Author Topic: Once Zion is in the NBA...  (Read 6612 times)

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Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #15 on: March 15, 2019, 04:17:45 AM »

Offline Somebody

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With his performance and physical ability it's more likely he'll be a superstar than not. The big questions are if he can develop a consistent 3, become a better passer/ball-handler in the NBA, and if his body is durable. He's not going to be able to bully through the post nearly as often in the NBA, so he'll need to get craftier and diversify his offense. But he will be athletically dominant, pretty much right away, and has good touch on the ball and feel for the game. That's not enough by itself but it's a huge head start.
I think he'll be playing bully ball a lot to start his career as he's likely going to be slotted at SF/PF, where more finesse forwards are playing.
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Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #16 on: March 15, 2019, 05:06:57 AM »

Offline Csfan1984

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Upside=Barkley
Likely=Larry Johnson
Min=Jason Maxiell

Don't see him as transcending but definitely should be an all-star. Think length matters and he doesn't have it for a PF to be great. In the NBA it should be a slow start but he will adjust and be successful. Do want him in NY so can watch him more.

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #17 on: March 15, 2019, 06:31:20 AM »

Offline Somebody

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Upside=Barkley
Likely=Larry Johnson
Min=Jason Maxiell

Don't see him as transcending but definitely should be an all-star. Think length matters and he doesn't have it for a PF to be great. In the NBA it should be a slow start but he will adjust and be successful. Do want him in NY so can watch him more.
I think his athleticism and size will overcome his disadvantages in length
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Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #18 on: March 15, 2019, 06:43:12 AM »

Offline Celtics4ever

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Quote
I think he'll be playing bully ball a lot to start his career as he's likely going to be slotted at SF/PF, where more finesse forwards are playing.


Easier to do in college than in the pros.

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #19 on: March 15, 2019, 07:57:21 AM »

Offline Somebody

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Quote
I think he'll be playing bully ball a lot to start his career as he's likely going to be slotted at SF/PF, where more finesse forwards are playing.


Easier to do in college than in the pros.
For sure, but he's still 6'7-6'9 while weighing 270-280 against players of similar height who're likely 30-50 pounds lighter.
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Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #20 on: March 15, 2019, 08:00:21 AM »

Offline RLewis35

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How will his game translate? He’s a man amongst boys in the NCAA right now, just bulls everyone over...It won’t be that simple once he gets to the NBA and other than his spectacular dunking ability, everything else seems raw. 3pt shooting 29%, FT 66%, Ast 2.2, Blk 1.8, Stl 2.2. Doesn’t  have great ball handling skills. What do you think his ceiling/floor is?
I think ten years from now people are going to look back and think how silly they were for thinking Zion was the next transcendental talent. Not saying he won't be good or won't be able to carve out a nice career, but the next Lebron/Barkley he is not.

That's how I feel.  Scottie Pippen said something along the lines of Zion being the biggest rookie prospect to hit the league since MJ.  It's crazy to me.

The guy is an insane athlete.  But, between his height and range, I don't think he's a lock to be a superstar.
I saw that Pippen video too and it confused me, because as someone who doesn't follow College ball at all I had been under the impression he wasn't even the best prospect at his own school. 

Should he be realistically seen as someone like Blake Griffin?

Was Blake as renowned for his defense as Zion is ?

My bold prediction is Zion is in the all star game next year - and not just as a participant in the dunk contest.

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #21 on: March 15, 2019, 08:02:55 AM »

Offline Sophomore

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How will his game translate? He’s a man amongst boys in the NCAA right now, just bulls everyone over...It won’t be that simple once he gets to the NBA and other than his spectacular dunking ability, everything else seems raw. 3pt shooting 29%, FT 66%, Ast 2.2, Blk 1.8, Stl 2.2. Doesn’t  have great ball handling skills. What do you think his ceiling/floor is?
I think ten years from now people are going to look back and think how silly they were for thinking Zion was the next transcendental talent. Not saying he won't be good or won't be able to carve out a nice career, but the next Lebron/Barkley he is not.

That's how I feel.  Scottie Pippen said something along the lines of Zion being the biggest rookie prospect to hit the league since MJ.  It's crazy to me.

The guy is an insane athlete.  But, between his height and range, I don't think he's a lock to be a superstar.
I saw that Pippen video too and it confused me, because as someone who doesn't follow College ball at all I had been under the impression he wasn't even the best prospect at his own school. 

Should he be realistically seen as someone like Blake Griffin?

Addressed this above - ZW’s performance is much, much better than Griffin’s freshman year.

If you think he’s not considered the best prospect at Duke, I’m not sure where you’re reading that. Don’t think I’ve seen a single site rank Barret or Reddish ahead of him.

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #22 on: March 15, 2019, 08:08:00 AM »

Offline KG Living Legend

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 He's Julius Randle 6.9. picture Randle 45 pounds heavier. Randle jumped 37" at combine, Zion is like 44".

 His range will be a problem, but even more so than Randle. Who matches up with him well?

 His wingspan is 1' shorter than Tatum and 2" shorter than LeBron. So no problems here.

 He's about to be one of the strongest players In the NBA. His strength combined with Athleticism is unmatched.

 His work ethic and competitiveness are also elite. Without major injury he's going to be 25 PPG 10 RPG 2 bpg 2 spg in 4 years or less.

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #23 on: March 15, 2019, 08:47:57 AM »

Offline Somebody

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 He's Julius Randle 6.9. picture Randle 45 pounds heavier. Randle jumped 37" at combine, Zion is like 44".

 His range will be a problem, but even more so than Randle. Who matches up with him well?

 His wingspan is 1' shorter than Tatum and 2" shorter than LeBron. So no problems here.

 He's about to be one of the strongest players In the NBA. His strength combined with Athleticism is unmatched.

 His work ethic and competitiveness are also elite. Without major injury he's going to be 25 PPG 10 RPG 2 bpg 2 spg in 4 years or less.
^this tbh. People are really underselling how dominant are his athletic gift, as well as how skilled he is.
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Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #24 on: March 15, 2019, 08:55:52 AM »

Offline Celtics17

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When Shaq was about to leave college and enter the NBA  I use to tell people that there was a new definition of power for the league. Most people laughed. Anyway, I would define power as the ability to generate force through strength and motion. Well, guess what... there is a new definition of power about to hit today's NBA. Outside of injury there is no way this guy doesnt dominate!

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #25 on: March 15, 2019, 09:16:16 AM »

Offline moiso

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How will his game translate? He’s a man amongst boys in the NCAA right now, just bulls everyone over...It won’t be that simple once he gets to the NBA and other than his spectacular dunking ability, everything else seems raw. 3pt shooting 29%, FT 66%, Ast 2.2, Blk 1.8, Stl 2.2. Doesn’t  have great ball handling skills. What do you think his ceiling/floor is?
I think ten years from now people are going to look back and think how silly they were for thinking Zion was the next transcendental talent. Not saying he won't be good or won't be able to carve out a nice career, but the next Lebron/Barkley he is not.
Depends on what the definition of transcendental is... I don't have Barkley and Lebron in the same class.  Take away Barkley's personality and you have Karl Malone, maybe not even as good as Malone.  I don't see anyone saying Williamson will be the next Lebron or Jordan, but I see no reason why he can't be in the Malone, Barkley, and Griffin class.  The people who mention Griffin in this thread are spot on in my opinion.  What more can you expect before a player is drafted? 

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #26 on: March 15, 2019, 09:31:20 AM »

Offline tazzmaniac

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How will his game translate? He’s a man amongst boys in the NCAA right now, just bulls everyone over...It won’t be that simple once he gets to the NBA and other than his spectacular dunking ability, everything else seems raw. 3pt shooting 29%, FT 66%, Ast 2.2, Blk 1.8, Stl 2.2. Doesn’t  have great ball handling skills. What do you think his ceiling/floor is?
I think ten years from now people are going to look back and think how silly they were for thinking Zion was the next transcendental talent. Not saying he won't be good or won't be able to carve out a nice career, but the next Lebron/Barkley he is not.

That's how I feel.  Scottie Pippen said something along the lines of Zion being the biggest rookie prospect to hit the league since MJ.  It's crazy to me.

The guy is an insane athlete.  But, between his height and range, I don't think he's a lock to be a superstar.
I saw that Pippen video too and it confused me, because as someone who doesn't follow College ball at all I had been under the impression he wasn't even the best prospect at his own school. 

Should he be realistically seen as someone like Blake Griffin?

Addressed this above - ZW’s performance is much, much better than Griffin’s freshman year.

If you think he’s not considered the best prospect at Duke, I’m not sure where you’re reading that. Don’t think I’ve seen a single site rank Barret or Reddish ahead of him.
Barrett was ranked #1 on sites at the start of the season but that quickly changed.  Just watched a Youtube video arguing the Barrett is the better pro prospect albeit slightly.  For me, Barrett would need to be a lot better shooter to be in the conversation for #1. 

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #27 on: March 15, 2019, 09:43:31 AM »

Offline DefenseWinsChamps

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How will his game translate? He’s a man amongst boys in the NCAA right now, just bulls everyone over...It won’t be that simple once he gets to the NBA and other than his spectacular dunking ability, everything else seems raw. 3pt shooting 29%, FT 66%, Ast 2.2, Blk 1.8, Stl 2.2. Doesn’t  have great ball handling skills. What do you think his ceiling/floor is?
I think ten years from now people are going to look back and think how silly they were for thinking Zion was the next transcendental talent. Not saying he won't be good or won't be able to carve out a nice career, but the next Lebron/Barkley he is not.

Guess I disagree. He is not as skilled as Lebron or Barkley. People comparing him in that way are just looking for similar body types. That's short-sighted.

I've said for a while that Zion is the forward/big version of Russell Westbrook. He will enforce his will on the game. He may not have Lebron's vision, or Barkley's feel, but he does have Westbrook's will.

His numbers and impact will be elite simply because of the way he players. I think he is a good enough passer to get to 5 assists a game when he reaches his potential. I expect his rebounds per game to be above 10 in his rookie year.

Randle tried to enforce his will on the game, but he isn't nearly as athletic as Zion. I think Zion will be a better finisher. He has already proven to be a good finisher against elite NBA prospects. Randle struggled with that in his time at Kentucky, which was one of the reasons he fell in the draft. Plus, Randle only averaged 1 block and .6 steals at Kentucky. Zion is at 2.6 and 3.2. If Randle was a good defender in the NBA, he'd be a max contract guy. Zion will be a good defender and at least comparable to the offensive player that Randle is.

I think Zion will be a Russell Westbrook type "transcendent talent," if you consider him a transcendent talent. He won't be as good as Lebron or Barkley though. 

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #28 on: March 15, 2019, 09:48:56 AM »

Offline JBcat

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How will his game translate? He’s a man amongst boys in the NCAA right now, just bulls everyone over...It won’t be that simple once he gets to the NBA and other than his spectacular dunking ability, everything else seems raw. 3pt shooting 29%, FT 66%, Ast 2.2, Blk 1.8, Stl 2.2. Doesn’t  have great ball handling skills. What do you think his ceiling/floor is?
I think ten years from now people are going to look back and think how silly they were for thinking Zion was the next transcendental talent. Not saying he won't be good or won't be able to carve out a nice career, but the next Lebron/Barkley he is not.
Depends on what the definition of transcendental is... I don't have Barkley and Lebron in the same class.  Take away Barkley's personality and you have Karl Malone, maybe not even as good as Malone.  I don't see anyone saying Williamson will be the next Lebron or Jordan, but I see no reason why he can't be in the Malone, Barkley, and Griffin class.  The people who mention Griffin in this thread are spot on in my opinion.  What more can you expect before a player is drafted?

I think I would take Barkley’s peak over peak Malone.  Malone did play with one of the best PG and underrated players of all time in Stockton. Malone’s longevity helps his case against Barkley.

The comparison to Randle just in college is Zion is a much better scorer than Randle was.

Besides Zion’s obvious leaping ability he is very mobile, gets off the floor quickly, high motor being fast and quick, and maybe as important as anything a great first step to blow by people.  He actually cares about defense which you can’t say for many young players.

I think Zion’s skill set may be a little underrated as I think he is a very good passer especially in transition, and he is a pretty good ball handler. Only 29% from 3, but there is some improvement and it’s not like he has a broken jump shot.

I can see Barkley at Zion’s best.

Re: Once Zion is in the NBA...
« Reply #29 on: March 15, 2019, 09:51:35 AM »

Offline moiso

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How will his game translate? He’s a man amongst boys in the NCAA right now, just bulls everyone over...It won’t be that simple once he gets to the NBA and other than his spectacular dunking ability, everything else seems raw. 3pt shooting 29%, FT 66%, Ast 2.2, Blk 1.8, Stl 2.2. Doesn’t  have great ball handling skills. What do you think his ceiling/floor is?
I think ten years from now people are going to look back and think how silly they were for thinking Zion was the next transcendental talent. Not saying he won't be good or won't be able to carve out a nice career, but the next Lebron/Barkley he is not.

Guess I disagree. He is not as skilled as Lebron or Barkley. People comparing him in that way are just looking for similar body types. That's short-sighted.

I've said for a while that Zion is the forward/big version of Russell Westbrook. He will enforce his will on the game. He may not have Lebron's vision, or Barkley's feel, but he does have Westbrook's will.

His numbers and impact will be elite simply because of the way he players. I think he is a good enough passer to get to 5 assists a game when he reaches his potential. I expect his rebounds per game to be above 10 in his rookie year.

Randle tried to enforce his will on the game, but he isn't nearly as athletic as Zion. I think Zion will be a better finisher. He has already proven to be a good finisher against elite NBA prospects. Randle struggled with that in his time at Kentucky, which was one of the reasons he fell in the draft. Plus, Randle only averaged 1 block and .6 steals at Kentucky. Zion is at 2.6 and 3.2. If Randle was a good defender in the NBA, he'd be a max contract guy. Zion will be a good defender and at least comparable to the offensive player that Randle is.

I think Zion will be a Russell Westbrook type "transcendent talent," if you consider him a transcendent talent. He won't be as good as Lebron or Barkley though.
Great Westbrook comparison.  A 6’7 285 lb Westbrook most likely with a much higher shooting percentage would probably be on Barkley’s overall level though.