(Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images

METAIRIE, La. (AP) Zion Williamson and his family were met with applause and traditional New Orleans jazz as they walked into the Pelicans' headquarters.

The practice gym was filled with team employees and executives eager to welcome the player who has infused the franchise with so much more promise than it appeared to have when six-time All-Star Anthony Davis requested a trade five months ago.

Williamson, who was in New York a night earlier when the Pelicans made him the NBA's top overall draft choice, smiled and looked relaxed in his blue suit and white designer sneakers. When the music was turned down and it was time for Williamson to address the gathering, he spoke with an easy manor and kept his comments short and simple. He promised maximum effort and flexibility, but stopped short of forecasting the type of greatness for himself that so many others have predicted.

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