OT: Zion will never fulfill his potential

[18IsTheMan]

Follow up to an older post of mine asking if he would ever fulfill his potential based on his injury history.

I'm just not sure the kid is gonna make it. This article has me scratching my head. Michael Jordan dragged himself onto the court while battling a bad case of the flu, through sheer will put up 38 points and could barely walk after the game. Zion, on the other hand, admits he's physically fine but won't play with his team fighting for a spot in the playoffs until he "feels like Zion."

Pels' Williamson: Will return 'when I feel like Zion'

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said Tuesday that he is feeling fine physically and will return to the court "when [he feels] like Zion," acknowledging the mental hurdle of rejoining the team as it embarks on a postseason run.

www.espn.com

 

[Uscg1984]

I think I'm going to sit out from work until I feel like Zion too.

 

[Guy in the Back]

And yet he will be richer than I’ll be if I worked everyday until I died at 100.

 

[18IsTheMan]

And yet he will be richer than I’ll be if I worked everyday until I died at 100.

Seems fair, right?

If I were the Pelicans, I'd be done with the guy. He can barely stay healthy. Now he's healthy but won't play because he "doesn't feel like Zion." They're paying him a boat load of cash to play 29 games this year?

 

[18IsTheMan]

And yet he will be richer than I’ll be if I worked everyday until I died at 100.

If you divide his 2022-2023 salary of $13,534,817 by the 29 total games he played, he earned $466,717/game. I make a touch less than that for each day I go to work.

 

[Uscg1984]

If you divide his 2022-2023 salary of $13,534,817 by the 29 total games he played, he earned $466,717/game. I make a touch less than that for each day I go to work.

Pretty remarkable. For each game this year, he earned roughly the median annual salary of a cardiothoracic surgeon in the US. In the ballpark, anyway.

 

[Anderson Gamecock]

Charles Barkley weighed over 300 lbs at one time and I heard him tell how he was told to lose weight or run the great risk of being injured all the time. Don't have a clue about Zion's weight but I bet his weight is why his hamstring stays injured so often and so long. A man can't run and jump/dunk like he does without weight being a factor in his injury history.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Charles Barkley weighed over 300 lbs at one time and I heard him tell how he was told to lose weight or run the great risk of being injured all the time. Don't have a clue about Zion's weight but I bet his weight is why his hamstring stays injured so often and so long. A man can't run and jump/dunk like he does without weight being a factor in his injury history.

Sad thing is, with his athletic ability, if he had a little bit of discipline, he could potentially be an all-time NBA great.

The injuries are one thing, though. To say "I'm physically ready to play, but I won't play until I feel like Zion" is mind boggling to me. I'm just trying to imagine a physically healthy Michael Jordan holding himself out b/c "he didn't feel like Michael".

 

[Prestonyte]

He was so physically dominant in HS, due to size, he was never challenged to develop a work ethic to improve himself with physical conditioning.

 

[18IsTheMan]

His conditioning may have cost him a TON of money.

His new contract would have been become a fully guaranteed super-max ($231 million) if he had made the all-NBA team this season. You've got $231 million guaranteed on the table and you still can't take care of yourself.

Report: Zion Williamson’s contract extension would become fully guaranteed for super-max if he makes All-NBA team next year

Zion Williamson agreed to a five-year max contract extension with the Pelicans that projects to be worth $193 million or – if Williamson meets the super-max criteria next season – $231 million.

www.yahoo.com

 

[18IsTheMan]

 

[Sweetwatergolf]

His conditioning may have cost him a TON of money.

His new contract would have been become a fully guaranteed super-max ($231 million) if he had made the all-NBA team this season. You've got $231 million guaranteed on the table and you still can't take care of yourself.

Report: Zion Williamson’s contract extension would become fully guaranteed for super-max if he makes All-NBA team next year

Zion Williamson agreed to a five-year max contract extension with the Pelicans that projects to be worth $193 million or – if Williamson meets the super-max criteria next season – $231 million.

www.yahoo.com

Lazy is the answer.....

 

[18IsTheMan]

Lazy is the answer.....

Through 4 NBA seasons, he has played less than 2 seasons worth of games. But he's made more than enough money to never have to work again. Must be nice.

 

[will110]

I don't want to diminish real mental health issues, I know it can cause serious and real problems. But it seems like, especially with professional athletes, that some just love to use it as an excuse on why they can't do their job (play a game for millions of dollars). Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, now Zion Williamson.

You're getting paid to play a game. Get out there and play. The mental aspect of that is so overblown. His comments make it seem like he's trying to get ready for a war zone or an intense surgery or something.

 

[Prestonyte]

His conditioning may have cost him a TON of money.

His new contract would have been become a fully guaranteed super-max ($231 million) if he had made the all-NBA team this season. You've got $231 million guaranteed on the table and you still can't take care of yourself.

Report: Zion Williamson’s contract extension would become fully guaranteed for super-max if he makes All-NBA team next year

Zion Williamson agreed to a five-year max contract extension with the Pelicans that projects to be worth $193 million or – if Williamson meets the super-max criteria next season – $231 million.

www.yahoo.com

Sad to be that unmotivated!

 

[CockofEarle]

Follow up to an older post of mine asking if he would ever fulfill his potential based on his injury history.

I'm just not sure the kid is gonna make it. This article has me scratching my head. Michael Jordan dragged himself onto the court while battling a bad case of the flu, through sheer will put up 38 points and could barely walk after the game. Zion, on the other hand, admits he's physically fine but won't play with his team fighting for a spot in the playoffs until he "feels like Zion."

Pels' Williamson: Will return 'when I feel like Zion'

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said Tuesday that he is feeling fine physically and will return to the court "when [he feels] like Zion," acknowledging the mental hurdle of rejoining the team as it embarks on a postseason run.

www.espn.com

You see his contract? He be fulfilled

 

[CockyC137]

Offensive line material. He's 6'7" and what? 290?

 

[18IsTheMan]

And here is Zion throwing down some dunks...prior to the Pelicans play-in game he said wasn't ready to play in.

Brian Windhorst: Zion Williamson Dunking Before Pelicans Play-In Loss Was an 'Odd Decision'

Zion Williamson has been out since January 2 with a hamstring injury. We got proof that the hammy is healed, at least, when he decided to put on a mini dunk con

www.thebiglead.com

 

[bayrooster]

I woke up this morning and was not feeling like Zion, so I called in sick.

 

[ChairForceCock]

Reminds me of listening to Jim Rome after Randy Moss said "When I feel like playing, no one can stop me". An Army guy called in and had a hot take with "when I feel like defending this country, no one can stop me"........followed by many other similar takes. Zion sounds just like that. Sad and pathetic.

Here was CJ McCollum's take after the disappointing loss:

“We’ve got to do what we need to do off the court in terms of preparation, in terms of getting treatment, in terms of getting the right sleep, the right type of hydration, having the right type of diet.”

Shot at Zion......I bet it was. I really was pulling for Zion, but that has come to an end. New Orleans needs to cut bait.

 

[Statelinecock]

Zion

Offensive line material. He's 6'7" and what? Real measurement is a touch over 6'5 and for most of his career 310 plus.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Reminds me of listening to Jim Rome after Randy Moss said "When I feel like playing, no one can stop me". An Army guy called in and had a hot take with "when I feel like defending this country, no one can stop me"........followed by many other similar takes. Zion sounds just like that. Sad and pathetic.

Here was CJ McCollum's take after the disappointing loss:

“We’ve got to do what we need to do off the court in terms of preparation, in terms of getting treatment, in terms of getting the right sleep, the right type of hydration, having the right type of diet.”

Shot at Zion......I bet it was. I really was pulling for Zion, but that has come to an end. New Orleans needs to cut bait.

McCollum also said after the loss: “Availability is important, man. We’ve got to be available,”

Yep, those were definitely shots at Zion. No doubt about it.

 

[Debo77]

He was so physically dominant in HS, due to size, he was never challenged to develop a work ethic to improve himself with physical conditioning.

CJ McCollum called him out so maybe Zion will see he's letting people down and he needs to be more of a "team" instead of "me" person

 

[Rooster Louie]

Too undisciplined. Too heavy.

 

[18IsTheMan]

It won't happen, but there are at least some articles being written speculating about New Orleans trading Zion. They all acknowledge it's not happening, but consider it something to think about given the situation. One NBA executive said he's too immature to take his conditioning seriously.

He's one of those players that has that tantalizing "when healthy" potential. You almost can't read an article about him without seeing the words "when healthy".