martin wrote:

ramtour420 wrote:I would not trade Randle at this point for ANYONE. F that. I am riding with him

I am with you

I think keeping this team together and adding some choice players will make this team even better next year. There aren’t a lot of guys hitting 20/10/6/80/40.

Knickfury11 wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:He recently declared his undying love for playing at MSG. His best friend is RJ Barrett. And NYC offers him the opportunity to build his brand/profile quicker while being competitive. With all that being said, I think it isn't a matter of "if" Zion becomes a Knick but "when". And with the Pelicans being one of the worst run organizations in the league (they still use Saints trainers and lack a true practice facility, which leads to them being a league leader in injuries every season), I wouldn't be surprised if Zion is already disgruntled.

Under any other circumstance, we'd have to take the wait-and-see approach and bide our time until the Pelicans lose leverage. With the emergence of Julius Randle, however, I think we're far closer to a suitable trade package than anyone ever imagined at the beginning of the season. Not only is he a better player than Zion at the moment, he also has better synergy with their second best player- Brandon Ingram- from their time together with the Lakers.

My offer would essentially be Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox (to be flipped for Mo Bamba), four unprotected first round picks in 2021 and 2023, first round pick swaps in 2022 and 2024, the four future second round picks we got during this past draft (essentially) for Ed Davis and $5 million cash for Zion and the dead salaries of Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams.

It effectively makes the Pelicans a better team in the short-term with enough draft equity to fill out their rotation with cheaper, cost-controlled players. It also makes far more financial sense for them because they improve the team without having to dramatically raise payroll. Essentially, Steve Adams' money gets converted into Julius Randle; Eric Bledsoe's money gets rolled into Lonzo Ball's impending extension; and Zion Williamson's money into Josh Hart's extension. They'll have to inevitably deal with Mitchell Robinson's bump in pay but should be able to easily accommodate the New Orleans native's $15-$18 million per year if they frontload Lonzo Ball's and Josh Hart's contracts accordingly. How could they say no?

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yex27yjy

While the Pelicans get the present, we get the future. A Zion-Barrett-Quickley core could dominate the East for a decade if we remain healthy. While we'd lose a ton of draft equity in the next few drafts, we'd still have enough financial flexibility to flesh out a capable rotation by virtue of Zion, Barrett and Quickley all being on their rookie contracts. They'd essentially make a combined +/-$20million/year moving forward, leaving about $55 million worth of cap space with Al Horford on the books.

Thoughts?

I’m reluctantly with you in essence, I think... my heart says yes, but my head says no.

I think this is far more realistic at the end of his current contract.

Why reluctantly?

Welpee wrote:Are you trading for Zion Williamson or prime Michael Jordan? Zion is not worth trading the franchise and our first born to obtain just because he likes playing at the garden. To me he's Blake Griffin 2.0. Great player, but he's not a young Kareem level player in terms of franchise impact. That trade proposal is a very Isiah Thomas/Eddy Curry-like maneuver.

I second this emotion...what you smokin Nard Dog? That's a crazy lopsided trade. Just keep Julius Randle. He's young enough, he's a better all around player, and he's a MUCH lower injury risk. Down the road, once Julius starts to pass his prime, then we can trade him on the downslope. Not now when he's in his ascendancy.

Uptown wrote:No, there isn't a realistic path to trade for Zion unless he tries to force his way out in 3-4 years. Zion is a generational talent. Not only is he the face of the franchise, he is the face of that city. Pels ain't entertaining trading Zion!

You’re still drinking the Zion ESPN Kool aid? He’s a very good offensive player, not a great rebounder and limited defensively.

Philc1 wrote:

Welpee wrote:Are you trading for Zion Williamson or prime Michael Jordan? Zion is not worth trading the franchise and our first born to obtain just because he likes playing at the garden. To me he's Blake Griffin 2.0. Great player, but he's not a young Kareem level player in terms of franchise impact. That trade proposal is a very Isiah Thomas/Eddy Curry-like maneuver.

I think he’s a glorified Clarence Weatherspoon.