After agreeing to trade franchise star Anthony Davis to the Lakers last week, Zion Williamson became the clear heir apparent to take the reins as the Pelicans’ new hero.

After selecting Williamson with the first overall pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, general manager David Griffin wants to ease his new prodigy into that role.

“Let Zion be that kid,” Griffin told reporters Thursday. “Don’t write this like he is here to save this franchise. He is not. He is here to join this family. … This is not somebody who is supposed to be the savior of this franchise. That’s not what this is.”

News of the Pelicans winning the draft lottery captivated all of New Orleans — the Pelicans’ ticketing website crashed due to the amount of fans wishing to purchase season tickets, and Griffin called it “a watershed moment for us as a franchise.” After Davis’ trade request and then-general manager Dell Demps’ subsequent firing sent the franchise into a state of turmoil, drafting Williamson had many in the Big Easy viewing the 18-year-old as a source of salvation.

Griffin wants a different player steering his team, at least for now.

“This is Jrue Holiday’s team,” Griffin said. “Zion is going to be learning how to win at a really high level. At some point, if there is a time that the baton gets passed in terms of who is expected to carry us to win games, it will. That is not now. … This is a 19-year-old kid [Williamson turns 19 in July] who’s going to spend this year learning how to play winning basketball. We’re going to take time with this.”

Griffin couldn’t completely refrain from the excitement, however.

“Physically, he’s touched by the hand of God to play this game. … People use a lot of big names, a lot of Hall of Fame names, but nobody has ever had his exact combination of size, explosiveness, lateral quickness, ability to defend multiple positions and willingness to do what it takes to win.”

Williamson is also not the only reason for excitement. The Pelicans turned their Davis predicament into Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, two future first-round picks, and a first round pick swap.

As things are looking up for the Pelicans, Williamson kept his message to his new team and city simple: “Let’s dance!”