WindyCityBorn wrote:HouseOfLight wrote:No, the goof up was trading Jimmy Butler. It was one of the worst trades of all time & there was absolutely no reason whatsoever to go through with it. It was literally done because they liked Fred Hoiberg more. Fred. Hoiberg.....
Even if ZLV becomes some all time great, that doesn’t alter the fact that it was one of the worst trades of the past two decades. No one expected ZLV to become this good, including Paxson, who allowed reports to leak that they weren’t married to him/were “meh” on him as a main piece going forward, and probably would’ve traded him had they been allowed to keep their jobs
Butler lead a team to the “finals”. Yes, I’m aware that it was a glorified summer league tourney, but nevertheless. I don’t ever see ZLV as the centerpiece (or even *A* centerpiece) on a team that goes deep into the playoffs, and I’ll be shocked if that ever materializes/becomes a thing that happens. Maybe as a gunner during the twilight of his career for some really strong team, like Ray Allen in Miami or something, but that’s about it. He’s way too dumb, and even though his IQ has improved immensely, he’s still just way too naturally low IQ of a player to be the primary option on a team that does consistent damage in the playoffs. He still struggles mightily to make the correct plays/reads. His prolific shooting has been eclipsing his weaknesses as of late, which is understandable, but you can just watch him & see that there are many facets & nuances of the game that he simply still isn’t able to wrap his head around
People will point to curry, Thompson, or lillard as comparisons for him, but all three of those people have genius/all time great levels of BBIQ
With a high PG the onus won’t be on Zach to make all the right decisions. I think you are dead about him not being to be a top option a contender. He looks a 2nd option as worst right now. He may be not be best overall player championship team, but he.m absolutely be top scorer on one. He is not a PG, but he doing an OK job being forced into that role. But keep doubting. Everything people said he couldn’t do 3 years ago is happening now. You probably would ha s thought someone was crazy if they said Zach would average 29/5/5 on historical efficiency. His ceiling on a good team is lot higher than play late career Ray Allen role. That’s a complete joke.
I’m not surprised he’s averaging these historic scoring #s, he was trending upwards at a rapid rate before the injury. But after the injury, I would’ve said that someone was crazy if they implied that he’d make a full, 100% recovery & go on to continue his pre-injury trajectory unfettered. He’s by far the most successful post-ACL tear athlete in the history of professional athletics
Prime Ray Allen was good for one really deep playoff run, and it was a great run wherein they should’ve made the finals. This isn’t 2001, however, and i don’t see a way wherein ZLV is one of the main pieces on a successful playoff team. He still struggles hugely with basic IQ stuff, still sometimes goes into panic mode when the game is on the line, and still has difficulty elevating those around him. Sometimes all the practice & hard work in the world can’t fix that stuff. I stand by my take that, on a that reaches the NBA Finals, ZLV is a gunner during the downswing of his career. There has been nothing to indicate otherwise thus far. For as great as he’s been playing, he’s still a losing player in several key aspects of the game
So, yeah, I think a team with him as one of the top 2 options is good for maybe getting out of the 1st round once or twice, which is obviously still a great player. I think in order for Chicago to go deep with him as a top guy, so many various things will have to fall into place perfectly & a beyond-perfect team will need to be constructed, and the chances of those things taking place are obviously very slim. ZLV himself is also going to have to improve a lot more, and while that isn’t impossible, it’s certainly not some sure bet
Anyways. point was that no matter which way a person slices it, the Butler trade was just absolutely awful, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with Paxson thinking Jimmy wasn’t good enough. They literally traded him because they chose to support Hoiberg & his staff instead of their star player, no other reason.
. He is irrelevant as a Bulls fan so I will admit I don’t follow him like I used to. He has definitely had issues with teammates before though.