Sorry if I was not more clear but that is exactly what I meant when I said, "seeing as New Orleans holds matching rights to him, he can't really sign elsewhere."
Additionally, I don't think Zion wants to be the rookie phenom who bailed on his hometown team after spending 2 of his first 3 seasons mostly injured and useless. It would be a really bad look and could permanently damage his image across the league.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
I don't understand this. Zion was born in North Carolina and played middle school through high school ball in South Carolina. New Orleans isn't his home town team as far as I can tell. Further, given the professional nature of the league, I think there is basically zero chance that Zion would take any kind of permanently damaging mage hit trying to get himself into his preferred situation.
I think Zion will sign a max extension because it is the right economic thing to do, and that's pretty much the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Also, I'm not entirely convinced he's unhappy there to begin with.
But will the Pelicans offer a genuine max extension? From what little I've bothered to read, they have said that they definitely want to sign him to a long term deal, but are wary of a max deal given his health issues. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-easy-decision
as this article states, David Griffin says they'll offer him a "big money" extension but want some kind of protection given the health issue..so this could be interesting.
I know KI trade speculation is rampant but I will be a little amused if he ends up back on a team with LBJ.
It does seem implausible. I still root hard for Kyrie (as much as he soiled the sheets in Boston which was painful to watch) but his rep has taken something of a beating and I'm not sure how many teams want to cast their lot with him for megebucks at this point. A short term deal for big money seems very plausible, but a huge long term deal does not. Will he really pass up, what, $37 million for another year in Brooklyn where equally brilliant but also equally testy Durant awaits?
I think the Kyrie thing has to happen in Brooklyn for a few reasons. First, if Kyrie leaves, Durant likely asks to be traded. Brooklyn cannot risk that.
Second, there's so little cap space out there, and none of it places where Kyrie would opt out and sign as a free agent. I guess the Knicks could get there, but that doesnt make much sense for him to join that roster.
Would Kyrie sign for the mid level? That's the wildcard and the easiest way for him to get to a different team. However, would he turn his back on KD? Is any new team a better spot than Brooklyn?
My guess is Kyrie re-signs with Brooklyn for 3 years with some games played incentives.
Thanks for the correction Jason, I was under the false impression that he was a UFA. My main point, however was that the so called 'fans' of the Pelicans are not good to Zion online.
I think Zion has done what he can and both sides do seem to be saying all the right things (despite the 'fans' constant cheeseburger references).
For me, I'm a Zion fan and really hope to get to see him play a lot next season. I think the Pelicans have some good guys there...especially CJ McCollum and hope that adding Zion will make for a team that is fun to watch and successful. Too bad they are not in the east a GSW/Pelicans final would be great!
I disagree. I think that Zion seems to recently be making all the right moves. But his stark silence through most of last season allowed both fans and detractors to fill in their own narratives. I'm extremely pleased that he seems to be back on top of his message now through social media, interviews, etc.
I hope he has learned a valuable lesson about dealing with the public. It isn't as important as getting healthy and staying fit, but as someone in the public eye, it's somewhere on that list.
This is my hope. I would like to see Kyrie in a Lakers uniform, back with LBJ. As much as I’d like to see what the Nets could do with a full year of KD, Kyrie and Simmons, I don’t think the Nets are going to offer Irving a long term deal to his liking. KD will understand if Kyrie decides to decline his option for business reasons. The question is whether Kyrie will sign for the mid level for next year, betting on landing a contract that he prefers the following year, or whether he will come around to whatever the Nets are willing to offer.
Carolina delenda est
The can is getting kicked down the road or at least next year or the trade deadline.
Kyrie opting in to the final year with the Nets.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-brooklyn-nets
Should Durant bring a king’s ransom, though? He missed 552 days after tearing his Achilles in 2019. What is the history of elite athletes tearing their Achilles at an advanced age and recovering to be at or very near to the level they were prior to the injury, and how long were they able to sustain that recovered level? I’m honestly asking because I don’t know the answer.
Also, the following injury happened AFTER the Achilles injury:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ed-knee-injury
So what’s next for KD? He’s about to turn 34, and to these admittedly amateur eyes he looks like an old 34. Should this guy still be considered to be on the same level as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry at this point in his career? Should a team really give up a bunch of prime assets in order to trade for him? Of course, I’m not professing to know the answer to that; I’m just looking for opinions. Just color me a tad skeptical.
I prefer to rise above the Kyrie fray by believing that, except for the toe injury, he may have turned out to be a totally different character. It would have been amazing what an undefeated 2011 season would have done for KI. As a national hero, widely celebrated for his year at Duke, there would be no need for other distractions.
Last edited by sagegrouse; 06-27-2022 at 08:18 PM.