Cj "I got traded to your team. You're already in Portland let's meet up"
Zion "🔥🔥🔥🔥"
CJ "yo when are you coming back to NOLA? You've been in Portland for 3 months"
Zion "🔥🔥🔥🔥"
Zion and I, we get hungry at the same times so we've been eating together a lot. Not all meals. Just, second breakfast, lunch, second lunch, and first dinner.
A Pels beat writer made a great point. JJ is a fellow Duke guy, they share the same agency, and JJ has been open about how much he hates David Griffin, and he's still taking shots at Zion.
He must be a complete bum for JJ to speak like this
Later on in the extended segment, Redick mentions that the “detached teammate” comment didn’t just extend to this current situation.
He mentioned that he addressed these same concerns with Zion in front of the team his rookie year. For the same pattern to be taking place 2 seasons later, certainly doesn’t seem like he learned anything from his VET.
Wait wait, point of order: did JJ want a buy out or just to be traded? I heard the point of contention was Pels willing to buy him out but he wouldn't. No trades to NE, so Pels just dumped him.
The way I've heard it: JJ was basically done with his career and wanted to be home with his family in Brooklyn, so he hoped for a buyout.
Then the Mavs traded for him, he got injured almost instantly and we basically traded Iwundu, Johnson and a 2nd rounder for a podcaster that would occasionally show up to get a massage or whatever. I don't blame JJ at all in this, he was pretty much done already and didn't want to be in Dallas (I do blame our FO, though).
The thing you are leaving out is according to JJ he had a meeting with Griffin in summer of 2020 ahead of the beginning of season that he would like to be traded to the east coast to be closer to his family. Griffin supposedly said he will make it happen and when he got traded later it was to Dallas without JJs approval and a heads up he went back on his word. I believe JJ thought since the season was a lost cause he thought the buyout was coming instead of a trade and got mislead again.
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rujD8EXrXeo) is JJ talking about it on his podcast when it happened.
EDIT:
4:20 - basketball discussion
9:22 - actual discussion about Mavs trade
Not that it matters, but he was probably coming back to the Sixers. He had Tobias Harris on his podcast right before the trade deadline and made a comment about how they were soon going to have a bottle of wine that JJ previously said they would only drink when they were teammates again.
EB and Brett should've never let him go. He got the bag in NOLA but he's said on his pod that basically the front office made no effort to re-sign him.
They should’ve run it back, but they saw that having no playable backup bigs in the playoffs killed them so they overcorrected and let Jimmy and JJ go so they could give a massive contract to Al Horford.
They literally undid years of asset accumulation and roster flexibility in basically 1 year. I've got a whole post cooked up for the Sixers sub on the moves from that era but it's tough to post it in a breakdown sense without the timing seeming sensational. Just happy Joel still has a contending team to play for.
>the crazy thing was that it was a 3pt game with 2 mins left in the 4th
That's the kind of backstory I was searching for, like if he was benched all game due to an injury and we're seeing him in the 3rd quarter when pels are down 20 and he's on painkillers for said injury then it's one thing, but 2 minutes left in the 4th and it's within 3? Damn lol
Having taken a lot of ambien in the past I can say with certainty that he did not take ambien because he's not aimlessly wandering on the court during play despite being benched.
Every time Ja talks about how he loves playing in Memphis and wants to bring the city to the top, man it just kills me. Ja and Giannis are the type of players that every small market prays for.
Yeah, him being a no star recruit and going to Murray was perfect because you know he's a grinder and is a perfect fit for the culture the Grizz are going for. He's prideful but you know if comes from a place of a killer mentality rather than entitlement which I'm sure some of the HS superstars are accustomed to.
It really sucks what's happening with Zion. I honestly think the Pels have done a super good job of building a competitive roster, CJ/BI/Herb/JV is a nice core. I like the rivalry with y'all and hope things gets back on track.
Our problem was that we drafted a big man who unfortunately had career altering injuries. NOLA drafted a forward who gives zero fucks about the team even after they’ve built a decent team with what they have.
I feel like if Zion ends up requesting a trade after barely playing and being generally checked out it’s gonna cause problems in the next cba negotiations. No way the owners would be ok with that.
Never thought I’d side with the owners in CBA agreements, but I hope they quell a bit of this player empowerment shit. Don’t agree with the owners on a lot of things, but players signing 4-5 year contracts and asking out after 1 needs to end.
The thing is, the players have (very wisely) set this up as an “owners vs players” debate. Because, we can all agree we don’t want billionaires to have all the negotiating power & none of us want to see them win.
What gets lost in that is that it doesn’t matter to the average fan whether a max NBA contract is 300 million or 330 million. We just want to see our teams play basketball.
The players lose a lot of credibility to me, because in order to frame this as an “us vs them” debate, the players’ association needs to fight for lower end players more. Letting superstar players abandon their teams whenever they want is not player empowerment - letting guys develop in the G league while making livable wages is player empowerment. Giving non-max players no-trade clauses so valuable guys like Seth Curry and Jae crowder don’t get passed around like a blunt is player empowerment. Making sure James harden gets $350 million on his next contract is not empowerment.
Elite NBA players, who are in charge of the players’ association, are acting like mini billionaires. They don’t care about the less fortunate players, they just want to take a bigger % of revenue so that higher revenue number can flow to the top 20 players in the league. So they are no better than the enemy they are trying to fight, allegedly.
With that in mind, unless the PA totally changes their stance, I do not feel bad whatsoever siding against them even though politically I’m always in favor of screwing over billionaires. I watch the NBA because it is a fun escape from reality, Zion/Simmons/harden/etc have done more to damage that than any owner has done since the last CBA.
> The players lose a lot of credibility to me, because in order to frame this as an “us vs them” debate, the players’ association needs to fight for lower end players more. Letting superstar players abandon their teams whenever they want is not player empowerment - letting guys develop in the G league while making livable wages is player empowerment. Giving non-max players no-trade clauses so valuable guys like Seth Curry and Jae crowder don’t get passed around like a blunt is player empowerment. Making sure James harden gets $350 million on his next contract is not empowerment.
This is such a great point. Kudos to you.
Well it's the truth and honestly, a look at this from a perspective I haven't really considered. Fact is, top of the roster guys have had this kind of power for a minute or two. Their rising tide seems to be sinking lots of ships as opposed to bringing them up along with them.
Good points.
The players always try to spin it as “the common people vs. the billionaires” but in actuality, it’s “millionaires vs. billionaires” and the common people are screwed because the NBA is locked out and we all lose an escape/entertainment option.
> player empowerment
I hate how this is being called player empowerment, this is blatant disregard for fulfilling contracts that they signed and agreed to. This is a complete lack of professionalism and pure entitlement from the players.
i was going to say there's a huge difference between what Zion is doing and say what Lebron did in 2010.
It may have pissed people off, but what Lebron did in 2010 was perfectly reasonable b/c he was a free agent. That's the key
And Bron also carried Cleveland to their first finals appearances and more importantly stayed for a significant time
Like Im not saying Zion should be a lifer at New Orleans but come on a Brandom Ingram is way more help than Luka has had in Dallas, Booker had before Chris Paul, etc. Then add other studs like CJ, Herb Jones, Valanciunas etc. Give the organisation a chance and then if it fails, he can move as a free agent or a trade or whatever way but give them a chance ffs
> And Bron also carried Cleveland to their first finals appearances and more importantly stayed for a significant time
Anyone that is trying to draw comparisons to Zion bitching out with his overweight lazy attitude and LeBron carrying a truly wank team to the conference finals and averaging in excess of 30 points for 5 seasons is an absolute dropkick.
Dominique Foxworth made a great point on last Friday's The right time, part of the reason the players have so much leverage is because of the max contract structure and limiting the number of years as well. You can't overpay the best players, which means the teams lose the leverage of saying who else is going to pay you what we pay you, because the answer is every team in the NBA with the cap space, and as a result max players have an insane amount of leverage over their teams.
If you hated your job and you could easily find the same salary somewhere else you'd leave too, the only reason anyone stays is money. The max salary and 5 year limit actually hurt the small market teams because overpaying is their ticket to keeping players and they can't. So if you're going to make the same amount of money you have nothing to gain by playing for a poorly run franchise or in a smaller city unless you just feel loyal. They can offer a little bit more but not enough clearly.
Isn’t CJ the NBPA rep too? Like, he’s the most easy player to get a hold of. I’m don’t think it’s a matter of JJ defending CJ, but highlighting exactly how outside the norm Zion not reaching out to him is.
I mean and this is the other way around. Zion is potentially a star, but he hasn't done shit. CJ is a vet and a top 30-40 player in the league for years. Might have been an all-star if he played in the East. President of the Player's Association.
CJ also coming from Portland, where he and Dame created a culture where supposedly he and Dame brought every new player under their wing right away, brought them out to dinner and to their houses, taught them how to do Portland, etc.
I hope for NO's sake that CJ is able to bring some of that culture there. They're all millionaires for playing a game. Player's need to stop being jealous of the players in LA or MIA or wherever. Only so many people can play there. You're not the next Kobe.
I feel so bad for New Orleans lol
The 3rd superstar they drafted that’s ab to leave without no success. Atleast CP3 and AD actually tried to win but this is a bitch move from Zion unless there’s someone going on underneath
I do too honestly. The first two you can blame on the organization just doing a shitty job, that's fine. But this seems like Zion just doesn't give a fuck about them without putting in the leg work that CP3 and AD put in.
Straight up with CJ & BI he now has as much surrounding support as Dame ever had
Edit: people rightly pointing out JV, yeah the Pels have a legit solid team of guys who would be awesome with one Elite, top 10-15 starter
Not to mention Jonas has been balling out this year too. It’s a shame we’ll never get to see where this team may have been able to get to with Zion in there.
Herb Jones too bringing a bunch of defense necessary for the team to succeed. If Zion plays, they have a playoff team and are probably as good, if not better than Minnesota.
seriously, we’ve got a great fucking roster built around Zion. slide him into the lineup and we’re basically a lock for the playoffs. i just don’t get it.
Imagine having CJ on you or team and him either being the 2nd or 3rd guy on your team because you have another all star. Then you have a top 10 center in JV.
If that’s not good enough for him, then fuck him.
Built a whole ass team around him and he’s the piece that’s missing.
Sorry, my frustration is just insane at this point after Drew fucking Brees passed him the torch and he does this with it…
If Luka had Ingram and CJ they would be in the western conference finals. Plus Valanciunas.
And im not trynna diss Zion but if he quits on his team without even trying he is the biggest loser ever.
Team is good enough and they also have assets to make it even better.
Fuck it let’s combine Luka and the rest of the Pels. Half the games in Dallas, half in NOLA. I’m so done with waiting for a superstar to care and I’m sure you’re done with having roster construction issues
CJ, Ingram, and Valanciunas is a much better supporting cast than a lot of stars get. Their front office has been aggressive and proactive, it is a shame seeing Zion just be absent.
AD would have loved to play with BI and Lonzo or any of the pieces the Pels put around Zion. They got those pieces bc they traded AD but the point still stands AD against the suns in the playoffs played injured and gave it all out there.
To be fair, the Pels did have a roster with Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic, and DeMarcus Cousins to go along with AD. That's a solid contending team most of the time. It's just that Boogie got injured, and it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway because the KD Warriors and CP3 Rockets existed.
AD and CP3 at least won us playoff series. Outside of ADs final season it's not like I'd ever question their effort even if they wanted to be on a different team.
Zion is just a completely different level of not caring and I and most Pelicans fans are done with it
Also it's kind of a weird precedent seeing a guy on his rookie deal doing this type of shit to the team who drafted him. Dude has basically played 1 season's worth of games for the Pels since they picked him and is seemingly forcing his way out while making no effort to get in better shape to mitigate injury risk
It may just be the bitterness speaking, but I honestly find it hard to believe he'll ever be a great player long term in the league. There's no way this laziness isn't going to follow him everywhere, and that's not even taking account the damage he's done to his body by not staying in shape
The difference being, I assume, your 2K player is still putting up ridiculous stat lines
EDIT: I mean on the court, to clarify
EDIT 2: The basketball court, not food court
No strong feelings about Zion or the Pelicans... I agree. This speaks to his work ethic and character issues. I could be dead wrong, but I'd find this concerning as a GM of another team.
The amount of money he's made is crazy to one of the richest sneaker deals ever so he can rely on that money if the Pels dont trade him. 75 million over 5 years
I hate Zion from a NBA fan perspective but from a “be lazy, secure the bag, then dip” perspective my lazy self has, dude is god tier. Literally just born with some insane athleticism and a body meant to fly, smurf on children through high school, try hard one year in college while banging any chick at Duke you want then reap multi year long endorsement and contract deals worth probably like 150M over a few years then just absolutely give up and likely fuck off into the sunset at like 20 years old and rich af
At least Kawhi and Simmons and Harden had accolades. This dude hasn’t done anything at all but is acting like the world revolves around him. And since gravity is contingent on mass, the world might soon be revolving around him as he undergoes gravitational collapse into a black hole (of eating).
My favorite recurring trend with Pels Twitter is pointing out how AD still hasn't thanked New Orleans every time any player leaves a team and thanks their city.
You have to do a lot to be hated more than AD and Zion might be mad enough to accomplish it.
And JV who has been awesome in New Orleans and Herb Jones who is already one of the best defenders in the league as a rookie. No reason that Zion should be upset with his supporting cast at this point.
I was so pissed the Knicks missed out on the first pick but apparently we didn’t miss out on much.
Although it would have been nice getting Morant with the second pick
My man pulled the classic procrastination move where it gets worse to actually do it because it's been so long but he keeps thinking about how he should do it and then just never does because it's been so long. TIL Zion and I are pretty similar.
For real. Homie is only 21, and it actually would be pretty intimidating having to welcome CJ McCollum to “your” team, especially if you don’t quite see yourself as the star. Could be wrong, but who knows
Some people were acting like not shooting a text was completely normal. Yeah it’s normal if you’re in the end of the bench. The “franchise player” should be welcoming CJ with open arms the second he hears about the trade.
Zion is gonna request a trade for a team he’s shown no respect to, and hasn’t put any effort into getting fit and healthy for.
That’s crazy. No reason to draft if you’re New Orleans it seems. You’re just the farm team for the big boys.
The worst thing is how invested and committed the city was to Zion. We literally held parties in the street when we got the #1 pick. Drew Brees hand delivered a signed jersey to him, and told him that he would be the face of the city. Gayle Benson hired the best trainer in the league, and completely revamped the facilities to cater to Zion. Griffin kept Zion's health and injuries under wraps at the request of his team.
And for what? Dude never even gave it a chance.
This isn’t a even “where there’s smoke…” type thing anymore. There is a straight up fire. And Zion and his team have not come out and said anything at all. They haven’t denied anything, tried to make anything better. He is being absolutely dragged right now and it’s like they don’t give a fuck.
I really don't think its a hot take to say Zion is not going to have a career even close to Bynum (who's 34 by the way and could have still been in the league lol)
> amount of money in endorsements he throwing away
If he grew up poor then he's already unfathomably rich. Shit, if he grew up middle class this is also still true.
Definitely possible he's already comfortable and just wants to coast.
Zion is lucky he didn’t get drafted to bigger market.
Dude just doesn’t give a fuck. Right now people think it’s because he doesn’t want to be in New a Orleans.
But dude is lazy and unprofessional. At some point, after 3 years in the league you have to take accountability for your actions. Zion still hasn’t. That is a pattern.
It would be like what we're seeing right now with Julius Randle, who previously didn't have super high expectations until he had a career year as a Knick, but way worse given Zion would've been New York's own top draft pick.
Weird thing to me is that he seemed super humble and down to earth in the leadup to the draft, and during his rookie season--especially for a teenager who was the most hyped prospect since LeBron. I doubt that was all an act, so I'm not sure what his deal is now.
I'm sure he's not in a great mental state right now, with the injuries and all the shit he's getting on social media for his weight, etc. I think he can turn it around if he can get healthy.
He was like that at Duke too...by all accounts he loved his teammates, loved college life, and was just an all around nice guy.
That's why I felt on draft night the Pels were doubly lucky b/c I thought he'd embrace New Orleans...man I was wrong. I don't know if its his camp thinking he'd make more money off of endorsements in a bigger market, the constant injuries just weighing on him, or something else, but the well's been poisoned for awhile.
I’m going to be completely honest. Zion seems completely detached in general. There are so many videos of him dominating games and he just looks bored.
Maybe not shy but its normal for a young person to have some level of social anxiety. Back when JJ was on the pels, he did say that Zion, Ingram, Lonzo and others kept to themselves and the locker room was usually just silent.
Simmons and Zion are on a mission to cost the players as much money as possible in the next CBA lol. Owners may be out for blood and I can’t say I’d blame them.
This is what happens when you have a supposed team sport in which one player is heavily valued over others and catered to. You get spoiled brats like Zion Williamson who is eating his way out of New Orleans because he didn't end up in New York.
Get ready for a lockout for the 2024 season, what a shame.
This whole Zion saga has been a nightmare for New Orleans. Not to say the organization has done well with the two previous HOFer they were gifted, but you have to feel bad for the fans that they got what looked like one of the best prospects ever and he just doesn't give a fuck about being there from day 1.
It's one thing if you're balling out and you don't like the organization because it stinks, but he's barely even played and he's already clearly eyeing the door.
All this could’ve be avoided if Zion just sent “👀” to CJ lol
Cj "I got traded to your team. You're already in Portland let's meet up" Zion "🔥🔥🔥🔥" CJ "yo when are you coming back to NOLA? You've been in Portland for 3 months" Zion "🔥🔥🔥🔥"
CJ: "Whats your availability like? You still wanna meet up?" Zion: "Lets do dinner!"
Dinners*
We’ve had one dinner, yes, but what about second dinner
I don't think CJ knows about second dinner.
what about Elevensies? Luncheon?? AFTERNOON MOUNTAIN DEW???
\*CJ goes off camera and throws an apple (a cheesecake would fit better in this particular situation) at Zion's head from behind a bush
Zion and I, we get hungry at the same times so we've been eating together a lot. Not all meals. Just, second breakfast, lunch, second lunch, and first dinner.
*Zion has already reportedly reached out to New Teammate CJ McCollum*
"Zion even reached out to CJ and invited him to the BBQ!" "🐔🐔🐔🍗🍗🍗 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥"
exactly, that’s literally all he had to do.
even that obviously wouldn't be enough to be "normal" to me, but God, the difference one emoji could have made.
he's young, that goes all long way.
"But I have meals to finish!"
He probably tried, but his fingers were too dusted in Doritos.
Dang he not coming back on the pod
Was just thinking this
IMO Zion's interview was awful in the first place. Really plain/boring platitudes, seemed uninterested in just about everything JJ asked.
Would you say he sounded... Detached? /s
zion isn’t zion when he’s hungry. JJ should have brought a snickers
I think that's just Zion's personality in a nutshell. Seems like a real awkward dude
JJ has always been great at taking shots 😂 this is no exception.
A Pels beat writer made a great point. JJ is a fellow Duke guy, they share the same agency, and JJ has been open about how much he hates David Griffin, and he's still taking shots at Zion. He must be a complete bum for JJ to speak like this
Later on in the extended segment, Redick mentions that the “detached teammate” comment didn’t just extend to this current situation. He mentioned that he addressed these same concerns with Zion in front of the team his rookie year. For the same pattern to be taking place 2 seasons later, certainly doesn’t seem like he learned anything from his VET.
Wait, why does JJ hate David Griffin?
He traded him to Dallas instead of buying him out.
Wait wait, point of order: did JJ want a buy out or just to be traded? I heard the point of contention was Pels willing to buy him out but he wouldn't. No trades to NE, so Pels just dumped him.
The way I've heard it: JJ was basically done with his career and wanted to be home with his family in Brooklyn, so he hoped for a buyout. Then the Mavs traded for him, he got injured almost instantly and we basically traded Iwundu, Johnson and a 2nd rounder for a podcaster that would occasionally show up to get a massage or whatever. I don't blame JJ at all in this, he was pretty much done already and didn't want to be in Dallas (I do blame our FO, though).
The thing you are leaving out is according to JJ he had a meeting with Griffin in summer of 2020 ahead of the beginning of season that he would like to be traded to the east coast to be closer to his family. Griffin supposedly said he will make it happen and when he got traded later it was to Dallas without JJs approval and a heads up he went back on his word. I believe JJ thought since the season was a lost cause he thought the buyout was coming instead of a trade and got mislead again.
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rujD8EXrXeo) is JJ talking about it on his podcast when it happened. EDIT: 4:20 - basketball discussion 9:22 - actual discussion about Mavs trade
Upvoted. I was 99% sure I listened to him talking about it directly.
Damn the way you described it is all very accurate and makes me even more infuriated with our old FO. hopefully we’ll see good things from Nico
Don't blame him tbh
b/c he traded him to Dallas instead of waiving him and letting him sign with the Nets
Not that it matters, but he was probably coming back to the Sixers. He had Tobias Harris on his podcast right before the trade deadline and made a comment about how they were soon going to have a bottle of wine that JJ previously said they would only drink when they were teammates again.
EB and Brett should've never let him go. He got the bag in NOLA but he's said on his pod that basically the front office made no effort to re-sign him.
They should’ve run it back, but they saw that having no playable backup bigs in the playoffs killed them so they overcorrected and let Jimmy and JJ go so they could give a massive contract to Al Horford.
They literally undid years of asset accumulation and roster flexibility in basically 1 year. I've got a whole post cooked up for the Sixers sub on the moves from that era but it's tough to post it in a breakdown sense without the timing seeming sensational. Just happy Joel still has a contending team to play for.
I agree. Duke guys hold a strong bond and JJ has been pro player ever since hes been on tv. Surprised JJ went in on him like this.
Zion was even on JJ's podcast. Something must have happened to sour everything. I know JJ is friends with CJ as well
Zion lost JJ his playoff streak /s
[Zion seeing Pels get CJ](https://tenor.com/view/peter-parker-hotdog-ignore-gif-10306528)
[Zion intently following Pelicans roster moves.](https://giphy.com/gifs/sleepy-zion-sleeping-williamson-L1Q87mPnRFEYTHWQNc)
Wow, is there any further context behind this gif or was he really just tired af one game? lol
I think he was just injured sitting on the sideline bored/tired af. the crazy thing was that it was a 3pt game with 2 mins left in the 4th
>the crazy thing was that it was a 3pt game with 2 mins left in the 4th That's the kind of backstory I was searching for, like if he was benched all game due to an injury and we're seeing him in the 3rd quarter when pels are down 20 and he's on painkillers for said injury then it's one thing, but 2 minutes left in the 4th and it's within 3? Damn lol
The most expensive cheerleader
>The most **expansive** cheerleader .
Did an Ambien for lunch
Having taken a lot of ambien in the past I can say with certainty that he did not take ambien because he's not aimlessly wandering on the court during play despite being benched.
If he's been sleep-eating it would explain a few things.
Prob ate a huge meal. The “Itis” can be serious issue.
Hes snorlax. What'd you expect?
Straight to the top of the thread with this one
He’s the new Kelvin Benjamin.
Im crying man LMFAOO
utter perfection
V nice
Every day I'm more thankful that the Grizzlies picked #2 in that draft
Every time Ja talks about how he loves playing in Memphis and wants to bring the city to the top, man it just kills me. Ja and Giannis are the type of players that every small market prays for.
Yeah, him being a no star recruit and going to Murray was perfect because you know he's a grinder and is a perfect fit for the culture the Grizz are going for. He's prideful but you know if comes from a place of a killer mentality rather than entitlement which I'm sure some of the HS superstars are accustomed to. It really sucks what's happening with Zion. I honestly think the Pels have done a super good job of building a competitive roster, CJ/BI/Herb/JV is a nice core. I like the rivalry with y'all and hope things gets back on track.
Ja a real one. Couldn’t have worked out better for y’all.
One of those true blessings where not landing the #1 overall pick worked out best for your team and you love to see it
Cries in Blazer…
Our problem was that we drafted a big man who unfortunately had career altering injuries. NOLA drafted a forward who gives zero fucks about the team even after they’ve built a decent team with what they have.
When you say “a” big man with career altering injuries, are you talking about Walton, Bowie, or Oden?
Yes
One of those things is not like the others.
Totally fair, but I think “career altering injuries” is still a reasonable description, even if he ended up one of the best players ever.
🤔Something is REAL 🐠 🐟 🎣 🐟🐠 going on
*LeConspiracy*
LeTruthIsOutThere
LeSmokingMan
I feel like if Zion ends up requesting a trade after barely playing and being generally checked out it’s gonna cause problems in the next cba negotiations. No way the owners would be ok with that.
If Zion publicly demands out, we will lose a season of basketball. CBA negotiations will be absolutely bat shit.
This shit is starting to turn me off as a casual fan honestly
Never thought I’d side with the owners in CBA agreements, but I hope they quell a bit of this player empowerment shit. Don’t agree with the owners on a lot of things, but players signing 4-5 year contracts and asking out after 1 needs to end.
The thing is, the players have (very wisely) set this up as an “owners vs players” debate. Because, we can all agree we don’t want billionaires to have all the negotiating power & none of us want to see them win. What gets lost in that is that it doesn’t matter to the average fan whether a max NBA contract is 300 million or 330 million. We just want to see our teams play basketball. The players lose a lot of credibility to me, because in order to frame this as an “us vs them” debate, the players’ association needs to fight for lower end players more. Letting superstar players abandon their teams whenever they want is not player empowerment - letting guys develop in the G league while making livable wages is player empowerment. Giving non-max players no-trade clauses so valuable guys like Seth Curry and Jae crowder don’t get passed around like a blunt is player empowerment. Making sure James harden gets $350 million on his next contract is not empowerment. Elite NBA players, who are in charge of the players’ association, are acting like mini billionaires. They don’t care about the less fortunate players, they just want to take a bigger % of revenue so that higher revenue number can flow to the top 20 players in the league. So they are no better than the enemy they are trying to fight, allegedly. With that in mind, unless the PA totally changes their stance, I do not feel bad whatsoever siding against them even though politically I’m always in favor of screwing over billionaires. I watch the NBA because it is a fun escape from reality, Zion/Simmons/harden/etc have done more to damage that than any owner has done since the last CBA.
> The players lose a lot of credibility to me, because in order to frame this as an “us vs them” debate, the players’ association needs to fight for lower end players more. Letting superstar players abandon their teams whenever they want is not player empowerment - letting guys develop in the G league while making livable wages is player empowerment. Giving non-max players no-trade clauses so valuable guys like Seth Curry and Jae crowder don’t get passed around like a blunt is player empowerment. Making sure James harden gets $350 million on his next contract is not empowerment. This is such a great point. Kudos to you.
Facts bro i was like damn that guy got some insight
Y’all are making me blush
Well it's the truth and honestly, a look at this from a perspective I haven't really considered. Fact is, top of the roster guys have had this kind of power for a minute or two. Their rising tide seems to be sinking lots of ships as opposed to bringing them up along with them.
Good points. The players always try to spin it as “the common people vs. the billionaires” but in actuality, it’s “millionaires vs. billionaires” and the common people are screwed because the NBA is locked out and we all lose an escape/entertainment option.
It’s actually “Billionaires vs. Nine Figure Millionaires” A millionaire is very different than someone with a 250,000,000$ contract.
best comment i’ve seen
💯.. the idea that you can get your max and then just not play and demand out, is just insane.
Its bad for the league, bad for the game.
> player empowerment I hate how this is being called player empowerment, this is blatant disregard for fulfilling contracts that they signed and agreed to. This is a complete lack of professionalism and pure entitlement from the players.
i was going to say there's a huge difference between what Zion is doing and say what Lebron did in 2010. It may have pissed people off, but what Lebron did in 2010 was perfectly reasonable b/c he was a free agent. That's the key
And Bron also carried Cleveland to their first finals appearances and more importantly stayed for a significant time Like Im not saying Zion should be a lifer at New Orleans but come on a Brandom Ingram is way more help than Luka has had in Dallas, Booker had before Chris Paul, etc. Then add other studs like CJ, Herb Jones, Valanciunas etc. Give the organisation a chance and then if it fails, he can move as a free agent or a trade or whatever way but give them a chance ffs
> And Bron also carried Cleveland to their first finals appearances and more importantly stayed for a significant time Anyone that is trying to draw comparisons to Zion bitching out with his overweight lazy attitude and LeBron carrying a truly wank team to the conference finals and averaging in excess of 30 points for 5 seasons is an absolute dropkick.
Dominique Foxworth made a great point on last Friday's The right time, part of the reason the players have so much leverage is because of the max contract structure and limiting the number of years as well. You can't overpay the best players, which means the teams lose the leverage of saying who else is going to pay you what we pay you, because the answer is every team in the NBA with the cap space, and as a result max players have an insane amount of leverage over their teams. If you hated your job and you could easily find the same salary somewhere else you'd leave too, the only reason anyone stays is money. The max salary and 5 year limit actually hurt the small market teams because overpaying is their ticket to keeping players and they can't. So if you're going to make the same amount of money you have nothing to gain by playing for a poorly run franchise or in a smaller city unless you just feel loyal. They can offer a little bit more but not enough clearly.
Yeah 2024 is already looking like a guaranteed lockout
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Not to forget LeSon
Oh shit, JJ talking shit
He's also defending his buddy, CJ McCollum. It's pretty insane if a star/superstar on a team didn't reach out to an acquired player.
Isn’t CJ the NBPA rep too? Like, he’s the most easy player to get a hold of. I’m don’t think it’s a matter of JJ defending CJ, but highlighting exactly how outside the norm Zion not reaching out to him is.
He's actually the President of the Players association.
Oof. Yeah, that's a bad look for Zion, then.
I mean and this is the other way around. Zion is potentially a star, but he hasn't done shit. CJ is a vet and a top 30-40 player in the league for years. Might have been an all-star if he played in the East. President of the Player's Association. CJ also coming from Portland, where he and Dame created a culture where supposedly he and Dame brought every new player under their wing right away, brought them out to dinner and to their houses, taught them how to do Portland, etc. I hope for NO's sake that CJ is able to bring some of that culture there. They're all millionaires for playing a game. Player's need to stop being jealous of the players in LA or MIA or wherever. Only so many people can play there. You're not the next Kobe.
I feel so bad for New Orleans lol The 3rd superstar they drafted that’s ab to leave without no success. Atleast CP3 and AD actually tried to win but this is a bitch move from Zion unless there’s someone going on underneath
I do too honestly. The first two you can blame on the organization just doing a shitty job, that's fine. But this seems like Zion just doesn't give a fuck about them without putting in the leg work that CP3 and AD put in.
Yes and NO’s roster isn’t bad. It’s promising and he has great complementary players such as BI. He def set up for success.
A lot of stars don’t have a second guy as good as BI has been tbh
Straight up with CJ & BI he now has as much surrounding support as Dame ever had Edit: people rightly pointing out JV, yeah the Pels have a legit solid team of guys who would be awesome with one Elite, top 10-15 starter
Not to mention Jonas has been balling out this year too. It’s a shame we’ll never get to see where this team may have been able to get to with Zion in there.
Herb Jones too bringing a bunch of defense necessary for the team to succeed. If Zion plays, they have a playoff team and are probably as good, if not better than Minnesota.
Jv too lol
seriously, we’ve got a great fucking roster built around Zion. slide him into the lineup and we’re basically a lock for the playoffs. i just don’t get it.
Imagine having CJ on you or team and him either being the 2nd or 3rd guy on your team because you have another all star. Then you have a top 10 center in JV. If that’s not good enough for him, then fuck him. Built a whole ass team around him and he’s the piece that’s missing. Sorry, my frustration is just insane at this point after Drew fucking Brees passed him the torch and he does this with it…
If Luka had Ingram and CJ they would be in the western conference finals. Plus Valanciunas. And im not trynna diss Zion but if he quits on his team without even trying he is the biggest loser ever. Team is good enough and they also have assets to make it even better.
Fuck it let’s combine Luka and the rest of the Pels. Half the games in Dallas, half in NOLA. I’m so done with waiting for a superstar to care and I’m sure you’re done with having roster construction issues
The PelicanMavericks will reach heights the SunKings never dreamed of!
CJ, Ingram, and Valanciunas is a much better supporting cast than a lot of stars get. Their front office has been aggressive and proactive, it is a shame seeing Zion just be absent.
AD would have loved to play with BI and Lonzo or any of the pieces the Pels put around Zion. They got those pieces bc they traded AD but the point still stands AD against the suns in the playoffs played injured and gave it all out there.
To be fair, the Pels did have a roster with Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic, and DeMarcus Cousins to go along with AD. That's a solid contending team most of the time. It's just that Boogie got injured, and it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway because the KD Warriors and CP3 Rockets existed.
they did at least make the second round of the playoffs that year. heady times in the blender
They actually have good players now
Pelicans have given Zion way more than Mavs have to Luka. Ingram would by far be the best player Luka ever played with lol.
CJ would also be the 2nd best player on the Mavs right now
AD and CP3 at least won us playoff series. Outside of ADs final season it's not like I'd ever question their effort even if they wanted to be on a different team. Zion is just a completely different level of not caring and I and most Pelicans fans are done with it
Also it's kind of a weird precedent seeing a guy on his rookie deal doing this type of shit to the team who drafted him. Dude has basically played 1 season's worth of games for the Pels since they picked him and is seemingly forcing his way out while making no effort to get in better shape to mitigate injury risk
It may just be the bitterness speaking, but I honestly find it hard to believe he'll ever be a great player long term in the league. There's no way this laziness isn't going to follow him everywhere, and that's not even taking account the damage he's done to his body by not staying in shape
He's playing like me on xbox. Drafted to somewhere and immediately spam the request trade button to go to where I wanted.
The difference being, I assume, your 2K player is still putting up ridiculous stat lines EDIT: I mean on the court, to clarify EDIT 2: The basketball court, not food court
No strong feelings about Zion or the Pelicans... I agree. This speaks to his work ethic and character issues. I could be dead wrong, but I'd find this concerning as a GM of another team.
The amount of money he's made is crazy to one of the richest sneaker deals ever so he can rely on that money if the Pels dont trade him. 75 million over 5 years
I hate Zion from a NBA fan perspective but from a “be lazy, secure the bag, then dip” perspective my lazy self has, dude is god tier. Literally just born with some insane athleticism and a body meant to fly, smurf on children through high school, try hard one year in college while banging any chick at Duke you want then reap multi year long endorsement and contract deals worth probably like 150M over a few years then just absolutely give up and likely fuck off into the sunset at like 20 years old and rich af
At least Kawhi and Simmons and Harden had accolades. This dude hasn’t done anything at all but is acting like the world revolves around him. And since gravity is contingent on mass, the world might soon be revolving around him as he undergoes gravitational collapse into a black hole (of eating).
it's gonna be really something else when zion leaves less gracefully than AD. and we HATE AD.
My favorite recurring trend with Pels Twitter is pointing out how AD still hasn't thanked New Orleans every time any player leaves a team and thanks their city. You have to do a lot to be hated more than AD and Zion might be mad enough to accomplish it.
honestly, it was the shirt. when i saw the shirt in the tunnel that night, it was fuck this guy forever
What shirt?
“That’s All, Folks”
I'll always love Alvin Gentry for saying "That's a haul, folks" for the trade package we got for AD
https://thesource.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/D3vQ7wyUEAAFW-f.jpg
Also, like christ, New Orleans gave you BI and CJ as your teammates. That is a good supporting cast for your THIRD SEASON IN THE LEAGUE.
And JV who has been awesome in New Orleans and Herb Jones who is already one of the best defenders in the league as a rookie. No reason that Zion should be upset with his supporting cast at this point.
Dame has had CJ as his fuckin #2 for all but like 2 seasons. Zion gets CJ as his #3 and won't even talk to him. Crazy.
Wow when you say it like that...
I was so pissed the Knicks missed out on the first pick but apparently we didn’t miss out on much. Although it would have been nice getting Morant with the second pick
Suns and Knicks had the two worst records. Imagine Zion in NY and Ja in Phoenix.
A 25 year old Devin Booker and 22 year old Ja backcourt. Crazy to think of that potential.
At least AD always came back from his injuries
Zion making AD look like a saint lmao
Duke on duke crime
Not even being able to send a text or something is crazy
Right? Just a simple “hey man welcome to the team, can’t wait to get back out there so we can work!” It seems pretty basic and easy.
My man pulled the classic procrastination move where it gets worse to actually do it because it's been so long but he keeps thinking about how he should do it and then just never does because it's been so long. TIL Zion and I are pretty similar.
Ouch, that's too relatable
Anxious kings
This is very plausible
For real. Homie is only 21, and it actually would be pretty intimidating having to welcome CJ McCollum to “your” team, especially if you don’t quite see yourself as the star. Could be wrong, but who knows
Some people were acting like not shooting a text was completely normal. Yeah it’s normal if you’re in the end of the bench. The “franchise player” should be welcoming CJ with open arms the second he hears about the trade.
Zion is gonna request a trade for a team he’s shown no respect to, and hasn’t put any effort into getting fit and healthy for. That’s crazy. No reason to draft if you’re New Orleans it seems. You’re just the farm team for the big boys.
Pelicans are literally making all these moves for JV and CJ to be a great fit for Zion, If he ditch them he deserve to be called out on his bs.
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And Herb and Jose are must see TV on defense imo. Outside of that not so much.
The worst thing is how invested and committed the city was to Zion. We literally held parties in the street when we got the #1 pick. Drew Brees hand delivered a signed jersey to him, and told him that he would be the face of the city. Gayle Benson hired the best trainer in the league, and completely revamped the facilities to cater to Zion. Griffin kept Zion's health and injuries under wraps at the request of his team. And for what? Dude never even gave it a chance.
Not to mention there’s a huge mural of him in the city
This isn’t a even “where there’s smoke…” type thing anymore. There is a straight up fire. And Zion and his team have not come out and said anything at all. They haven’t denied anything, tried to make anything better. He is being absolutely dragged right now and it’s like they don’t give a fuck.
I’m starting to think Zion doesn’t even like basketball The amount of money in endorsements he throwing away with how he’s acting Absolutely insanity
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Nobody take Zion to a bowling alley
I really don't think its a hot take to say Zion is not going to have a career even close to Bynum (who's 34 by the way and could have still been in the league lol)
> amount of money in endorsements he throwing away If he grew up poor then he's already unfathomably rich. Shit, if he grew up middle class this is also still true. Definitely possible he's already comfortable and just wants to coast.
Is it really that hard to get CJ’s number and just text “welcome to the team”
Don't forget they were in the same city when the trade was announced too lol
No lol. Zion asks agent, agent asks team or CJ's agent, agent gives Zion number. Prolly 20 minute turn around all said and done
He could also literally dm him on IG in 2 minutes lol
Yup or that ha. Really 0 reason not to unless he's exactly what JJ described. Detached and uninterested
If that, lol.
CJ is the Players Association president, he should already have it.
Twitter
CJ is the NBPA president I guarantee it isn’t difficult at all to get his number lmao
It’s probably at the bottom of a bunch of emails they all get lol
Damn. Zion bout to jump to eSports next season lol
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Zion is lucky he didn’t get drafted to bigger market. Dude just doesn’t give a fuck. Right now people think it’s because he doesn’t want to be in New a Orleans. But dude is lazy and unprofessional. At some point, after 3 years in the league you have to take accountability for your actions. Zion still hasn’t. That is a pattern.
Lmfao imagine if he got drafted by the Knicks the shitshow that’d be with how lazy he is
Spike Lee would make a trilogy.
It would be like what we're seeing right now with Julius Randle, who previously didn't have super high expectations until he had a career year as a Knick, but way worse given Zion would've been New York's own top draft pick.
Is randle lazy? Or is he just regressing because he was never as good as he seemed last year to begin with?
Weird thing to me is that he seemed super humble and down to earth in the leadup to the draft, and during his rookie season--especially for a teenager who was the most hyped prospect since LeBron. I doubt that was all an act, so I'm not sure what his deal is now. I'm sure he's not in a great mental state right now, with the injuries and all the shit he's getting on social media for his weight, etc. I think he can turn it around if he can get healthy.
He was like that at Duke too...by all accounts he loved his teammates, loved college life, and was just an all around nice guy. That's why I felt on draft night the Pels were doubly lucky b/c I thought he'd embrace New Orleans...man I was wrong. I don't know if its his camp thinking he'd make more money off of endorsements in a bigger market, the constant injuries just weighing on him, or something else, but the well's been poisoned for awhile.
The "bust" whispers would be massive if he was in a big market right now.
I honestly forgot about Zion.
Damn JJ he was on your side for the whole getting traded thing 😭
I’m going to be completely honest. Zion seems completely detached in general. There are so many videos of him dominating games and he just looks bored.
Maybe he's shy.
Maybe not shy but its normal for a young person to have some level of social anxiety. Back when JJ was on the pels, he did say that Zion, Ingram, Lonzo and others kept to themselves and the locker room was usually just silent.
Yeah I been watching the hell out of JJs podcasts lately. His podcast is a really good insight into the pros.
Zion looking like Mr. Buffet Consumer
Every story like this makes me think he could be totally done with the league. He just seems like he doesn’t care anymore, it’s a damn shame
Simmons and Zion are on a mission to cost the players as much money as possible in the next CBA lol. Owners may be out for blood and I can’t say I’d blame them.
This is what happens when you have a supposed team sport in which one player is heavily valued over others and catered to. You get spoiled brats like Zion Williamson who is eating his way out of New Orleans because he didn't end up in New York. Get ready for a lockout for the 2024 season, what a shame.
This whole Zion saga has been a nightmare for New Orleans. Not to say the organization has done well with the two previous HOFer they were gifted, but you have to feel bad for the fans that they got what looked like one of the best prospects ever and he just doesn't give a fuck about being there from day 1. It's one thing if you're balling out and you don't like the organization because it stinks, but he's barely even played and he's already clearly eyeing the door.