Trade Idea #3 (and filler) for Zion - would you do it?

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Would you trade the #3/Ant/filler for Zion?

  • Yes - absolutely

    Votes: 22 29.7%
  • Maybe - depends on who goes out

    Votes: 16 21.6%
  • No way!

    Votes: 36 48.6%

  • Total voters
    74
Zion is set for life financially, but still very young to have all the motivation to be great. If a 22 y/o had been doing 26/27 ppg on 60% efficiency 100% of the time, the #3 pick won't cut it. This is a gamble I can live with. Hire a dedicated nutritionist and personal trainer to get him in shape.

Dame
Sharpe
Jerami
Zion
Nurk

Ant
Thybulle
Backup C

Ant and/or Nurk plus other draft capital can be used to improve further

This is a legit contender when healthy
 
do you have any actual counters to my statement?

we have actual evidence that they either: 1) didn't even bother to do a physical for Payton before the signing... or worse, 2) did a physical and still went through with the signing.

not exactly inspiring confidence that they'd suddenly right the ship on a guy has had seemingly chronic lower extremity issues. if Zion is actually available in a trade, the only reasons are medical. teams don't go around giving up 22 yr old all NBA caliber talents every summer unless something is seriously wrong. you can choose to jam your fingers in your ears to ignore this, but i hope Cronin will be more vigilant.
It's not just about his health. It's also his contract and his personal issues. It's not like they're giving up Zion for nothing. They get a young star on a rookie contract. We get a 22 year old with MVP potential and we give him a fresh start. They've been through hell with him. We haven't. We can start fresh with him and help him turn over a new leaf. It's a risk but so was the Kawhi trade to Toronto. We only need one good playoffs out of Zion for a title and if he gets it together and gives us 10 good playoffs, oh boy!! This is how you get young talent to come to Portland. You buy low.
 
19-20: 24/72
20-21: 61/72
21-22: 0/82
22-23: 29/82

That is 37% of the games.

And he's owed 194 mil over the next 5 seasons.

sheesh.
Which is why they'd trade him for a young star like Scoot on a rookie deal. Health isn't the only reason they're considering trading him. Sometimes players just need a fresh start. And he's only 22.
 
Zion is set for life financially, but still very young to have all the motivation to be great. If a 22 y/o had been doing 26/27 ppg on 60% efficiency 100% of the time, the #3 pick won't cut it. This is a gamble I can live with. Hire a dedicated nutritionist and personal trainer to get him in shape.

Dame
Sharpe
Jerami
Zion
Nurk

Ant
Thybulle
Backup C

Ant and/or Nurk plus other draft capital can be used to improve further

This is a legit contender when healthy
Where is the outgoing salary to match at least 80% of Zion's 33.5M?
 
Which is why they'd trade him for a young star like Scoot on a rookie deal. Health isn't the only reason they're considering trading him. Sometimes players just need a fresh start. And he's only 22.
Yeah I'm hoping the rumor about the Pels only wanting to give up picks for pick 2 or 3 is just a smoke screen or posturing of some kind. I hope they're ready to move on from Zion and think Scoot is worth doing so.
 
you seem bizarrely obsessed with engaging me. Prior to this post I hadn't even opened this thread, let alone posted or voted in it, yet you're tagging me here :confused: I don't recall making any recent posts about acquiring Zion, as I see no reason to. He's New Orleans hot mess and place the chances of the new management hitching their professional careers to his shaky health & huge new contract by trading for him at nil.

STOMP
Hey, I was referring to a post from @illmatic99 but got confused and thought it was yours. Sorry about that.
 
Another reason Zion would be great, he would make both sides of the divided fan base happy. He gives Dame the other star he needs to contend now, and at the same time, is so young that you don’t damage the future in trading 3rd pick. No trading Dame, no sacrificing future. Everyone is happy!
 
I like the concept of swinging for the fences on a player with All NBA first team MVP level upside. Zion legit has that.

A couple big problems though - first the notion that Dame could mentor him. I don't buy that, CJ is players union President and a great mentor as well, I just don't see Dame being able to give him anything different.

Secondly I don't see the Pels and CJ moving on from Zion unless the red flags are much worse than we all realize.
It's not as if they're considering giving away Zion for nothing. It would be a choice to go with a less expensive prospect who also has superstar potential.
 
I am afraid the best Zion can do is play 50% of the games. If you know that going in your offer has to be relatively low. He will never be what he was supposed to be. What player gets healthier with age and mileage? None. You load manage his ass as plain as day and make no excuses about it.
Jesus, he's only 22. He can absolutely get healthier with age and mileage. Also- Embiid missed the first 162 games of his career and now he's MVP. There's time for Zion.
 
This right here. This helps to take on the risk of Zion. Zion is a talent you take a chance on, kinda like what the Raptors did with Kawhi, they took the chance, only got him for one year but in the end it was worth it, they got a ring. It could have not worked, but you don't know till you try, and Zion will be locked up for 5 years at least. You take that chance when you have someone like Dame on your team. Push all the chips in and try your best.

Plus, Zion must know what Portland is about already, he did his rehab here in Portland in early 2022.

"While the Pelicans did not announce the location, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that Williamson is doing his rehab in Portland, Oregon"
Yep and the previous season in San Antonio, Kawhi was refusing to play with a mystery injury. That was a major risk. There were people on this board that were against trading for Kawhi
 
You're not really answering my question. If you know what you do about Zion and he was on your team, would you give him up for Scoot? What I'm getting at is NO feels like drafting an unknown in Scoot is better than keeping a seemingly broken Zion. If healthy, his ceiling is multiple times higher than anyone in this draft.
This is how trades work. You convince one team to give up something valuable for something else that is considered valuable. I guess you're against any trade that gets us a great player? Because by your logic, the player must not be good if he's being traded!
 
Any suggestion that all we have to do is hire the right doctor, nutritionist, and trainer and that will absolve all his issues is ridiculous. You think New Orleans didn't put those things into motion as soon as they won the lottery? If we're trading for him, it's a gamble, simple as that. He may be healthy during some seasons, he may not be during the others. That's all on his body and his choices. And no, simply putting Dame in his ear isn't going to be the difference.
 
Would Zion and Dame even be good together IF Zion was healthy? Seems like a poor fit other than being two extremely gifted offensive players. It could work, and don’t hate it, but I think it’s a stretch to understand how they benefit each other, especially on the defensive end.
 
This is how trades work. You convince one team to give up something valuable for something else that is considered valuable. I guess you're against any trade that gets us a great player? Because by your logic, the player must not be good if he's being traded!
That's just pedantic.

Still waiting to hear of one instance when a team trades away a 22 yr old superstar on a long term contract for a draft pick. Teams are desperate for guys like Zion. They don't ever get traded unless something is seriously wrong.
 
Any suggestion that all we have to do is hire the right doctor, nutritionist, and trainer and that will absolve all his issues is ridiculous. You think New Orleans didn't put those things into motion as soon as they won the lottery? If we're trading for him, it's a gamble, simple as that. He may be healthy during some seasons, he may not be during the others. That's all on his body and his choices. And no, simply putting Dame in his ear isn't going to be the difference.
He literally was the franchise. The only reason they got any national tv games. He's a cash cow. And they have invested tons into his health and conditioning and if they want to cut bait now, that's a massive red flag for me.
 
Here are some highlights from back in the day........... 6 months ago

 
That's just pedantic.

Still waiting to hear of one instance when a team trades away a 22 yr old superstar on a long term contract for a draft pick. Teams are desperate for guys like Zion. They don't ever get traded unless something is seriously wrong.
Stay tuned...
 
He literally was the franchise. The only reason they got any national tv games. He's a cash cow. And they have invested tons into his health and conditioning and if they want to cut bait now, that's a massive red flag for me.

Yeah I'm not convinced they do.
 
Stay tuned...
The closest I found in recent history is Porzingis to Dallas. But he was neither a superstar nor on a long term max contract.

And you can very legitimately argue that it worked out better for NY to trade away an oft injured big for picks.
 
Yeah I'm not convinced they do.
Givony (ESPN) is sure they don't.

"I've been told New Orleans is not trading Zion," said Givony on the Zach Lowe Podcast. "And no interest in trading Brandon Ingram. I would be very surprised if anything ended up happening there at two or three.

"They were the No. 1 team in the West last year when Zion went down with the injury. If he's healthy, which he rarely is, but when he's healthy, he is easily one of the best players in the NBA. So I don't see it happening. That was pretty much shut down to me as a possibility of Zion to Charlotte.

"Or Portland? Either one," said Zach Lowe.

"Or Portland," said Givony. "They haven't even spoken with Portland. I think New Orleans has made some calls, just to see what it would take to get to one, get to two, but I don't think it went past that."
 
This team is hell bent on appeasing Dame

...or as someone 'fixed' it, winning with Dame. Zion might be the kind of guy that could make that happen because he would be the best player on the team if he was healthy. Dame would still be the leader, but Zion would affect winning at a higher level....IF.



It was to let him know that they had let go the Asst. Coach he was closest to.
 
Givony (ESPN) is sure they don't.

"I've been told New Orleans is not trading Zion," said Givony on the Zach Lowe Podcast. "And no interest in trading Brandon Ingram. I would be very surprised if anything ended up happening there at two or three.

"They were the No. 1 team in the West last year when Zion went down with the injury. If he's healthy, which he rarely is, but when he's healthy, he is easily one of the best players in the NBA. So I don't see it happening. That was pretty much shut down to me as a possibility of Zion to Charlotte.

"Or Portland? Either one," said Zach Lowe.

"Or Portland," said Givony. "They haven't even spoken with Portland. I think New Orleans has made some calls, just to see what it would take to get to one, get to two, but I don't think it went past that."
I guess back to the Scoot/Miller debate.
 
Bill Simmons claims Zion being traded for sure this week. I would think that means to Charlotte for Scoot.
 
Bill Simmons claims Zion being traded for sure this week. I would think that means to Charlotte for Scoot.

I am extremely bitter that Charlotte might trade the pick. I'm going to laugh when it blows up in their face.
 

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