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How many of you still want Zion long term?

Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:35 pm
Posted by Thundercles
Mars
Member since Sep 2010
5088 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:35 pm
OG Zion hater here. He has played better than I expected when on the court, but as I did guess has always been hurt and can't be relied upon for a full season.

Unless the plan is to do just enough to get into the playoffs and hope the 1/3 of the season that Zion plays covers the postseason, how can anyone want to keep this guy long term unless it's just to sell season tickets?

I have one upvote ready for the first Joel Embiid comparison.
Posted by TigerinATL
Member since Feb 2005
61564 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:42 pm to
Looking at how much Zion raises your ceiling when he plays, I think you have to stick with him for now.

There are still quite a few things he can do to reduce his injury risk like shooting more and putting even more effort into his body. LeBron spends $1.5 million a year on his body. Zion needs to have that level of personal commitment to staying healthy.
Posted by iwyLSUiwy
I'm your huckleberry
Member since Apr 2008
34453 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:44 pm to
I do, but I'm not that smart. I think if you have a star that actually wants to be here, you keep him, because it doesn't happen very often. I try to hold out hope that he can end up playing 3/4 of a season.
Posted by htran90
BC
Member since Dec 2012
30132 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:44 pm to
quote:

How many of you still want Zion long term?


Zion for 50 games gives you a ceiling of NBA title contenders.

Issue is, can you stay afloat for the other 30 games

The war chest is important for us to load up on cheap young talent to replace other guys though
Posted by Fun Bunch
New Orleans
Member since May 2008
116166 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:47 pm to
The best thing for the Pelicans would be Zion to work out. For him to stay relatively healthy and finally get it right. Our ceiling is a top 2-3 seed with him. He is good enough to win a championship with

He just never plays. Next year is make or break. If he can't stay healthy next year (ie not miss multiple months), then its time to blow it up and restart
Posted by LilWezyAna
BR
Member since Feb 2016
3145 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:50 pm to
He’s been historically good offensively when playing. Even his defense got up to a decent level this season. It definitely is a bummer that he has been injury prone, but I don’t think there’s any medical reason to give up on a player unless they’re having recurring similar injuries, which Zion has not really had. Greg Oden’s foot, Brandon Roy’s knee, Larry Bird’s back, for example, are career enders. I personally think Zion has just been super unlucky. I don’t even blame his size, since he’s getting injuries that aren’t “big guy” injuries. Anyone can tweak a hamstring and have trouble getting back, skinny tall guys get the foot injury Zion got, and all sorts of sized guys have meniscus injuries.

The problem is, that if you do give him up, you risk watching him be less unlucky, and be an MVP, league fricking MVP candidate on another team
Posted by shel311
McKinney, Texas
Member since Aug 2004
111097 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 2:56 pm to
quote:

How many of you still want Zion long term?
Me
Posted by MrJimBeam
Member since Apr 2009
12349 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 3:25 pm to
Me, and I hope he starts taking his body more seriously moving forward with the frequent injuries. He needs to get in the LeBron program.
Posted by saintslsupels
Member since Jul 2014
1790 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 3:29 pm to
quote:

OG Zion hater

Out of curiosity, when did you start hating Zion?
Posted by Pistol44
New Orleans
Member since Jun 2019
1866 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 3:29 pm to
For sure you want Big Husky here long term, additionally with BI. Thats the ticket, any change represents a setback and rebuild in terms of championship aspirations.

Given that, Zion as well as BI, need to be better off-ball for availability and longevity purposes. Zion, in particular puts way too much stress on himself physically with his style of play.

Zion and BI are elite finishers and getting them off-ball opportunities to finish along with a healthy but diminished on-ball role would, imo, do wonders for their availability. Those two, in a very limited sample, have shown to be an overwhelming force.
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
71176 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 3:33 pm to
The only way I'd consider parting with Zion if it meant you could get someone who, when healthy, makes you a Finals contender.

I don't think that's possible.
Posted by Bonkers119
Baton Rouge
Member since Dec 2015
10177 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 4:19 pm to
How many players in the league currently make you Finals contenders? Giannis, KD, Steph, Tatum, and who else?

Not many teams are gonna give up their superstars for a injury riddled player.
Posted by shel311
McKinney, Texas
Member since Aug 2004
111097 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 4:23 pm to
quote:

The only way I'd consider parting with Zion if it meant you could get someone who, when healthy, makes you a Finals contender.

I don't think that's possible.


Probably not

Ultimately, next season is the make or break year. In his 4 seasons he's played 24 games, 61 games(of 72), 0 games, and 29 games and looking like at best he'll get to around 40 games.

If he puts up another 40 games or less next season, it'll be time to push the panic button. Now what does that even mean, I honestly don't know. He won't have the trade value to do much with if he's hurt all year again next season, I just don't see it. We basically just have to ride it out and hope for the best.
Posted by ned nederlander
Member since Dec 2012
4308 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 4:32 pm to
quote:

Ultimately, next season is the make or break year. In his 4 seasons he's played 24 games, 61 games(of 72), 0 games, and 29 games and looking like at best he'll get to around 40 games. If he puts up another 40 games or less next season, it'll be time to push the panic button. Now what does that even mean, I honestly don't know.


All this. The pelicans aren’t bringing in anyone with the ceiling of Zion to replace him. His trade value is very low, and when he is on the court the pelicans are a dark horse title contender. As a small market team, you need to let this ride one more season to see if he can stay healthy and deliver on that ceiling (and if he does put it all together next year I also wouldn’t be mad if we traded him for a big return if one was on the table).
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
71176 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 4:37 pm to
But if he does have another 40 game season next year and you punt on him with a trade that returns 30 cents on the dollar, what's the point?

You go from injured team that has a chance to be a title contender when healthy to healthy team that has no chance to be a title contender.
Posted by IM42lane
Hammond, LA 70401-1519
Member since Oct 2022
20 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 4:50 pm to
If ZION actually plays long term, then he can stay long term.

Waiting for him to heal this long is absolutely ridiculous!

Talk with the N.Y. Knicks and see what you can get for him now.

Posted by ned nederlander
Member since Dec 2012
4308 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 4:56 pm to
Yea I mean shel covered that . . . and I don’t know what it means. Other than if we get another sub 50 game season from Zion next year you need to turn the page on thinking this group can win a title. Does that mean shipping Zion for pennies? If those pennies are expiring contracts maybe.
Posted by Klingler7
Houston
Member since Nov 2009
12008 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 5:15 pm to
I want a healthy Zion long term. That’s all. We already got rid of Street Clothes.

Is it too much to ask for a professional athlete to play 75/82 regular season games ?
Posted by supe12sta12z
Tiger Town
Member since Apr 2012
10468 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 5:22 pm to
Unless he develops a chronic injury, you roll with him in hopes that he gets over the injury bug. His injuries have all been pretty unlucky types especially onebhe suffered this season. As long as he can stay away from ligament injuries, I'm not going to panic just yet.
Posted by Balsamic_duck
Member since Jun 2017
3170 posts
Posted on 2/23/23 at 6:24 pm to
We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. We aren’t going to get anyone better than him yet I have absolutely zero faith in his ability to stay healthy. His trade value is a lot less than some of y’all think. I mean what team is willing to trade what it would take for us to part with Zion when he is one more injury from being one of the worst contracts in the league
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