Ja Morant should be the pick (1 Viewer)

[GrandAdmiral]

New Orleans Pelicans could look to pair Zion Williamson with Ja Morant, courtesy of a little help from Knicks or Lakers

The Anthony Davis sweepstakes could force a team to knock on the door of the Memphis Grizzlies.

www.thebirdwrites.com

If Griffin pulls this type of deal off, executive of the year IMO.

 

[Loco Hornet Fan]

Morant drafted #2, Forgive the typo. Yes, it was trading AD to the Knicks,and the Knicks sending players and future picks to
Memphis. Memphis then trades the #2 to the Pels.The pels then deal more picks to the grizzlies

I’d be excited pairing Morant and Zion, but I think we can do better than sending Davis and some picks for just the #2 pick (Ja Morant).

In this trade scenario it sounds like the Grizzlies would be getting a way bigger haul for Morant than we would for Davis.

 

[la. champ1]

Take nothing from Morant, he’s a fantastic player. That being said I would not be so quick to sell Zion short. When Zion was in high school, people said all he could do was dunk and he would have adversity playing in college and not near the success he had in high school. He came into college and showed he can pass, score, and play defense period. Most impressive player I’ve seen in a while as far as his performance throughout this past season.

 

[Soundwave]

Zion's Synergy offense




Zion'sSynergy defense

 

[MLU]

Take nothing from Morant, he’s a fantastic player. That being said I would not be so quick to sell Zion short. When Zion was in high school, people said all he could do was dunk and he would have adversity playing in college and not near the success he had in high school. He came into college and showed he can pass, score, and play defense period. Most impressive player I’ve seen in a while as far as his performance throughout this past season.

He led the country in FG% I believe and the vast majority of that was dunking.

 

[someone]

 

[dgrant]

I watched his highlights. He reminds me of a faster Steve Nash with a better vertical. I am honestly starting to feel like we will end up with Zion and Ja + some assets via an Anthony Davis trade. I would be okay with that. He would be a good fit with Jrue and Zion.

 

[MLU]

I watched his highlights. He reminds me of a faster Steve Nash with a better vertical. I am honestly starting to feel like we will end up with Zion and Ja + some assets via an Anthony Davis trade. I would be okay with that. He would be a good fit with Jrue and Zion.

We still have some time before we find out how things shake out, but the consensus right now is that Ja will be a Grizzly.

 

[SAINTSFAN]

This is one of those don't kill the messenger posts. I'm just repeating what I heard last night. Seth Dunlap had a guest on his WWL
radio show last night. I think his last name was cosell. Cosell said don't be shocked if Griffin aggressively pursues a 3 way trade
with the Knicks and Grizzlies where the Pels end up with the #1 and #2 overall. Memphis Has a lot of cap space tied up in PG Mike
Conley and very few future picks. It's in their best interest to trade down and build for the future. The Pels could very well wind up with
Williamson and Durant on their roster next season.

That had to be Oleh Kosel. He writes for birdwrites.com. He is more of a fan than a reporter. He is probably just throwing out possibility more from what he wants from a fan perspective and not something he has heard from a reputable source.

 

[BIG E]

With the AD trade if the GM really wanted to go into full rebuilt mode, he could probably get the 2nd pick from Memphis in a 3 way deal and draft them both.

 

[faceman]

That had to be Oleh Kosel. He writes for birdwrites.com. He is more of a fan than a reporter. He is probably just throwing out possibility more from what he wants from a fan perspective and not something he has heard from a reputable source.

Yep, that was him. Thanks for the info

 

[MLU]

That had to be Oleh Kosel. He writes for birdwrites.com. He is more of a fan than a reporter. He is probably just throwing out possibility more from what he wants from a fan perspective and not something he has heard from a reputable source.

He is throwing up a lot of content lately. You can tell he's really annoying the opportunity to explore all of the possibilities.

 

[someone]

Take nothing from Morant, he’s a fantastic player. That being said I would not be so quick to sell Zion short. When Zion was in high school, people said all he could do was dunk and he would have adversity playing in college and not near the success he had in high school. He came into college and showed he can pass, score, and play defense period. Most impressive player I’ve seen in a while as far as his performance throughout this past season.

College basketball and NBA basketball are so different that they're almost different sports. There isn't nearly as much of a difference between the high school and college games.

The problem is most national media folks can't formulate their own opinions. They look at advanced stats like the synergy stats (whatever that means) posted above. In reality, when you watch Zion by possession, you see a guy that is physically far more gifted than most of his college peers. He scored a ton in the paint, which is usually an efficient shot. But at 6'7" with a small wing span by NBA standards, it won't be very easy to bull his way in and score over or through NBA forwards and centers. Also, there aren't many kids in college willing and able to slide their feet and take a charge. When you only play at one speed, you become predictable and NBA defenders will soon be able to step right in front. That'll be a huge learning curve for Zion.

Additionally, he shows the ability to make passes, but that doesn't make him a passer. There is so much more that goes into passing than physically being able to throw the ball. His vision and timing aren't anything special. He'll make some pretty passes, but don't expect him to be a triple double machine.

Finally, defensively he relies on his superior athleticism and lacks discipline. His entire life he's been far more athletic than his peers. This leads to had habits. He gambles a lot and benefited tremendously from the sheer athleticism and size of the other Duke players compared to most of their opponents. He has just as much to learn defensively as he does offensively.

He will regularly have SportsCenter highlights, but he has a long way to go before he even sniffs the potential that the national media has created. I think he has a role in the NBA, maybe even for a championship team. However, he's not a franchise savior. Luckily, I think David Griffin sees that and has made keeping AD priority over Zion. If AD is truly about winning, then the best chance to convince him to stay is drafting Ja Morant. If Memphis' front office is as crazy about Zion as the national media, we should be able to make a trade with them, get rid of some bad contracts and maybe even grab an additional pick or Jaren Jackson Jr.

If you add some veteran pieces to Ja, Jrue, AD and JJJ, that's an instant championship contender.

 

[Loco Hornet Fan]

Ja Morant is an average at best shooter right now, an objectively awful defender (without nearly the upward trajectory of Zion), and turned the ball over an alarming 4.5 times per game. None of this is to say that he isn’t worthy of being a high draft pick or that he won’t be good in the NBA.

None of these guys are perfect at this point, especially an 18 year old. I guess it just seems like you are applying a level of scrutiny and pessimism to Zion that seems uneven (compared to others).

You are certainly entitled to your opinion but at this point it seems like an axe to grind. People who think highly of Zion are not making things up or incapable of “forming their own opinions”.

Zion has things to work and improve on, certainly. But there is a lot to love about him as a player and a prospect at the next level. There is also a lot of reason to be confident that he will improve.

I’m not sure why you continue to scoff at his advanced stats and synergy numbers (which do take individual plays into account), only to solely rely on your eyeball test. There is a lot of good data in there.

People aren’t all slaves to media hype. There is plenty to love about Zion and be excited about.

 

[MLU]

Ja Morant is an average at best shooter right now, an objectively awful defender (without nearly the upward trajectory of Zion), and turned the ball over an alarming 4.5 times per game. None of this is to say that he isn’t worthy of being a high draft pick or that he won’t be good in the NBA.

None of these guys are perfect at this point, especially an 18 year old. I guess it just seems like you are applying a level of scrutiny and pessimism to Zion that seems uneven (compared to others).

You are certainly entitled to your opinion but at this point it seems like an axe to grind. People who think highly of Zion are not making things up or incapable of “forming their own opinions”.

Zion has things to work and improve on, certainly. But there is a lot to love about him as a player and a prospect at the next level. There is also a lot of reason to be confident that he will improve.

I’m not sure why you continue to scoff at his advanced stats and synergy numbers (which do take individual plays into account), only to solely rely on your eyeball test. There is a lot of good data in there.

People aren’t all slaves to media hype. There is plenty to love about Zion and be excited about.

I lol'd when you said the thing about slaves to media hype. Even when Zion was injured, I heard more about how he was injured and when he might be back than what the rest of the college basketball world was doing. I admit I am a bit excited at the prospect of Zion being a Pelican, but I would also be happy if I never heard the name again.