2019 Draft Prospects...

[SirStefan32]

So I am not as sold on Zion as most people are, but I am not sure that he is overweight. He looks like a freak of nature, not a chubby kid like Barkley was. I admit, I haven't watched him play a whole lot, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. 40lb is a lot to lose when you are not chubby.

 

[AzStevenCal]

So I am not as sold on Zion as most people are, but I am not sure that he is overweight. He looks like a freak of nature, not a chubby kid like Barkley was. I admit, I haven't watched him play a whole lot, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. 40lb is a lot to lose when you are not chubby.

I'm not as sold on Zion as most people, I passed that a long time ago. IMO, his ceiling is incredible but his floor is pretty special too. Like most players, he probably won't hit his ceiling but if we can just keep him healthy I could live with his floor. And you're right, he's not going to play at 240, he just doesn't have that kind of weight to get rid of.

 

[Phrazbit]

So I am not as sold on Zion as most people are, but I am not sure that he is overweight. He looks like a freak of nature, not a chubby kid like Barkley was. I admit, I haven't watched him play a whole lot, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. 40lb is a lot to lose when you are not chubby.

I don't think he is chubby, but he is huge and all that bulk will not only make rehabbing an injury more difficult. And, more concerning IMO, is that he said he's put on over 100 pounds in under years... if he isn't careful he really will get big and being down with an injury is the kind of thing that can make a lot of players put on weight, the risk with him I think is really high. If he is out for any length of time I hope Duke watches his calorie intake carefully.

 

[Hoop Head]

Maybe this injury will make him available at #2 or #3? I remember a few years back when Embiid was looking like the #1 pick late in the collegiate season and then he got hurt and fell down draft boards everywhere. That draft class had Wiggins, Parker, Randle, and Gordon as a few of the other top prospects while this year is lacking that to a certain extent. I think this is Barrett's best chance to climb up to the #1 spot. I don't think the Knicks or Cavs would pass on Zion, although it's a possibility based on the actual injury.

 

[Hoop Head]

I didn't know that Tyus Jones' brother could be in the draft next year. He's a freshman PG at Duke right now. I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on him with our 2nd round pick if he's available. Right now NBADraft.net has him listed at #27 going to the Nets but that doesn't seem to take team fit into account. I've noticed NBADraft.net doesn't take team fit into account past the lottery though so who knows what will happen. As late 1st or early 2nd round prospect whose brother is a little better and already in the league makes him someone the Suns would typically be looking at. For those who have watched a lot of Duke because of Zion, how has Tre Jones looked?

Tre is averaging 8.7 ppg on 44% shooting while shooting 27% from 3pt range with 5.4 apg to 1.2 turnovers. In addition to that he averages 3.5 rebounds and 2 steals in 31.8 minutes a game. For comparison sake, his brother Tyus averaged 11.8 ppg on 41.7% shooting while shooting 37.9% from 3pt range, as well as 5.6 apg to go with 1.9 turnovers. He also averaged 3.5 rpg with 1.5 steals. So Tre's stats are very similar to his brothers and both played at Duke in similar roles. Tre is listed at 6'2" and 183 lbs while Tyus was listed at 6'1" and 190 lbs in college but is now listed at 6'2" and 196 lbs.

I'm not saying he's our answer at PG next year, a rookie who may end up being a 2nd round pick is not who should be our starting PG next year. With the Suns history of taking the "other brother" though it wouldn't surprise me if they take a look at him as a possibility for their 2nd round selection. At least on paper he appears to be more of an actual PG than either Okobo or Melton and could be someone to groom as PG of the future. At this point I wouldn't mind taking him if it somehow helped us land Tyus Jones in free agency, but Jones is a restricted free agent so I think the chances of that are slim.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Maybe this injury will make him available at #2 or #3? I remember a few years back when Embiid was looking like the #1 pick late in the collegiate season and then he got hurt and fell down draft boards everywhere. That draft class had Wiggins, Parker, Randle, and Gordon as a few of the other top prospects while this year is lacking that to a certain extent. I think this is Barrett's best chance to climb up to the #1 spot. I don't think the Knicks or Cavs would pass on Zion, although it's a possibility based on the actual injury.

Even if it was a torn ACL I'd be surprised if it even gave a team a moment of pause. And Embiid's problem was scary and far different than Zion's worst case scenario; there was plenty of reason to believe Joel would never play ball again.

 

[slinslin]

Much ado about nothing

This changes nothing, after seeing this I never once thought he had anything serious. Zion has strong legs, even with the Nikes blowing up he is keeping balance pretty well and his knees pretty much hold up.

I have zero worries about his constitution.

Even if it was a torn ACL I'd be surprised if it even gave a team a moment of pause. And Embiid's problem was scary and far different than Zion's worst case scenario; there was plenty of reason to believe Joel would never play ball again.

What exactly is Zions worst case scenario? He is healthy, Embiid was a mess.

 

[AzStevenCal]

What exactly is Zions worst case scenario? He is healthy, Embiid was a mess.

The initial concern was that it was a torn ACL. I know it's since been reported as a mild sprain but my point was that even if it had been the worst case scenario (a torn ACL), he'd still be lock to go first. And even if it had been a torn ACL, it would still have been just a minor concern compared to Embiid at draft time.

 

[slinslin]

The initial concern was that it was a torn ACL.

ah I see senationalism at its finest

 

[slinslin]

Especially at 280 lbs.

All the stories about his weight seem fishy to me. Especially claiming that he would be the 2nd heaviest player in the NBA or so...

No way is Zion heavier than Cousins, Boban, Embiid, Ayton, Nurkic, Adams etc...

Bodywise he seems like PJ Tucker or a shorter Julius Randle.

Would be interesting to get real measurements of Zion, probably will never happen since he probably is not attending the combine. 6'7 245 seems realistic, maybe 250-260 maximum. No way 280 lbs.

 

[Hoop Head]

All the stories about his weight seem fishy to me. Especially claiming that he would be the 2nd heaviest player in the NBA or so...

No way is Zion heavier than Cousins, Boban, Embiid, Ayton, Nurkic, Adams etc...

Bodywise he seems like PJ Tucker or a shorter Julius Randle.

Would be interesting to get real measurements of Zion, probably will never happen since he probably is not attending the combine. 6'7 245 seems realistic, maybe 250-260 maximum. No way 280 lbs.

He would be second to Boban, not higher than him, so listing him as someone that Zion's reportedly heavier than is false. Perhaps including Boban in your list skews your judgement because you obviously don't realize that Boban does weigh more than Zion. I imagine you'll say that you didn't mean to include him since you're incapable of admitting you're wrong. Here's a list of current NBA players sorted by weight.

What does he gain by exaggerating his weight though? That is the biggest knock on him so far, his size, so lying about it to make it sound worse than it is would be foolish.

He was weighed and measured last summer at the USA basketball Junior National Team minicamp in October 2017 and it was revealed that he was 6'5" barefoot and 272 pounds. It's really not hard to believe he's put on 10 pounds since then.

I believe he'll end up trimming down to around 270 in the NBA because he'll have access to more trainers and probably some team chef's or dietitians. I know that not every team provides those to their players, at least the Suns don't, but some NBA teams do. The NBA grind will probably wear on him some as well. Josh Jackson talked about how hard it was to keep weight on during his rookie season.

Since Zion has weighed that much since 2017 though I imagine that's where he's most comfortable. It doesn't seem to negatively impact his game either so I don't see it as much of an issue, at least until it does become one. He's got youth on his side now, which is helping him, but as he gets older and his athleticism starts declining and his metabolism slows down, I can see it becoming an issue later in his career.

 

[Dan H]

Nike's marketing people watching the game last night:

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[Finito]

Do the colleges provide insurance to players for this type of thing?

I don't necessarily think college players should be paid, but insurance along with tution seems like a no brainer.

Lmao hell no they don’t.

You get hurt and can’t play unless your a big time star they take your scholarship and give it to a kid that they can use

 

[slinslin]

He would be second to Boban, not higher than him, so listing him as someone that Zion's reportedly heavier than is false. Perhaps including Boban in your list skews your judgement because you obviously don't realize that Boban does weigh more than Zion. I imagine you'll say that you didn't mean to include him since you're incapable of admitting you're wrong. Here's a list of current NBA players sorted by weight.

What does he gain by exaggerating his weight though? That is the biggest knock on him so far, his size, so lying about it to make it sound worse than it is would be foolish.

He was weighed and measured last summer at the USA basketball Junior National Team minicamp in October 2017 and it was revealed that he was 6'5" barefoot and 272 pounds. It's really not hard to believe he's put on 10 pounds since then.

I believe he'll end up trimming down to around 270 in the NBA because he'll have access to more trainers and probably some team chef's or dietitians. I know that not every team provides those to their players, at least the Suns don't, but some NBA teams do. The NBA grind will probably wear on him some as well. Josh Jackson talked about how hard it was to keep weight on during his rookie season.

Since Zion has weighed that much since 2017 though I imagine that's where he's most comfortable. It doesn't seem to negatively impact his game either so I don't see it as much of an issue, at least until it does become one. He's got youth on his side now, which is helping him, but as he gets older and his athleticism starts declining and his metabolism slows down, I can see it becoming an issue later in his career.

You cant seriously believe that Zion is heavier than Drummond or Cousins. lol

Besides that the official nba.com listing are almost never updated.

Perhaps including Boban in your list skews your judgement because you obviously don't realize that Boban does weigh more than Zion. I imagine you'll say that you didn't mean to include him since you're incapable of admitting you're wrong. Here's a list of current NBA players sorted by weight.

What the fudge is wrong with you?

I included Boban because he is one of many players in the NBA who are obivously heavier than Zion.

 

[Russ Smith]

Seems like anytime a guy goes down holding the back of their knee it's the ACL, I hope they're right and it's mild.

I expect that his weight would complicate things if he was off his feet for a serious length of time.

Yeah he would not be the first kid to be declared ok and then have an ACL tear when they do the MRI. I sure hope it's not any worse than they think I would hate to see the kid or any kid get hurt but this kid is special

 

[Russ Smith]

He was able to hobble off to the bench by himself. Maybe he just has a higher pain tolerance, but he seemed to move better than the players who tore their ACLs that I can remember.

I worked with a woman who tore her ACL in college playing touch football and went an entire school year without having surgery, crutches, brace etc. You can do lots of stuff with a torn ACL it just doesn't have the lateral support IIRC. We had the same surgeon her ACL and my first 2 knee surgeries, her doctor told her she'd be fine waiting until after the college school year to have the surgery so she didn't have to miss much school and she was.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm not as sold on Zion as most people, I passed that a long time ago. IMO, his ceiling is incredible but his floor is pretty special too. Like most players, he probably won't hit his ceiling but if we can just keep him healthy I could live with his floor. And you're right, he's not going to play at 240, he just doesn't have that kind of weight to get rid of.

In HS I thought when he gets to college the size inside will bother him. Clearly it hasn't, he just goes over and through guys and I now suspect that will be the case in the NBA too. He's a pretty cut guy he could probably lean out some, but not 40 pounds. If you saw Cody Riley as a freshman at UCLA before the China arrest and then have seen him this year, similar height, similar build as freshman. Riley lost about 20 pounds and looks remarkably cut. He wasn't 280 before he was about 260 to 265 and he's 240 to 245 now. But Cody is not as thick as Zion and not even remotely in Zion's league athletically.

 

[taz02]

Zion is going #1 unless his leg falls off.

 

[Russ Smith]

They asked Cousins about his weight after a game recently because they were saying he seemed to be in pretty good shape just a bit winded since he came back. I forget the exact wording but she basically asked him if he was much over his listed weight of 270 and the look on his face was like if you actually believe I was 270 I got a bridge to sell you.

They weigh these kids at the big events I fully believe ZIon was 272 when they weighed him. I think he's more cut now but muscle weighs more than fat so I can believe he might be heavier than 272 now. I suspect Cousins is pushing 300 pounds.

 

[Chaplin]

ah I see senationalism at its finest

Come on. Still trying to figure out why you do this nonsense for no reason.

It’s no surprise that you are the most confrontational and attacking poster in this board. For no reason.

 

[devilalum]

They asked Cousins about his weight after a game recently because they were saying he seemed to be in pretty good shape just a bit winded since he came back. I forget the exact wording but she basically asked him if he was much over his listed weight of 270 and the look on his face was like if you actually believe I was 270 I got a bridge to sell you.

They weigh these kids at the big events I fully believe ZIon was 272 when they weighed him. I think he's more cut now but muscle weighs more than fat so I can believe he might be heavier than 272 now. I suspect Cousins is pushing 300 pounds.

Cousins is several inches taller?


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[devilalum]

Come on. Still trying to figure out why you do this nonsense for no reason.

It’s no surprise that you are the most confrontational and attacking poster in this board. For no reason.

Wrong

There’s always a reason. Not always one that’s observable in this context.


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[Russ Smith]

Cousins is several inches taller?


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yes but Cousins is "doughy" and Zion is muscular so I can fully believe Zion is maybe 20 pounds lighter.

 

[SirStefan32]

yes but Cousins is "doughy" and Zion is muscular so I can fully believe Zion is maybe 20 pounds lighter.

Agreed. and he's always been "doughy." There are different body types out there, and Zion just looks like someone who is built like a tank. I don't think he has much weight to lose.

That said, one poster had a legitimate concern about how his weight is likely to make rehabbing an injury.

 

[elindholm]

Barkley was listed at 6' 6", 252, and if that number was even close to right, it was when he was at his most svelte. And we know he wasn't 6' 6". It's easy for me to believe that Williamson is 280+.