Zion Williamson is a dream target for the Utah Jazz and that's absurdly profound
By Chad Porto
It's the most magical time of the year. NBA trade season. This is the time where most NBA teams will make the biggest moves of the offseason (and season for that matter), as teams are stacked to the gills with assets. This means that trades will be plentiful over the next few seasons, and we're totally fine with that.
The Utah Jazz are expected to be in on the action, with Danny Ainge saying that the team was going "big game hunting' in their attempt to land a major All-Star-level talent to pair with Lauri Markkanen. Thus flushing out the team some and taking a shot at the playoffs. Obviously, we don't know who that will involve if it involves anyone, but a lot of people are offering up their best example.
Bleacher Report, for instance, has named Zion Williamson as the Jazz's dream trade target. The once-in-a-lifetime player is no longer flying high with those monikers, but he's still an All-Star level player and one that the folks at Bleacher Report believe would fit in with the Jazz's roster, with the writer of the article, Andy Bailey, going on to say;
"Dream: Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson played a career-high 70 games this season, but he was missing for the playoff run, thanks to a hamstring injury.
And after having a fifth straight season dramatically impacted by his lack of durability, maybe New Orleans could be tempted by a package with shorter-term salaries and tons of draft capital (something Utah has plenty of)."
Willamson has a bad case of "wanna-like-you-itus". I wanna like the kid. He's powerful, quick, and can leap out of the gym, but he's not a real pro. He doesn't take care of his body and allows his weight to balloon constantly. His off-the-court antics are more memorable than any one game he's ever had, and if he's hobbled and can't attack the rim as effectively as he should, he's going to be next to useless offensively. He has no jumper or three-point shot to speak of.
He's played in just 44% of all possible games in his career and has only played more than 50 games twice. The idea that Willamson is a dream target is exactly that; a dream.
On paper, yes, Williamson is a dream come true to any team. On paper. Once you look at who he is as a player, and what he provides to a team and then balance that to the asking price, then the dream becomes a nightmare.
Williamson isn't worth a first-round pick, because he's not going to make a meaningful impact. He's not taking his career seriously enough, he's too injured and he's not gotten better since entering the league.