Coach K: Zion never should’ve played Summer League

[Raps in 4]

Anthony Bennet 2.0

[Dan Z]

Summer League is basically like a pickup game for Zion. That's how most NBA players stay in shape in the offseason. The vast majority of SL players are just trying to make it to the NBA. I have no issue with him playing if it helps him get in shape. He does look like he put on a few pounds though.

Ya, totally. Because by looking at Zion you can definitely tell if he put on a few pounds.

He absolutely looked like he gained weight since March. He looked out of shape.

I bet he was a bit out of shape because he spent much of his time dealing with the hoopla of being the #1 pick.

What do people expect him to be in the Summer League? Do you expect him come in ripped like Karl Malone? Zion is stocky and will never look thin. But he didn't look like Oliver Miller or Michael Sweetney out there.

He's 19 years old. I'm sure that once he gets NBA trainers that he'll be fine. My concerns would be his ball handling and shot. He's a bit short for his position so he'll have to be crafty with the ball. He should watch footage of players such as Barkley and Millsap.

[worldjbfree]

I'm OK with having him sit-out of SL as a precautionary measure with the knee situation, but letting him chill or coast based on potential is how we get more spoiled athletes than we already have.

[Oscirus]

Inb4 dude plays 75+ games on 35 minutes per game.

If something that silly happens then everybody from the front office down needs to be fired cuz they probs just **** zions career

[NatiboyB]

Inb4 dude plays 75+ games on 35 minutes per game.

No chance in hell. His first year is going to be a journey in conditioning. Dude has too much mass for that frame to run 82 games at a gazelle's pace.

Unless the Pels hire Thibs I doubt he ever averages that many minutes played in his career.

[JonFromVA]

He bumped knees with someone and had someone roll onto his legs. Those were the two first quarter plays that looked like the cause of his tweaked knee. How are either of those related to being in game shape? He could have been in the best shape and someone still could have bumped his knee.

Heck, he could have bumped his knee in to an exercise bike ... practicing, scrimmaging, and playing ball (in limited minutes) all sound like reasonable ways for a player to work his way back in to shape. Or ... what's going on here?

[JonFromVA]

Is he that fragile?

Dude's probably around 300 pounds at 6'7 and he is 6'7. That's an injury waiting to happen, he needs to tone it down to 250-260... The weight could be detrimental to his NBA career(and that fugly, slow shot)...

I don't like when people use a random scale weight. I think using bodyfat is better overall. He clearly is carrying too much excess. However you can look at his arms and tell that he isn't grossly out of shape due to the vascularity. I am under the assumption once he get's more conditioning and gets his chef and meals planned he will move in the right direction...However my primary issue is what is the purpose of summer league if the draft picks shouldn't be playing.

A showcase for the G-league and the Euroleague?

[The Moose]

Ya, totally. Because by looking at Zion you can definitely tell if he put on a few pounds.

He absolutely looked like he gained weight since March. He looked out of shape.

I bet he was a bit out of shape because he spent much of his time dealing with the hoopla of being the #1 pick.

What do people expect him to be in the Summer League? Do you expect him come in ripped like Karl Malone? Zion is stocky and will never look thin. But he didn't look like Oliver Miller or Michael Sweetney out there.

He's 19 years old. I'm sure that once he gets NBA trainers that he'll be fine. My concerns would be his ball handling and shot. He's a bit short for his position so he'll have to be crafty with the ball. He should watch footage of players such as Barkley and Millsap.

Which other recent number 1 picks have come to summer league out of shape and overweight from the hoopla?

[Dan Z]

He absolutely looked like he gained weight since March. He looked out of shape.

I bet he was a bit out of shape because he spent much of his time dealing with the hoopla of being the #1 pick.

What do people expect him to be in the Summer League? Do you expect him come in ripped like Karl Malone? Zion is stocky and will never look thin. But he didn't look like Oliver Miller or Michael Sweetney out there.

He's 19 years old. I'm sure that once he gets NBA trainers that he'll be fine. My concerns would be his ball handling and shot. He's a bit short for his position so he'll have to be crafty with the ball. He should watch footage of players such as Barkley and Millsap.

Which other recent number 1 picks have come to summer league out of shape and overweight from the hoopla?

I don't know the answer to that because I don't remember every #1 pick and how they did in their first summer league game. Was he really that out of shape? I think people are putting him under the microscope and reading too much into this.

[kg01]

I don't know the answer to that because I don't remember every #1 pick and how they did in their first summer league game. Was he really that out of shape? I think people are putting him under the microscope and reading too much into this.

I mean, there's not that many rookies that have been shut down after less than a game due to questionable fitness. I think Bennett was shut down after a few games for similar reasons.

Williamson is certainly under a microscope and being over-analyzed, but it's a fact that he was shut down (at least in part) so they could get him into better shape.

I don't think anyone's seriously saying this means he'll never amount to anything, but I think it's fair to say this isn't a normal circumstance.

[Funcrusher]

If he can't make it longer than a half in a summer league game, it's not looking good that he'll make it in the NBA, resting him the rest of summer league or not.

Because he bumped knees with someone? Really?

[thebigbird]

Summer League is basically like a pickup game for Zion. That's how most NBA players stay in shape in the offseason. The vast majority of SL players are just trying to make it to the NBA. I have no issue with him playing if it helps him get in shape. He does look like he put on a few pounds though.

Ya, totally. Because by looking at Zion you can definitely tell if he put on a few pounds.

He did. Just by looking at him you can tell that he's heavier than he should be, like in that picture in the polo sitting by the bench. Just because he has a ton of muscle doesn't mean he can't be overweight. The fact that he just turned 19 and people tend to add some weight in their 20s isn't a good sign.

[Dan Z]

I don't know the answer to that because I don't remember every #1 pick and how they did in their first summer league game. Was he really that out of shape? I think people are putting him under the microscope and reading too much into this.

I mean, there's not that many rookies that have been shut down after less than a game due to questionable fitness. I think Bennett was shut down after a few games for similar reasons.

Williamson is certainly under a microscope and being over-analyzed, but it's a fact that he was shut down (at least in part) so they could get him into better shape.

I don't think anyone's seriously saying this means he'll never amount to anything, but I think it's fair to say this isn't a normal circumstance.

You think fitness is the only reason they shut him down? Really? They're protecting their investment. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that he didn't play big minutes in the summer league.

[Funcrusher]

Anthony Bennet 2.0

Bookmarked

[Funcrusher]

Zion should Reserve copyright to „Lets Bust“

Bookmarked

[NoDopeOnSundays]

He bumped knees with someone, so you can't really attribute that to his weight, that said he should probably go down to about 270lbs. You can look at his face and see he's a little overweight, his frame can carry the weight but the ideal weight for him should be around the 270lbs mark, he's gotta be in the 290 range right now. He'd still carry the strength but would get a small bump up in his acceleration and less stress on his ligaments, he's basically an NFL DE playing in the NBA.

[kg01]

I don't know the answer to that because I don't remember every #1 pick and how they did in their first summer league game. Was he really that out of shape? I think people are putting him under the microscope and reading too much into this.

I mean, there's not that many rookies that have been shut down after less than a game due to questionable fitness. I think Bennett was shut down after a few games for similar reasons.

Williamson is certainly under a microscope and being over-analyzed, but it's a fact that he was shut down (at least in part) so they could get him into better shape.

I don't think anyone's seriously saying this means he'll never amount to anything, but I think it's fair to say this isn't a normal circumstance.

You think fitness is the only reason they shut him down? Really? They're protecting their investment. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that he didn't play big minutes in the summer league.

I said "at least in part". And it's not what I think, it's what they said.

https://thespun.com/nba/new-orleans-pelicans/david-griffin-explains-why-the-pelicans-shut-down-zion-williamson

“He came to us — he wasn’t in great condition,” Griffin said. “From a cardio perspective, it wasn’t a great situation to begin with. So when he took that shot, really it was just, from my standpoint, it was more caution than anything else to shut him down at that point, because there’s really no reason to push him when he was in the situation he was in.”

So, obviously yes, they're protecting their investment but he needs protecting and he played limited minutes, at least in part, because he was out of shape.

[dho4ever]

Seriously, one of my favorite players is Charles Barkley and I just keep thinking what if he stayed in shape like he did when he was with the 76ers his whole career.

This is not a good start for Zion. Hopefully they will get him on a diet before the season starts. A lot of money is invested in him.

That's interesting because I remember Charles giving Moses Malone a lot of credit, helping him in his early years... telling him to take care of his money and to lose weight. I wonder how he could have turned out differently if he didn't have someone like Moses there.

I don't see any veteran leadership on the Pelicans.

[Lalouie]

players play into shape.

wtf, man. or else get him on a lucille roberts program. is this going to be a problem now - if zion lays off for 2 months he bloats to 350. i change my mind. zion is not the next barkley, he's the next big baby

[heatwillbeback]

Huh.

So Coach K is good risking his health on games before he gets paid but how dare he play after he receives his paycheck?

NCAA is a messed up system.