Both of them are generational talents and would be on the level of SGA and Giannis if they werent always injured IMO. Being injured sets you back a lot, Zion for example hasnt had any chance to work on his game as he always has to rehab.
First we heard that Jalen and Sengun could not play together and that was proven incorrect then Amen and Sengun could not play together but that was also disproven. Now it's Amen and Zion cannot play together. One elite 3P shooter like Cam Johnson or Naz Reid fixes any of the spacing + shooting issues imo. Especially if Jalen continues to improve his 3P% beyond 37%.
Not working on game but still averaging 25-27 PPG is ridiculous talent. NBA is supposed to be harder than that.
Zion and Amen can coexist. Sengun and Zion can coexist. I don't think Sengun, Zion, AND Amen can all fit together. Unless Amen and Sengun miraculously develop serviceable 3 point shots.
Sengun + Cam + Brooks + Pick for Zion + Missi (would rather Murphy or jones but that feels lopsided) .... would you?
Zion is literally the hulk with speed. I’d be really interested to see if we can get him for Cam + Brooks + Draft Picks. I don’t even have a problem if we keep Brooks but get rid of Jabari. My wishlist starting 5 if we can get Zion: Zion Amen Sengun Sheppard Jabari or Brooks
Green and Sengun’s fit had nothing to do with neither guy being willing nor able to shoot threes. Green wasn’t shy about taking them, he just was erratic at making them. Zion Williamson is taking .5 threes per game. Amen Thompson takes 1.3 threes per game and makes 26% of them. The Rockets would see a ton of 2-3 zones daring them to shoot threes if you started those two together unless you surround them with three very good/elite three-point shooters. For them to work as a pairing, you would need an elite three-point shooting center who can defend at a high level like Brook Lopez. Zion can’t play center.
Zion has missed almost 60% of the potential games he could have played for his career and some posters still pining for him lol. This season alone he has missed 39 games and played 23. Look, I can understand trading for Luka, Ant, Giannis, players of that sort. Zion? Laughable.
Yeah, I get your point about Zion - top 20 player when healthy, is healthy now, no guarantees any player stays healthy, and very rare opportunity to acquire a player of his caliber - I just don't love the risk reward proposition with his career up until this point. This is his 6th year in the league and he has played the following number of games: 24, 61, 0, 29, 70, 24 for an average of 34 games played per season. There IS a difference in the risk/reward scenario of a player who has consistently demonstrated troubles staying healthy - no matter how flukey some of those injuries may seem isolated from each other. This is purely a statistical likelihood scenario - not a medical one. Even bigger than that - I also don't like teams built to contend for the short term which would be how we would be constructed because ultimately if you acquire Zion you are setting yourself to put him on ice much of the regular season(no back to backs, frequent rest, etc) to try to preserve him to make a difference for you when it matters most in the playoffs. I just don't like those teams because I rarely see teams succeed with putting their best player in street clothes every other game - just to become a disjointed team that doesn't know how to play together come playoff time because the rotations change every other game. That's the point I was trying to make earlier - this likely only works if you retain an already good roster that wins a lot of games(so you can win those regular season games that Zion doesnt play), don't give up anyone core to that in a trade, preserve your difference maker until the playoffs and hope your injury luck holds out, and have a swiss army knife type of player who can be plugged in/out of the lineup somewhat interchangeably. That's why Kawhi worked in Toronto because the team didn't have to give up a lot to get him, they already had a core of Siakam, Lowry, Green, Gasol, and Fred who could win regular season games, and they had a young defensive minded player with some midrange scoring prowess subbing in on the games Kawhi missed in OG Anunoby. Kawhi was obviously a much better player than OG back then, but you didn't have to change the offensive or defensive schemes whenever Kawhi was out to suit OG. They had an identity they could stick with all year which is...tricky.
Zion's contract is also cancelable making it a very valuable trade asset.....there is literally no downside to going after him. DD
From what I understand the Pelicans have some waiver in his contract that makes it very favorable to the team. Still though, Zion is the kind of guy to play like MVP Charles Barkley for a contract year, get paid the max, then eat himself out of a career so yeah...
Shawn Kemp was much bigger than those two though. I compared him to Barkley because both are basically small forward size with play PF, both are monsters in transition and re pretty skilled players and once they get in the paint with forward moment it's over and both used strength and athleticism AND also both had issues with weight and their motivation to play basketball. The thing is Charles learned early in his career his habits had to change and if Zion ain't getting it yet, maybe he never will. I did say earlier in the year if the Rockets take a low risk move to get him then they are likely feeling that Ime will whip him into shape. He really is a great player...when he plays, but if he's not taking care of his body that might not be often.
Yeah. I understand the appeal, but any team that takes him on would need to be pretty convinced that their medical and training staffs could have a huge impact on him. They would also need to be convinced they can talk him into actually following through with a dietician etc. I hear New Orleans has had him work with diet specialists and nothing has stuck. It's a massive gamble, and the price would need to be excessively low to risk it. But I do think that, in those few games he's healthy, he's about as fun to watch play basketball as anyone in the league. No matter where he goes or if he stays, I hope he can figure out how to stay on the court. The NBA is better with a talent of his magnitude playing.
Zion has shown poor conditioning, decision making and a rather extensive injury history in his short career. He’s also a poor fit with our best player (Sengun). Neither player is a great outside shooter so you’d have to move on or enter floor spacing hell. The question then becomes would you “trade” Sengun for Zion? I absolutely would not, unless the Pelicans sent back some serious draft compensation. Of course New Orleans wouldn’t donthstbb
Zion would need to get trainers from both NFL as well as NBA imo. Pelicans not understanding his unique morphology per NBA was big reason for his early injuries. Zion is obviously washed + Rockets could not have any use for his offense. Via Real Sports: "Zion Williamson in 26 minutes tonight: 37 PTS 17/23 FG 6 AST (0 TOV) +13 in a 21-point loss…" Redick (h/t Spectrum SportsNet): "Zion, obviously, presents a lot of problems. We made adjustments. He was moving tonight. He was moving tonight... We made three different adjustments on him and it didn't work. He was that good tonight."
I agree that acquiring Zion is not enough + that an elite 3P shooter is also required. But Rockets struggles on offense are much deeper than just 3P%. Rockets offense is bottom of NBA in FG%, TS% and AST%. Zion would immediately improve these areas on day one.
