Interesting fact - All No. 1 Draft picks drafted since Zion have played playoff basketball except Cooper Flagg and this year AJ Dybantsa

Zion hasn’t

Before him, you have to go to 2013 No. 1 Draft pick Anthony Bennett who hasn’t played in the playoffs

Zion will always have my respect for paying the Smoothie King workers’ salaries during COVID when Gayle Benson decided to be a cheapskate, but yeah, it’s clear he isn’t going to live up to those pre-draft reports.

The strangest part of the Pelicans saga is that Zion was actually healthy last year, but nobody gives af anymore.

Edit - People keep repeating that Zion didn’t reach the 65 games with zero context. They held him out for the last 3 games because there was nothing to play for. He dressed for the 3rd to last game against Utah and the DNP-CD was announced before the game even started.

they went to the playoffs twice in 7 seasons with Anthony Davis, so they didn’t really go backwards they just had the same exact shitty results because they’re a terrible franchise with an owner that won’t spend money

Anyone following the pelicans explain to me why the hell their defense was worse than ours last season? They have Herb Jones who’s a top 6 POA defender in the league, Dejounte(who granted, missed most of the season), Trey Murphy and Zion who are both also pretty decent. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills but on paper this team shouldn’t be anywhere near as bad as it was.

lol

They did good by trading Ingram for a FRP, but they need to trade Trey Murphy, Zion, and Herb Jones, all of whom are over 26 years old. They can get a haul for Trey and Herb, and possibly get some positive value for Zion from the right team (I can see Sacramento or Brooklyn maybe rolling the dice)

Dejounte and Poole need to go too but they’re not going to get any positive value from them. I can understand therefore just wanting to keep them

Irrationally my favorite player in the league

I think it’s clear that Zion Williamson is a BUST, despite the All-Star appearances

It’s been 7 seasons already?

He’s played 276 games.

What skill has Zion improved? Can’t shoot 3s. Can’t defend on-ball. Can’t rim protect. Can’t shoot middies. Zero help defense awareness. Can’t rebound. No step back. No handles. Can’t pass. Can’t defend the pick and roll. Is a turnover machine. The only thing he does is fly into the lane and hope for a foul. Can’t shoot free throws.

Every good (not even star) player in the league improves in some capacity throughout their career. Zion has not. Because he’s simply a bad NBA player.

Zion is healthy every other year.

According to your rundown it seems like they’ve had a steady trajectory towards being bad all the time

Zion was only good in college. If he was allowed to make that NIL money he would still be in college.

Zion actually stayed healthy,   but sadly Noone gives a damn about the Pels

I mean, they missed the playoffs the season before drafting him too. Seems like they’ve stayed consistent lol

If you had told someone in 2019 that Zion would not have played in an NBA playoff game within the first 7 years of his career they would have called you crazy.

pretty crazy looking back at his averages from early career, dude was a beast

They didn’t fumble by drafting a guy who didn’t work out. They put playoff teams around him and leaders and vets. It’s on him at some point, not every pick and prospect works out

Zion just has gravity

Backwards? 2 playoff trips in 7 years is roughly our average no?

With AD we also went to playoffs 2 times in 7 years (although we did also win a series).

Woth cp3 3 times in 6 years and one series win, which was our only actually good team ever

Look at the gm lol

This is why to me Zion is a bigger bust than Anthony Bennett cause atleast the Cavs could move on from Bennett after 1 year lol… the Pelicans are still convincing themselves that Zion is that guy when it’s clear he’s not healthy enough to be that guy

The Pels were a respectable team until they moved on from Jonas Valaciunas and Brandon Ingram. Since Valanciunas, they have had no rebounding nor paint presence.

The Pels mistakenly thought they could replace Ingram with Trey Murphy. Murphy is a much better three-point shooter than Ingram, and much, much worse at everything else in basketball. Murphy is a great third option, very poor as a second option, and nonexistent as a first option.

The Pels are in the process of reorienting the roster around Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, who both look promising so far. Where and how Zion will finish his career is anyone’s guess.

Should’ve cut our losses when we made the playoffs without him playing a single game. At that time, teams still believed a change of scenery would get him right & he was only 21-22. He only got himself in shape because his contract requires it & the because the Pels could waive him without paying him had he failed to meet em.

He’s “working” on his game now because his only big contract is his Pels one. Jordan Brand did not keep his line & it looks like he’s just a regular sponsored athlete or not even endorsed by em. That was a 75M contract on top of the free trips & gear that’s gone. He hasn’t been in any ads in a few years, now. And, he’s irrelevant af. People don’t even know that he’s been healthy these last three seasons & has played more games than Ja. No one cares, anymore.

I think we have gone backwards since he got extended not since being drafted. We made the playoffs in year 5 his first year of the extension then won less than 50 games over the past two seasons and this season we are projected to be one of the worst teams in the West.

On the Lowe Post today Zack Lowe was more excited about Memphis than us.

Trading away your superstar will do that

He’s a bum and pelicans suck

Zion wishes to be 1% of what Barkley was.

Same for the Pelicans

Can the league step in and rescue Zion? I need to see this guy play for an actual NBA team, and New Orleans is just doubling down on trying not to improve.

I said it before and I’ll say it again

Zion was gonna be one of the VERY few chances NOLA had at regaining relevancy. Top prospects are gonna start sweating if they see that franchise holding a top 3 pick

injuries are a bitch

Didn’t he r*pe someone?

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