What if the Bulls just went for it?

[jnrjr79]

I agree and don't think the Bulls should trade for Zion.

I bet New Orleans will want picks for him. Does a package of PW and Coby look good to you if you were the GM of the Pelicans?

Depends on how desperate the pels are to get rid of him. They might take anything the closer it gets to the deadline.

Why would they be desperate to get rid of him? His contract has opt out clauses if they want to go that route (which I doubt they do).

Desperate might be the wrong word. I assume they are evaluating offers in the context of "is the stuff we're getting preferable to simply cutting him and getting him off our cap?"

[prolific passer]

I agree and don't think the Bulls should trade for Zion.

I bet New Orleans will want picks for him. Does a package of PW and Coby look good to you if you were the GM of the Pelicans?

Depends on how desperate the pels are to get rid of him. They might take anything the closer it gets to the deadline.

Why would they be desperate to get rid of him? His contract has opt out clauses if they want to go that route (which I doubt they do).

He's just a distraction at this point for them. He drafted there after the AD debacle and remember his face when they drafted him? He didn't want to be there from the start.

[HomoSapien]

Why would New Orleans take that deal? Would you if you were their GM?

They have Murray, McCollum, Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins at the guard positions. I bet Ingram could play there a bit too. Coby's a good player, but a not much of an upgrade for them.

Then there's PW. Is he a good contact? Negative? Or neutral?

The Portland pick might not convey, so it doesnt add much.

Side Note: Why does the Portland pick only turn into one 2nd if it's not conveyed? Most trades give two 2nds in that situation.

Just a reminder that this all started when Bobby Marks speculated that Zion could be had for a future 1st and expiring contracts. If that's the bar, I think Coby, Williams, and the Blazers Pick (or a future Bulls pick if necessary) is a solid offer. Coby is a 25-year-old averaging 18 and 5. Williams could go either way for them, but he's a solid reclamation project. Though Marks talked about getting cap space, I would push back on that. NO is not a FA destination so there strategy has to be get as much talent as possible via trades and figure out the rest later.

As for their guard glut, they're the worst team in the West and McCollum is 33. He absolutely can't factor in on a trade and probably should be moved anyway. Ingram is expected to be traded and doesn't much if any time at the 2 anyway. Hawkins is young, but is abysmal. The kid is shooting 35% from the field and 32% from down town. He probably shouldn't dictate their moves either. White, Murray, and Alvarado seem like they can complement each other fine.

Coby, PW and a 2nd round pick (Portland pick) isn't worth giving up on the potential of Zion. Of course, they won't get equal value for him (for many reason) but think they can do better than that deal.

That's the thing though, isn't it? If they've decided to part ways on Zion, they're automatically losing the trade from a talent/potential standpoint. They might be able to get a better offer, but I think Coby gets a bit dismissed here. He's got his flaws, but he's young and productive.

[HomoSapien]

Depends on how desperate the pels are to get rid of him. They might take anything the closer it gets to the deadline.

Why would they be desperate to get rid of him? His contract has opt out clauses if they want to go that route (which I doubt they do).

He's just a distraction at this point for them. He drafted there after the AD debacle and remember his face when they drafted him? He didn't want to be there from the start.

I know this question wasn't posed to me, but they won't just decline his contract. They'll try to recoup some assets before doing that.

[Dan Z]

Just a reminder that this all started when Bobby Marks speculated that Zion could be had for a future 1st and expiring contracts. If that's the bar, I think Coby, Williams, and the Blazers Pick (or a future Bulls pick if necessary) is a solid offer. Coby is a 25-year-old averaging 18 and 5. Williams could go either way for them, but he's a solid reclamation project. Though Marks talked about getting cap space, I would push back on that. NO is not a FA destination so there strategy has to be get as much talent as possible via trades and figure out the rest later.

As for their guard glut, they're the worst team in the West and McCollum is 33. He absolutely can't factor in on a trade and probably should be moved anyway. Ingram is expected to be traded and doesn't much if any time at the 2 anyway. Hawkins is young, but is abysmal. The kid is shooting 35% from the field and 32% from down town. He probably shouldn't dictate their moves either. White, Murray, and Alvarado seem like they can complement each other fine.

Coby, PW and a 2nd round pick (Portland pick) isn't worth giving up on the potential of Zion. Of course, they won't get equal value for him (for many reason) but think they can do better than that deal.

That's the thing though, isn't it? If they've decided to part ways on Zion, they're automatically losing the trade from a talent/potential standpoint. They might be able to get a better offer, but I think Coby gets a bit dismissed here. He's got his flaws, but he's young and productive.

Coby's a good player, but is streaky and in a year he'll be up for a contract. If I'm the Pelicans GM I'd rather just continue with Zion's potential. I'm also not sure if PW is a decent contract, but I'd say neutral at this point. He doesn't add much value IMO. Neither does the Portland pick.

If Zion is traded I'd want assets to work with for the future. I'd ask the Bulls for future firsts (and ask most teams for that). Would I get them? Who knows. For example, maybe Charlotte is willing to give up a pick (or picks) plus contracts (Josh Green, Grant Williams or Cody Martin) plus Salaun. That gives New Orleans a prospect with potential plus a pick or two. I know those contracts suck, but they're vet players who can contribute a little while you figure out the next iteration of your team.

[prolific passer]

Why would they be desperate to get rid of him? His contract has opt out clauses if they want to go that route (which I doubt they do).

He's just a distraction at this point for them. He drafted there after the AD debacle and remember his face when they drafted him? He didn't want to be there from the start.

I know this question wasn't posed to me, but they won't just decline his contract. They'll try to recoup some assets before doing that.

Yeah. They aren't going to cut him in any way. Because of his age there are probably teams that think he can turn it around but I guess nobody wants to take that chance because of his current state. He has to show you that he can turn it around but if he does that with the pels then they won't be in any hurry to trade him themselves because of all that potential he has.

[sco]

He's just a distraction at this point for them. He drafted there after the AD debacle and remember his face when they drafted him? He didn't want to be there from the start.

I know this question wasn't posed to me, but they won't just decline his contract. They'll try to recoup some assets before doing that.

Yeah. They aren't going to cut him in any way. Because of his age there are probably teams that think he can turn it around but I guess nobody wants to take that chance because of his current state. He has to show you that he can turn it around but if he does that with the pels then they won't be in any hurry to trade him themselves because of all that potential he has.

I think that all he has to do is come back, play well and stay healthy until the end of the season (and keep his mouth shut, like Lavine) and the Pels can get a much better offer in the offseason and they can promise to shop him then.

[HomoSapien]

From wiretap:

According to (Stephen A.) Smith, this stems from the fact that Williamson no longer wishes to play in New Orleans.

"Zion doesn't want to be in New Orleans, he doesn't want to be there," Smith said. "He wants to be in a major market like LA, New York, or whatever, because he wants the marketability."

[GoBlue72391]

From wiretap:

According to (Stephen A.) Smith, this stems from the fact that Williamson no longer wishes to play in New Orleans.

"Zion doesn't want to be in New Orleans, he doesn't want to be there," Smith said. "He wants to be in a major market like LA, New York, or whatever, because he wants the marketability."

Marketability? He's worried about marketability? Hard to market a player who can't even get on the floor. He should be worried about actually playing in NBA basketball games and then working on his weaknesses in the offseason.

[HomoSapien]

From wiretap:

According to (Stephen A.) Smith, this stems from the fact that Williamson no longer wishes to play in New Orleans.

"Zion doesn't want to be in New Orleans, he doesn't want to be there," Smith said. "He wants to be in a major market like LA, New York, or whatever, because he wants the marketability."

Marketability? He's worried about marketability? Hard to market a player who can't even get on the floor. He should be worried about actually playing in NBA basketball games and then working on his weaknesses in the offseason.

My feeling is that he hates it in NO and will suddenly be more available and motivated if he moves to the right location. Obviously that doesn't reflect well on Zion, but his new team probably won't care about his past.

[jnrjr79]

From wiretap:

Marketability? He's worried about marketability? Hard to market a player who can't even get on the floor. He should be worried about actually playing in NBA basketball games and then working on his weaknesses in the offseason.

My feeling is that he hates it in NO and will suddenly be more available and motivated if he moves to the right location. Obviously that doesn't reflect well on Zion, but his new team probably won't care about his past.

Yeah, this seems to at least make it possible that some of Zion's "unavailability" may be manufactured.

He did a 360 dunk in his first game back - that doesn't sound like a guy who was willing to play while still a little banged up. He gave his rehab process all the time in the world.

[ChiTownHero1992]

From wiretap:

According to (Stephen A.) Smith, this stems from the fact that Williamson no longer wishes to play in New Orleans.

"Zion doesn't want to be in New Orleans, he doesn't want to be there," Smith said. "He wants to be in a major market like LA, New York, or whatever, because he wants the marketability."

As a duke fan that watched hi in HS, College and NBA so far....i've said from day 1 he didn't want to be in NOLA, never has and never was going to play hard or play to potential. He wanted to be elsewhere, make a name for himself in a big city and that is the exact reason why he never cared about being in "dominant shape", or milking injuries for longer than needed, etc he just didn't care abotu that franchise. I saw it everytime he played, was interviewed, etc. I still 100% believe he could easily be traded to somewhere he likes to play LA, NY, maybe a CHI I have no idea, whereever it is, if its where he wants to be I think he would get in shape, work hard and dominate VERY QUICKLY.

[bledredwine]

Come on now. The Bulls have to look at the bigger picture for once here.

The entire point of playing the vets this season was to raise their trade value. Now that Vuc, Lonzo and Zach are doing that in the best way you could possibly have imagined, you can't waste the opportunity if it presents itself. Getting positive value for Lonzo and Vuc was a laughable idea before the season. If you can do that now, you have to do it. I agree that it's more difficult with Zach because his value around the league still seems to be non-existent for some reason and he's playing to well to dump him for a MPJ/Nnaji package. But if you can find actual value there, you take that as well.

This team isn't going anywhere. Keeping that pick has to be priority number 1.

I wanted to trade Zach immediately after his peak season for this reason. We always miss the train of trading at peak value.

Right now is the second best chance to do that.