Screengrab // YouTube
Richard Jefferson thought the exact same thing you and I did upon the hearing the report about Zion Williamson having the option of returning to the Duke Blue Devils. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, among others, there were actually rumors that said Williamson could end up returning to college because he was so disappointed that the New Orleans Pelicans earned the rights to draft him No. 1 overall after winning the draft lottery the other night. While Zion reportedly hoped to play for the New York Knicks, the thought that he’d bypass the NBA couldn’t have been a realistic possibility.
Welp, for all of us who were actually rolling our eyes, shaking our heads and laughing at actual paid sports media people even suggesting Zion Williamson might do such a thing, we weren’t alone in our disbelief, because Richard Jefferson was captured on live TV blatantly shooting down the idea as Windhorst delivered the report. Take a look at the video below; which is awesome.
https://twitter.com/HeartofNBA/status/1129013098516537346
For as good as Brian Windhorst is at his job, this has to be a major L for him to see his colleague openly deny every single thing he’s saying. Like, there wasn’t even a moment that Richard Jefferson would let such bullshit spew from Windy’s mouth without showing his opinion of the entire report. Talk about throwing a guy under the bus, right?
You can see the entire segment below.
As if being seen on live TV shooting down the idea wasn’t enough, Richard Jefferson also tweeted about the report, mocking the rumors about Williamson.
Straight faced gang where you at ?!?😶😐😑….😂😂 https://t.co/BBazZ5RYlz
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) May 15, 2019
You’ve got to love seeing this from a media personality, man. There are so many BS reports out there that fans can see right through that it’s good to have a guy like Richard Jefferson squash the story before it ever even picks up steam. Unfortunately for Windhorst, it happened on live TV while the report was being given, but, hey, better to have it happen in the moment than to let it marinate for a few hours or days, right?
With all the talk about Zion Williamson possibly sitting out after getting injured a few months ago in a game against North Carolina, did anyone really think that he would risk it by bypassing the NBA and returning to Duke? Hell no. The dude’s going to New Orleans, a lively town that has passionate sports fans, he’s not going to some third world country.