ZionW32 <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/20/ny-knicks-zion-williamson-rj-barrett-relationship/2/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/adidasNations?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#adidasNations</a> <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/20/ny-knicks-zion-williamson-rj-barrett-relationship/2/"https://t.co/DSLB7UkTmB">pic.twitter.com/DSLB7UkTmB
<p>— Overtime (@overtime) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/20/ny-knicks-zion-williamson-rj-barrett-relationship/2/"https://twitter.com/overtime/status/894732571707191296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 8, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>They have been hooping together for quite some time now.</p>
<p>You can’t ignore these kinds of relationships. In today’s player empowerment era of the NBA where players are taking control of their careers and where they go and who they play with, the bonds that players make outside of their current teammates’ matter.</p>
<p>The ties between Zion Williamson and the NY Knicks organization are massive, but it doesn’t stop there. His present-day situation with the team he plays for, the New Orleans Pelicans, is what starts the rumors. It isn’t looking too pretty, which means it’s looking pretty nice for New York.</p>
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