Trade Idea #3 (and filler) for Zion - would you do it?

I suppose so. If Dame’s happy because the team is winning, I’d be happy as a fan.

 

Zion is set for life financially, but still very young to have all the motivation to be great. If a 22 y/o had been doing 26/27 ppg on 60% efficiency 100% of the time, the #3 pick won't cut it. This is a gamble I can live with. Hire a dedicated nutritionist and personal trainer to get him in shape.

Dame
Sharpe
Jerami
Zion
Nurk

Ant
Thybulle
Backup C

Ant and/or Nurk plus other draft capital can be used to improve further

This is a legit contender when healthy

 

It's not just about his health. It's also his contract and his personal issues. It's not like they're giving up Zion for nothing. They get a young star on a rookie contract. We get a 22 year old with MVP potential and we give him a fresh start. They've been through hell with him. We haven't. We can start fresh with him and help him turn over a new leaf. It's a risk but so was the Kawhi trade to Toronto. We only need one good playoffs out of Zion for a title and if he gets it together and gives us 10 good playoffs, oh boy!! This is how you get young talent to come to Portland. You buy low.

 

Which is why they'd trade him for a young star like Scoot on a rookie deal. Health isn't the only reason they're considering trading him. Sometimes players just need a fresh start. And he's only 22.

 

Where is the outgoing salary to match at least 80% of Zion's 33.5M?

 

Yeah I'm hoping the rumor about the Pels only wanting to give up picks for pick 2 or 3 is just a smoke screen or posturing of some kind. I hope they're ready to move on from Zion and think Scoot is worth doing so.

 

Hey, I was referring to a post from @illmatic99 but got confused and thought it was yours. Sorry about that.

 

Another reason Zion would be great, he would make both sides of the divided fan base happy. He gives Dame the other star he needs to contend now, and at the same time, is so young that you don’t damage the future in trading 3rd pick. No trading Dame, no sacrificing future. Everyone is happy!

 

It's not as if they're considering giving away Zion for nothing. It would be a choice to go with a less expensive prospect who also has superstar potential.

 

If he was 27, sure. But he is 22. He has a lot of time to turn this around and make us forget his first few seasons.

 

His contract is still expensive despite the incentives. So yeah, NOP has incentive to get off the contract and trade it in for Scoot on a rookie deal.

 

Jesus, he's only 22. He can absolutely get healthier with age and mileage. Also- Embiid missed the first 162 games of his career and now he's MVP. There's time for Zion.

 

Money and a fresh start.

 

Yep and the previous season in San Antonio, Kawhi was refusing to play with a mystery injury. That was a major risk. There were people on this board that were against trading for Kawhi

 

This is how trades work. You convince one team to give up something valuable for something else that is considered valuable. I guess you're against any trade that gets us a great player? Because by your logic, the player must not be good if he's being traded!

 

Any suggestion that all we have to do is hire the right doctor, nutritionist, and trainer and that will absolve all his issues is ridiculous. You think New Orleans didn't put those things into motion as soon as they won the lottery? If we're trading for him, it's a gamble, simple as that. He may be healthy during some seasons, he may not be during the others. That's all on his body and his choices. And no, simply putting Dame in his ear isn't going to be the difference.

 

Would Zion and Dame even be good together IF Zion was healthy? Seems like a poor fit other than being two extremely gifted offensive players. It could work, and don’t hate it, but I think it’s a stretch to understand how they benefit each other, especially on the defensive end.

 

That's just pedantic.

Still waiting to hear of one instance when a team trades away a 22 yr old superstar on a long term contract for a draft pick. Teams are desperate for guys like Zion. They don't ever get traded unless something is seriously wrong.