[thetruth87Participant]

 Nothing against Zion. I’m also extremely high on him too, and I think he’s a special player.  But after today’s performance by Ja Morant against Marquette (17 pts 16 asts 10 rebs), I’m officially moving him up to #1 on my draft board. 

I’m a Knicks fan so I’ve been trying to watch as much of Duke and Murray St. as possible these past few months so I’ve seen a lot of Zion, Barrett and Ja. As of right now if the Knicks had the #1 pick in the draft I would opt for Ja over Zion. I know we have DSJ, and I like his potential, but you don’t draft out of need when you’re picking first overall.

In closing I think Ja is the best PG I’ve seen at the college level since Chris Paul. Looking forward to see him play on Saturday and hopefully for longer. 

 

[Dale WorthingtonParticipant]

I’m extremely high on both but would probably select Ja too.

I find it odd that people are completely ignoring the fact that Zion is extremely short for a PF in the NBA at 6’7.

Ja is a world class athlete, phenomenal passer, is 6’3 at the point, and is a good shooter (81% FT). He’s essentially bust-proof. 

[tblazer_NZParticipant]

 And Draymond Green is 6’7 and isn’t nearly as athletic as Zion, yet he has been an all star.

[holefillers1Participant]

But you’re not drafting Draymond over Morant either.  

 

I just posted on the previous  thread about Morant having more impact at the NBA level than Zion.  I am in agreement with the above posts as I too love Zion’s game.  The difference is Ja Morant is a lead guard with elite vision and athleticism for his position.  Zion is an elite athlete for any position but is not a point forward therefore he cannot effect the game in the same way as Morant.  Both will be great pro’s but I build my team with Morant if I am a GM.

[The GoatParticipant]

I’d take Zion because of the hype, but I’d flip him for Ja and extra assets.

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 I hate post like this "after today’s peformance…I’m taking Ja" Zion post 50 tonight ya’ll will be back on his bandwagon…

[MkadozaParticipant]

 Because one of the best defensive power forwards right now is 6’7". Attitude and playstyle are far more important than height. Draymond Green, Iverson, Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, there a quite a few examples of players being all stars, and very good defensively, despite being shorter. Give me a guy with the athleticism, the hustle and heart of Zion all day.

That being said. Ja is 1b in my book. Then Barrett. Then a tremendous fall off. 

[RUDEBOY-Participant]

morant was responsible for 55 of murray state’s 83 pts..he joins shaq,d wade,draymond green as players to get a triple double in a ncaa tourney game…after the game.. they asked ja morant’s dad where he thinks his son should go in the draft,he replied is there anything above 1? lol

[OhCanada-Participant]

 I watched the whole game. That Marquette defence was no joke. Alot of our NBA stars would have crumbled against that defence in their college days. What Morant did in that game was special. He started off by getting his oppurtunities in transition and not forcing the issue and getting the ball to his teammates in good positions to make plays but in the first half before Murray St. basically broke Marquette thier was very little room for error and he executed.

Most of his turnovers were basically him just showing off or him anticipating where his teammates should have gone which is hard to blame him for. Alot of turnovers but he was basically the whole offense so its not a big deal.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Zion looks like a Jordanesque power forward.  Ja Morant looks like a Jordanesque point guard.

If that makes any sense.

[khaled_a_dParticipant]

Have been saying this for some time. Kid is special.
The top of the draft looks good at the moment tbh with Ja,Zion & RJ

[RUDEBOY-Participant]

 A lot of people complain about high schoolers r allowed to enter draft until they r 19. But that added Year helped Zion moved up from 5 to 7 on some preseason mocks to possibly number 1 pick and the chance to make more money. 

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I’ve seen Draymond Green’s name mentioned in this thread because he’s about 6’7.5”, but what’s not being mentioned is he has the measurements of a damn center. 7’1.25” wingspan & an 8’10” standing reach. Green can play way bigger than his height. Zion doesn’t have that kind of length. 

Not hating on Zion at all. I love his motor and obviously freakish athleticism/power, but he looks like a tweener. No real perimeter game and small for a four. He’s basically scoring in transition and bullying guys in the half court. Like what else does he have to rely on at the next level?

I think Ja Morant is for real. Good size at the point. A freak athlete himself. Great speed (changes speeds very well), quickness and body control. Great passer/vision. Shows high IQ in regards to using ball screens, reading/reacting to the defense & shoots it okay enough to make defenders pay for going under screens. 

The hype surrounding Zion is unreal, but whoever gets the #1 pick would be a fool to not take Morant seriously. 

[tblazer_NZParticipant]

The thing is Draymond needs all of that length to be effective because his athleticism isn’t great, he relies on length and IQ. But either has case for no.1 Zion is a nimble freight train with pretty good handle and instincts.

[llperez]

I disagree with you that Zion looks like a tweeter. Being a tweeter is much more than just height, Zion will hold his own at pf. Most tweeners like Derrick Williams and Michael Beasley are physically undersized for sf or athletically/skill level too low for sf.  Zion won’t be outmatched by pf’s in the nba

[llperez]

 i watched morant kill it today, but no way im taking him over zion. Zion’s change of direction and explosivenss for his size is unmatched. Most shorter pf’s who struggle in the nba dont have the ability to cross guys over and finish with their head at the rim like zion does. His height wont hurt him at all. Now if his jumper doesnt come along then that might limit him a bit but i would gladly take that chance. 

[MopgrassParticipant]

 Zion’s appeal is so wide that he’s creating new basketball fans. How often does a player do that? If Ja ends up slightly better, a basketball owner, who is interested in money, easily drafts the player who can change the marketing game. Zion goes 1st. 

[jabbar_medvedenkoParticipant]

 Let’s  pump the brakes a little bit. Ja is a great player and very deserving of a top 2 selection, but Zion is the best college prospect since AD. Everything from his appeal (6’7, 280lbs, 40 inch vert all-NBA defender in the making), his personality to his synergy numbers point that this dude is going to be a superstar from day one.

Ja is great, but right now he guards like one position, and he might guard 2 if he puts on another 30 lbs. Plus, he’s a year older which is huge at that age. Both are incredible players, but Zion is just a freak of nature, in a class of his own. 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

So a few weeks ago, I was kind of floating around the idea that RJ Barrett might actually be the better long-term prospect than Zion. I’ve kind of backed off that idea now, but I still have some reservations about Zion. 

Don’t get me wrong, Zion is athletic freak the likes of which hasn’t ever really been seen before. He’s extremely marketable and will pretty much assuredly go number one no matter what. He is clearly the most impactful player in college basketball right now. But my concern with him is that so much of his dominance is through pure athleticism as opposed to basketball skill. Not saying he doesn’t have some skills, and will likely continue to develop them as his career progresses. But he is primarily an athlete first and a basketball player second. Guys like Barrett and morant, while also great athletes, are not nearly as reliant on pure athleticism as Zion. They have a better overall feel and skill set for the game. They are primarily basketball players first and athletes second. 

The main concern I have with Zion is how long it will be before his athleticism declines, particularly with his build. Will he be able to develop the skill set necessary to be a dominant player once it happens? I’m not saying I wouldn’t take him first (I clearly would). I’m just maybe a little more skeptical than most and I could at least see the argument for taking Barrett or morant over him. Blake griffin was the clear cut number one in 2009 due to his athleticism and has had a fine career for sure. But it’s hard to argue that steph curry or James harden wouldn’t go ahead of him in a redraft were done today.

 

 

[holefillers1Participant]

Here is the question I have.  If Zion is the best prospect since AD, should he be expected to handle the ball in clutch situations or is he more of a Draymond Green/Andre Igoudala  amalgamation.  The latter of course not precluding him from being drafted Number 1 but perhaps to provide context as to the type of impact he can expect to make in whatever team drafts him.  Can a player providing that type of skill ever challenge for and MVP.  

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Wes Unseld won ROY and MVP straight outta Louisville.

[HeroescantdieParticipant]

 Zion can be a Draymond type of a player with a litttle touch of barkley, imagine if draymond has zions athletecism, I think on a team he can be the focal point of offense once zion’s skills catch up to his athleticism, with the number 1 pick, I think they’ll likely getting a Griffin type of a player whose athletic gifts will flourish more thatn his skill early in his career. I’m hoping he could do what griffin did and improve his jumpshot. I think Zion is more explosive than Griffin is. Griffin has short arms, Zion have an average wingspan which is 6’10 fo his height but Griffin has short arms compared to his height. I thinkZion is faster and have more guard skills than griffin coming out.

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