NO should hold the line.
If NO loses him, where do they go? How can they sell fans on anything? They can't hold onto AD, can't hold onto Zion, what's the point in having a franchise there?
The league's going to have to address this in the years to come. Fans are going to eventually stop supporting franchises that have no chance to compete.
This, and I don’t think New Orleans is any Mecca for the players. Ingram and Ball weren’t thrilled with leaving LA, and the rest that were traded there came from other small markets like Oklahoma City. Not a lot of big names looking to sign as free agents there.
New Orleans might be a step above OK City, but the “night life” is strictly tourist generated and “the music scene” is a product of that too. It is certainly not Miami, NYC, or LA in that regard, I would probably rate it alongside Cleveland and Memphis and not any higher. It is built on a humid, sweaty swamp and has huge districts wallowing in poverty.
Aside from that; get rid of the draft and let the players sign where they want? Like the NCAA? I guess Brad would have an advantage there as GM, but I think that’s a terrible idea.
Imagine if you will (despite the pleas not to consider big vs small market teams) what is going to happen. LA is a basketball icon to this generation. 17 championships. Miami and NY have their own draws of bright lights, or beaches, or low taxes, or big endorsement deals. If you want to see what that will look like; imagine Alabama and The Ohio State University, and every now and then a Clemson or Oklahoma gets to join the party. Boston might sniff the VIP area once a decade.
Finally, is this coming from Zion? Or just his family? Is this like Minkah Fitzpatrick‘s mom getting him traded out of Miami a couple of years ago, or like AD’s dad seeing LA beaches in his future?