- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
With the Murray injury, maybe we should change how we handle Zion this season...
Posted on 1/31/25 at 10:51 pm
Posted on 1/31/25 at 10:51 pm
I've been anti blow-it-up. I've wanted to limit minutes of our key players + trade BI/CJ, which is plenty enough for a strong tank.
But now, Murray is going to be eating up $31m of our 25/26 cap while being a combination of out or severely limited. Then $34m in 26/27 while most likely being a shell. Our chances of a quick mini-reset after a lost season are pretty much gone.
So I'm buying into a more thorough blow-up. Trey/Missi are without a doubt long term pieces. I still think that Herb is too, and I don't think that whatever we get for Jose will be worth the cost.
But besides the aforementioned BI/CJ, I think that trading Zion is becoming a lot more appealing. A struggling team in 25/26 is only going to strain the relationship even more.
So instead of the pro-tank method of limiting his minutes and holding him out in one game of back-to-backs, we should just build up his value as much as possible and start poking around for trade offers in the offseason. He's peaking at around 28MPG now. Jack that up to ~34MPG. It might win us an extra game or two, but we're such a mess now that it can't kill the tank (especially if we send out one or both of CJ/BI and slowroll Herb's return. Consider getting back to more of a point-Zion offense to increase his usage.
Our remaining schedule is pretty brutal. Getting the most out of Zion probably isn't going to win us too many extra games. If he balls out, wins us more games than we'd like, and starts looking like he can be a legit MVP, then no biggie. We would still have good lotto odds, and his trade value increases immensely.
The key, though, is dealing CJ/BI. Everyone here knows that they're not in the long term plans. I'd assume/hope that the Pels do as well. Herb is a long ways away from returning, but BI will be back soon. A Zion/CJ/BI/Trey/Missi lineup would be wonky, but there's enough talent there to potentially win more games than preferred, with key contributions from guys that definitely won't be here 18 months from now.
But now, Murray is going to be eating up $31m of our 25/26 cap while being a combination of out or severely limited. Then $34m in 26/27 while most likely being a shell. Our chances of a quick mini-reset after a lost season are pretty much gone.
So I'm buying into a more thorough blow-up. Trey/Missi are without a doubt long term pieces. I still think that Herb is too, and I don't think that whatever we get for Jose will be worth the cost.
But besides the aforementioned BI/CJ, I think that trading Zion is becoming a lot more appealing. A struggling team in 25/26 is only going to strain the relationship even more.
So instead of the pro-tank method of limiting his minutes and holding him out in one game of back-to-backs, we should just build up his value as much as possible and start poking around for trade offers in the offseason. He's peaking at around 28MPG now. Jack that up to ~34MPG. It might win us an extra game or two, but we're such a mess now that it can't kill the tank (especially if we send out one or both of CJ/BI and slowroll Herb's return. Consider getting back to more of a point-Zion offense to increase his usage.
Our remaining schedule is pretty brutal. Getting the most out of Zion probably isn't going to win us too many extra games. If he balls out, wins us more games than we'd like, and starts looking like he can be a legit MVP, then no biggie. We would still have good lotto odds, and his trade value increases immensely.
The key, though, is dealing CJ/BI. Everyone here knows that they're not in the long term plans. I'd assume/hope that the Pels do as well. Herb is a long ways away from returning, but BI will be back soon. A Zion/CJ/BI/Trey/Missi lineup would be wonky, but there's enough talent there to potentially win more games than preferred, with key contributions from guys that definitely won't be here 18 months from now.
3
Posted on 2/1/25 at 8:53 am to THRILLHO
We should trade Zion’s injury riddled, no jump shooting arse to whoever would give us a couple firsts and a solid player..resign Ingram bc he’s an actual basketball player, but keep him relatively silent for the rest of this season so we don’t mess up the tank, get a top 3 player (Flagg, Harper, Bailey), possibly flip CJ even tho I’d hate to lose the veteran leadership..
Sorry for the rant, I’m just MAD and bummed for Dejounte.
Sorry for the rant, I’m just MAD and bummed for Dejounte.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 9:42 am to THRILLHO
quote:That seems a little pessimistic.
Then $34m in 26/27 while most likely being a shell.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 9:54 am to SHMILL
quote:
We should trade Zion’s injury riddled, no jump shooting arse to whoever would give us a couple firsts and a solid player..resign Ingram bc he’s an actual basketball player, but keep him relatively silent for the rest of this season so we don’t mess up the tank, get a top 3 player (Flagg, Harper, Bailey), possibly flip CJ even tho I’d hate to lose the veteran leadership..
You're in the minority here, but this does not end with a winner including Zion. Zion has always been the fit issue.
Posted on 2/2/25 at 9:03 am to Galactic Inquisitor
Exactly, and no one seems to understand that.
If at 6’7” (undersized) you can’t consistently shoot an elbow jumper, etc., it’s NOT GOING TO WORK.
But please for the luv of all that is holy, don’t go and actually trade a 6’10” player who actually CAN shoot?!
Asinine.
If at 6’7” (undersized) you can’t consistently shoot an elbow jumper, etc., it’s NOT GOING TO WORK.
But please for the luv of all that is holy, don’t go and actually trade a 6’10” player who actually CAN shoot?!
Asinine.
Posted on 2/2/25 at 9:07 am to THRILLHO
quote:
So I'm buying into a more thorough blow-up. Trey/Missi are without a doubt long term pieces.
I think you have to at least gauge Zion's value now. The problem is Griff probably can't trade Zion without getting himself fired so they probably can't change directions without the team changing directions.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News