Zion Williamson in the NBA?

[sp6r=underrated]

20 years from now, NBA players will be playing 25 minutes per game at 60 games per season at $100 million per season contracts.

All this “sitting out” and forcing trade crap is going to eventually reduce the length of contracts. Owners aren’t going to give guys 5 year deals when they only play hard for 2, maybe 3, of them.

The first year is taking it easy, then they spend the next 2 actually playing hard to prove they are good - the final two years are basically made up of whining and causing trouble to force themselves to wherever they can build their “brand” so they can do the lazy selfish crap all over again.

And we as fans eat it up and fall for it every time and want these low character guys on our teams cause they were good 2 years ago. Kawhi, Kyrie and now AD have all followed this pattern. Who is next?

The players are going to mess around and cost themselves guaranteed contracts if they keep down this road.

Unguaranteed contracts will result in a wave of holdouts. Unlike football players, one basketball player can tank a team. Holdouts are thus very viable weapons rather than suicide missions as Bell was. IF contracts are unguaranteed players will stop showing if they feel they are overperforming their contract. Why shouldn't they? If the team can cut the player for under performing it is only fair that the player can cut the team, so to speak for underpaying them.

[NBAFan93]

All this “sitting out” and forcing trade crap is going to eventually reduce the length of contracts. Owners aren’t going to give guys 5 year deals when they only play hard for 2, maybe 3, of them.

The first year is taking it easy, then they spend the next 2 actually playing hard to prove they are good - the final two years are basically made up of whining and causing trouble to force themselves to wherever they can build their “brand” so they can do the lazy selfish crap all over again.

And we as fans eat it up and fall for it every time and want these low character guys on our teams cause they were good 2 years ago. Kawhi, Kyrie and now AD have all followed this pattern. Who is next?

The players are going to mess around and cost themselves guaranteed contracts if they keep down this road.

Unguaranteed contracts will result in a wave of holdouts. Unlike football players, one basketball player can tank a team. Holdouts are thus very viable weapons rather than suicide missions as Bell was. IF contracts are unguaranteed players will stop showing if they feel they are overperforming their contract. Why shouldn't they? If the team can cut the player for under performing it is only fair that the player can cut the team, so to speak for underpaying them.

Well we’ve had plenty of examples of players tanking their teams these past couple seasons. I don’t think any team has an issue paying a player what they are worth - provided they actually play and aren’t doing things detrimental to the team like publicly requesting trades.

[Pelon chingon]

I bet the next CBA is going to be fire.

[HeartBreakKid]

A basketball player skipping out on their only march madness tournament? Not likely....is he going to get a career ending injury or something in the next 5 games?

[Ben Simmons]

even if somebody went in a time machine and saw that Zion would break his leg in the NCAA tournament, and told Zion this information today, i still think Zion would play it

[Duke4life831]

Meaningless? The Tounament?

What great character Zion would be showing to his future employer and fans if he decided to ditch his friends and teammates at this point in the season. Sometime, just sometimes, money isn’t everything my friend.

**** character he'd be showing his intelligence. His ability to suppress his impulses and think long term.

Did someone hurt you? There's still people that enjoy doing what they love, specially when they know that no matter what happens, they're pretty much set for life. Or do you think a person can't live with the earnings of 1st pick rookie salary?

To be honest, your whole "cold" take about sticking it to the man reminds me of people that project their frustrations of not being able to do what they love for a living. 30 years from now, the memories of that tournament might be way more valuable to him than an extra 10 mil in the bank.

There's a wonderful way of showing how much you resist oppression, and that is enjoying life. If your idea of freedom is exclusively making money, then you're one of "them" my friend...

Plus if you want to just look at it financially. There is a much greater chance Zion adds 10 million to his net worth playing in March Madness than losing 10 million.

Again March Madness is one of the most watched sporting events in the country. The super hyped Duke/UNC game this year got 4.4 million viewers. Duke's championship game in 2015 got 29 million.

Zion continuing this level of play on that big of a stage, can be a massive boost to his endorsement deals.

[sp6r=underrated]

I don’t think any team has an issue paying a player what they are worth

For non-public goods you determine labor value via the market mechanism. Potential employers compete with each other to attract the staff. The 30 companies that make up the National Basketball Association have done everything they can to prevent this process from occurring.

They've instituted a draft, rookie salary cap, luxury tax, BRI, soft salary cap, restricted free agency, maximum salaries and other rules to prevent paying players what they're worth. They do this because they know in a competitive market they would have to pay more. So yes, owners really don't want to pay players what they're worth.

[Dominator83]

Meaningless? The Tounament?

What great character Zion would be showing to his future employer and fans if he decided to ditch his friends and teammates at this point in the season. Sometime, just sometimes, money isn’t everything my friend.

**** character he'd be showing his intelligence. His ability to suppress his impulses and think long term.

Well Zion already told fans like you, "thanks but no thanks".

For one, basketball players like to play competitive basketball. Hello.

Two, Zion can tear his ACL tomorrow, and he would still be drafted #1 overall in June. Playing will not hurt his stock at all

[bartunik]

18 year olds who cannot shoot or dribble always scare me. What are you doing making basketball your living if you're not proficient in the two most important skills for a guy of Zion's height (6'5-6'7 range).

Giannis looked and dribbled like a guard back in 2013 in those grainy draftexpress videos. He moved up and down the court like a guard, not a big man. Zion, on the other hand, looks like a Barkley clone - a stumpy but athletic power forward. I do not see Zion having the stamina to play on the perimeter for 30+ min/game, keeping up with smaller players on defense or dribbling past them for iso buckets on offense, or the size to consistently defend well closer to the basket. He is a tweener with a limited skillset. I would still take him #1, though..I just don't get the GOAT hype.

[JayMKE]

Yeah, Zion could blow out his knee and still be the #1 pick so he's not sitting out.

[XtremeDunkz]

Man, I miss when playing ball was about the passion for playing the game and trying to win with your team at the highest level. These huge contracts and endorsements are becoming bigger than the game itself.

[LibertyPrime]

He should sit out his entire rookie deal too, you know why risk it.

That's a B.S. move.

Spoiler:

Specifically, a Ben Simmons move.

[Clyde Frazier]

When Zion got hurt, everybody said finishing the season was meaningless and would only hurt him. So is he going to now sit out the meaningless ncaa tournament and rest those knees for the NBA combine?

Why are you asking a fake question to push an agenda? Does not compute.

[-TheDocOfDenial]

Man, I miss when playing ball was about the passion for playing the game and trying to win with your team at the highest level. These huge contracts and endorsements are becoming bigger than the game itself.

Basketball has become less about winning and more about the lifestyle that comes with it. Even dirk said the same thing so the 15 year old kids on here can save their simpson's memes.

[alebaba]

Why is everyone saying he's 6-5 when he's listed 6-7 on Duke's roster?

Because he's been measured at 6-5.5 without shoes. But if we use that standard, then we should subtract 2 inches from nearly every player in the league.

I absolutely hate the concept of measuring in shoes, but if we are going to accept it, we should at least be consistent.

Justise Winslow's barefoot measurement was 6-4.5 at the NBA combine, but he's listed at 6-7.

Listed heights in basketball are a joke to begin with, but Zion's "NBA Height" will not be below 6-7.

Maybe because nba players play with shoes on, or do they play bare feet now?

[ric munchn]

He measured at 6'5.5 last year. Maybe he's grown a bit, maybe not. We'll see at the combine. Of course modern NBA that's not as big of an issue as 15 years ago but that's going to be tough to play down low vs 6'11 guys.

He's the same height as Draymond Green (~6'7 in shoes), who plays PF and occasionally moves the center spot. The difference is Draymond weighs ~235 whereas Zion weighs ~270. He plays above the rim and covers ground better than any athlete currently in the NBA that's anywhere near his size. His core strength is unbelievable. His height isn't going to be the problem you think it is.

But Draymond doesn't score. he facilitates. I'm not saying it's going to prevent him from being a good player but he's going to have to expand his game as scoring at the rim gets much harder at 6'6 vs NBA size bigs. But again we're discussing good player vs top 10 ever level. that's what I'm saying, gonna be tough to get to all time level without expanding. I agree his best 'role' in the NBA right now with his skillset would be assaulting the pain Giannis style. Giannis is 6'11 though with crazy long arms.

All that said, his aggression, effort, seems like work ethic. All the 'intangible' stuff is there so it's very reasonable he does progress and add more like I'm saying he needs to do in order to get to this awesome level people are hyping.

Oh he is only 6'6 probably wont score because he isn't tall like Jordan and Kobe I cant wait for this guy, I'm hoping he goes to the Knicks just so Boston gets 2 home games a year against him. His height will probably stop him from being the best player in the league (if he actually pans out) but i'm more worried about his shot creation in the NBA. He has years to improve though and is already going to be an impact player from day 1. With Lebron falling off somewhat and Warriors fatigue higher than ever, players moving around in the off season and Zion coming in will be huge.

[NBAFan93]

I don’t think any team has an issue paying a player what they are worth

For non-public goods you determine labor value via the market mechanism. Potential employers compete with each other to attract the staff. The 30 companies that make up the National Basketball Association have done everything they can to prevent this process from occurring.

They've instituted a draft, rookie salary cap, luxury tax, BRI, soft salary cap, restricted free agency, maximum salaries and other rules to prevent paying players what they're worth. They do this because they know in a competitive market they would have to pay more. So yes, owners really don't want to pay players what they're worth.

I’m talking about players who deserve max and could get a max if they weren’t under contract for less - I don’t think teams would mind renegotiating those provided they were allowed to get out of paying guys who were no longer worth their contract. It seems that the latter happens a lot more than the former honestly.

Like think of how many underpaid guys there are in the league versus overpaid? If max contracts only went to those who truly deserved it and were only paid while they deserved it, the owners may not care if the max got bigger.

[E-Balla]

Meaningless? The Tounament?

What great character Zion would be showing to his future employer and fans if he decided to ditch his friends and teammates at this point in the season. Sometime, just sometimes, money isn’t everything my friend.

**** character he'd be showing his intelligence. His ability to suppress his impulses and think long term.

Did someone hurt you? There's still people that enjoy doing what they love, specially when they know that no matter what happens, they're pretty much set for life. Or do you think a person can't live with the earnings of 1st pick rookie salary?

To be honest, your whole "cold" take about sticking it to the man reminds me of people that project their frustrations of not being able to do what they love for a living. 30 years from now, the memories of that tournament might be way more valuable to him than an extra 10 mil in the bank.

There's a wonderful way of showing how much you resist oppression, and that is enjoying life. If your idea of freedom is exclusively making money, then you're one of "them" my friend...

Umm... IDK what the hell your comment has to do with mine. I didn't say **** about whether or not he should sit out in any of my posts. I didn't say **** about sticking it to the man. What I said was its not a negative character trait if Zion (or anyone else) wants to sit out. If these kids wanna play they can do that, if they don't they can do that. Makes zero difference to me on how I feel about them.

You sound like you need a hug.

[NO-KG-AI]

Why is everyone saying he's 6-5 when he's listed 6-7 on Duke's roster?

Because he's been measured at 6-5.5 without shoes. But if we use that standard, then we should subtract 2 inches from nearly every player in the league.

I absolutely hate the concept of measuring in shoes, but if we are going to accept it, we should at least be consistent.

Justise Winslow's barefoot measurement was 6-4.5 at the NBA combine, but he's listed at 6-7.

Listed heights in basketball are a joke to begin with, but Zion's "NBA Height" will not be below 6-7.

Maybe because nba players play with shoes on, or do they play bare feet now?

They also don't play in the lifted shoes they wear to the combine to boost their height up.

[abark]

Why is everyone saying he's 6-5 when he's listed 6-7 on Duke's roster?

Because he's been measured at 6-5.5 without shoes. But if we use that standard, then we should subtract 2 inches from nearly every player in the league.

I absolutely hate the concept of measuring in shoes, but if we are going to accept it, we should at least be consistent.

Justise Winslow's barefoot measurement was 6-4.5 at the NBA combine, but he's listed at 6-7.

Listed heights in basketball are a joke to begin with, but Zion's "NBA Height" will not be below 6-7.

Maybe because nba players play with shoes on, or do they play bare feet now?

Is shoe wearing exclusive to the NBA? I walked outside today and EVERYONE was wearing shoes. But if I asked any of those people how tall they were and they answered "with or without shoes," they'd be looked at like they were idiots. It's only in the NBA where that wouldn't be viewed as a stupid response.

I'm just over 6 feet tall "barefoot", which is a thing I shouldn't even have to specify. But if I walked around saying I was 6'2 or 6'3 (depending on how much I padded my shoes the last time I was measured) I'd be laughed at.

Other sports dont measure their players in shoes, even though every other sport requires some type of shoe. And what about hockey, where they play not only skates, but helmets too? If they used your logic, players could end up listed at least 5 inches taller than what they really are. Not sure what the real number would be, but it'd be absurd.

The answer you gave is the answer that is always given, but it doesn't make it a good response. It creates unnecessary variability in player heights. Some players are listed almost 3 inches taller than they are, while others are actually listed accurately. Why add that degree of variability?