re: Zion lost weight

Shaq was mainly a post player for at least 60% of his career. He was lighter on his feet in Orlando. But once he gained the weight, his game became more ground bound.

It’s not a great comparison to Zion bc Zion plays the point forward position and is regularly running and flying through the air 35 inches plus above the ground at full speed. Shaq was 7ft 2 and getting post entry passes and out sizing people without having to really jump all that high or often. Zion is only 6ft 6, so he typically has to jump to score over centers and Pf’s.

Charles Barkley was overweight as a rookie and then again as an older player w the Rockets. The 12 years in between those stints, he regularly played around the 240-260 range. And that is when he was at his best. He would’ve won multiple rings if he wasn’t sharing a prime w Hakeem and MJ.

I think BR and I’s main point is, even if he cut 20-30 pounds, he’d still be at a strength advantage to the majority of the league and being lighter on his feet would be beneficial in several ways as well.

We just want wants best for the Pels and Zion at the end of the day. It’s up to Zion to hopefully realize these things and execute them while he’s in a Pels uni.

We talk about wanting him to play 60-65 games a year. That’s great. But we also need him to be ready to play 25 games or so in a deep playoff run as well. So I don’t think minor tweaks takes you consistently from 30 games per year to 90 games per year (65+25).

Yes, Zion lost weight from his brain. He lightened the head.

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because Generally guys who weight 280 can’t move like Zion.

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Ok. I don't know if this is a physics question. But here goes. Would he be faster, quicker and more explosive if he weighed 30lbs less?

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get his weight down to take stress of his joints, but whey would we want to make him into Maggette?

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I'm talking about physiques and weight distribution. Magette is just the optimization of what a 6'6 basketball player could be. There is no reason for a player to have more muscle than him. Zion has much more padding and I don't expect him to get that lean. But that's what I envision when I think about what type of builds players should be trying to obtain..

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DJ Chark isn’t going to look like Zach Martin at the same weight.

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You are absolutely correct. Great point. Not everybody's frames are the same.

But if somehow, magically, Zach Martin could run a 4.3 would he still try to play WR at 300+lbs or would he get as lean as he possibly could?

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for reference his weight was listed at 285 at duke. would you mind Duke physique zion?

gronk is 6’ 7” 264. would you say Gronk is too big?

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Two very different questions.

Yes, Zion was too big at Duke and struggled with staying healthy. It was a given that he needed to be conditioned. That's not revisionist history. I can link tons of sources on that. No one thought 260+ was substanable.

Gronk is generally within the proper weight range for his sport and position. He couldn't play basketball at anywhere near that weight. He'd pass out after playing a 1/4. He's the greatest TE ever so not meant as an insult. But that type of bulk isn't meant for the NBA..

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Yes, Zion was too big at Duke and struggled with staying healthy. It was a given that he needed to be conditioned. That's not revisionist history. I can link tons of sources on that. No one thought 260+ was substanable.

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provide the links.

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Gronk is generally within the proper weight range for his sport and position. He couldn't play basketball at anywhere near that weight. He'd pass out after playing a 1/4. He's the greatest TE ever so not meant as an insult. But that type of bulk isn't meant for the NBA..

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this is dumb

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at Duke and struggled with staying healthy

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Uhhhh, he had a shoe blowout that caused a freak injury….

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People can be bitches if they want to.

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FIFY

Yes, but technically all he has “stolen” is a rookie contract so far. This is technically his first season on his big money deal. It’s technically voidable if the Pels in fact think what he is doing raises to the level of stealing money.

What I don’t understand is why Nike/Jordan keeps giving him signature shoes. I don’t think his shoes are huge sellers and his popularity has dipped quite a bit. So if he’s stealing money from anyone, it’s probably the Jordan Brand. Technically they have paid him more money than the Pelicans have so far.

I think him being hurt is not technically saving us anything. We’re still paying him while hes hurt. I think to me that applies to any player but its really too early to judge if this will be a good deal for the pelicans or not.

I’m more concerned about his skill set expanding, in particular shooting from deep, and the up and under. His handle improved but not great.

I think he dribbles too much, but I don’t think he’s a black hole.

It will be interesting to see if any of the Top 6 guys become black holes in an ideal healthy lineup.

What happens when Trey has a string of nights where’s he’s “only” getting 12 shots a game?

One of the secondary benefits of tactically leaning Zion more into the “garbage man” role. As a teammate, he needs to show he’s willing to make it about the Pels and not himself…