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He could provide a legitimate scoring option

No, not worth the risk

He doesn't play games.
He has no attitude.
He charges money on top of it.
He doesn't understand the game.
No defense...

Not a chance in hell.

If he were entirely free, like all we had to do was take over his contract, I suppose I’d consider it, because his deal apparently has weight and availability clauses in it. But that’s not how it would work, we’d have to pay a hefty (heh) price as well, so no.

I don’t know if the Pelicans culture is that bad (it seemed good when they were winning last season and everyone was praising Willie Green)

But his attitude/ body language seems off.

He makes some good passes so it’s not a selfish thing but he seems kind of closed off.

I could be reading it wrong but I love this group’s chemistry and between the constant injuries and standoff-ish attitude, he’s not worth the risk.

It’s a bad risk to return ratio.

I’d rather get a buy low candidate like Jabari Smith Jr.

Easy pass. Talent is there, but I don't think he fits the culture we've established.

If it were Font + Tobias for Zion I'm sure most people here would pull the trigger. Zion is just 24 years old still, and our franchise would have a much higher talent level and much higher future potential. That said, New Orleans isn't traded Zion for Tobias and Font.

No.

I would trade a first and salary for him

It’d have to be a desperate move for the Pelicans. With the way is structured, I feel like they just cut him loose if it gets to that point

Huh? Zion averages 24, 7 and 5, hell yeah I would trade for him. It's has to be a low ball deal though. Just think if our staff can keep him him health, that'll be a legit pickup!

GreekAlex wrote:I’d rather get a buy low candidate like Jabari Smith Jr.

He’s one of my favorite coming into the draft when we were tanking. Why? Because we never drafted a PF. The reason we’re a lot better is because of Tobias filling the PF position. I will always echo that as loud as possible, I believe he’s the second most important player on the team. We still don’t have a future PF unless you see Holland or Ausar as PFs, it’s possible for Ausar.

Neptune wrote:Huh? Zion averages 24, 7 and 5, hell yeah I would trade for him. It's has to be a low ball deal though. Just think if our staff can keep him him health, that'll be a legit pickup!

This isn’t a guy with a bad knee or dislocated shoulder. His wounds are mostly self-inflicted by not consistently staying in shape. Even in great shape, the amount of strain he puts on his back and legs is enormous — there has NEVER been a guy in the NBA as stocky as Zion with that kind of leaping ability. The closest we ever saw before him was Barkley, who was mostly just fat when he entered the league. He had a big butt, sure, but he wasn’t a tree trunk like Zion.

I have zero faith Zion can stay healthy, even if he’s perfectly fit. And he’s accelerating his demise with his poor habits.

No we need a upgrade power forward who can stretch the floor consistently not a undersized 4 that only scores in the paint.

I'd only trade for him if assets were attached, which obviously NO wouldn't do. The best ability is availability, of which Zion has little.

No thanks. I've got no faith that he'll get in shape and stay healthy for any decent stretch. Obviously, he's super talented, but it doesn't matter if you aren't on the court. Just too big of a risk given how much of the cap he would take up.

Also, the fit with Ausar and Duren would be horrible. Playing 2 non-shooters is kinda sketchy and 3 would be insane.

We could really get into the weeds about whether or not he’s a good fit with Cade, but I don’t think it matters.

To trade for Zion is to accept that a huge chunk of your payroll is going to be sitting on the sidelines a large percentage of the time.

This is a hard pass.

bstein14 wrote:If it were Font + Tobias for Zion I'm sure most people here would pull the trigger. Zion is just 24 years old still, and our franchise would have a much higher talent level and much higher future potential. That said, New Orleans isn't traded Zion for Tobias and Font.

I do not think most people would do that, I know I certainly wouldn't. He's the type of player that it would be a risk taking on for free nevermind giving up a culture guy and productive player like Tobias. 3 more years of that contract at a big number. You're putting all the eggs of the Prime Cade basket in Zion Williamson an oft injured, generally out of shape guy that clogs the paint and creates no spacing, not a bet I'd be interested in making.

He's a major talent of course but I don't think it's a risk worth taking now that the Pistons are on an upward trajectory and are building a culture here. I would have considered it in the offseason when this franchise desperately needed an overhaul but not now. Also, he seems like the type of guy that craves the bright lights, not a culture fit for Detroit Pistons culture IMO.

Better off going after Naz Reid this summer. S&T for Harris, Holland and picks.