Gilbert Arenas’ INSANE Idea To Save Zion’s Career

Gilbert Arenas’ INSANE Idea To Save Zion’s Career

Okay, so Pelicans drafted Jeremiah Fears Derek Queen in the lottery. Uh Joe Dumar traded the Pel’s 23rd pick in a 2026 unprotected firstrounder to the Hawks to move up 10 spots in the draft to snag Queen. Uh move was laughed at by a lot of executives around the league. Hawks had to triple check with Joe Dunar just to confirm that he wanted to give up that unprotected pick, which I’ll be the the most favorable of the Bucks or Pelicans in the 2026 draft. But uh they’ve also traded for Jordan Pool while moving on from CJ McCollum. Uh Dejante Murray to Achilles in the back half of last season. So we aren’t sure when he’ll be available next season and Zion Williamson still seeking his first playoff birth as he has never played beyond the playin during his five healthy seasons. So do you think the Pelicans have approved at all this off season last year? Yeah. Where did CJ go to the up? He joined the uncction. I mean for the west I mean better than last year. I mean I mean they’re better than last year. So who will be who I mean they was it 16 who they starting five right now. That’s a great question. Who figures Murray? Where Mur? Trey Murphy I mean Murphy Trey Murphy Herb Jones or Jones one of Zion. Zion and Kevon. Ease me I think as well. Big man they d Oh yeah. The big man they pick. They got Queen. Queen. Why you keep saying he nice though? I know. I like him. I like those are the those are the type of kids that get that Queen was actually one of your sleepers in the draft. You thought those are the kind those are the type of players that when you’re going through workouts by yourself or with someone one-on-one, you can’t tell how good they are. Yeah. Because it’s not a it’s not a it’s not a game, right? It’s just them. So they look slow. They look like they can’t move. They you know what I mean? They don’t have been like looking at Joker, too. Yeah. And that’s what it is. You can’t tell like you can’t tell what Joker does in a workout by himself. Just doesn’t like Oh, he look at him. He moves well. Yeah. You know what I mean? It just looks it just looks all slow. It’s just like, come on, let’s go, let’s go. And then you put him in a game and then now it’s that element. and they like, “Oh we up.” That’s what’s going to happen with the queen kid. They’re going to realize, “Oh, I mean, really, obviously the fate of the Pelicans depends on a healthy Zion or we just keeping it real.” Facts. He could play lottery picks, bro. That’s what I’m saying. One big one guard. I just just But you think they can just throw him in right away? One big one guard. Right away to do what? That’s That’s what I’m saying. It’s going to take a little time for those guys to develop, right? Went 35 games. Huh? That’s a lot for Z know cuz Z averaged what when he played 25 have to average all that still 35 wins max if you can’t you just can’t nine average 25 seven and five in 30 games he played last year I mean how how many games do you think you’re going to win if 66 power forward is your power forward like I no matter how big he play it just doesn’t work like man, you know what I mean? It just doesn’t like if he’s at the three. Okay, now we talking. Zion. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Him at the four. It just makes your team just because Giannis is he’s just healthy. They win. No. Winning what? Just just they win more. They make the playoff. But where in West your rabbit ass mother, man. Zion. Yeah, but you’re too like he needs they make the play because they got much with 35 wins. Baby, what’s Zion record when he play? The Pelicans were 21 and 61 last year. But what’s Zion record when he play? If y’all could get that. Yeah, cuz so in 30 games, he played 30 games last year. Yeah. Each year he played 30 games, but on 30. He played the year before that he played like the Pelicans were 10 and 20 I believe in the games that Zion played last year. 10 and 20. I’m talking. No, it was 10 and 20. Baby, when TJ when he played, not last year, they was ass. Everybody 10 and 20 when he played you asked for the now you want to change you don’t like the now you want to change overall every time he plays for his entire career can’t do it like that that’s what I was talking about some games he’s coming back injured yeah that’s I mean we understand that him at the four just makes them just they’re just not a two seasons ago Pelicans over AC made the play in 49 33 had that 40point game if he can get down weight and he’s at the three position how he plays is just coming downhill posting up out rebounding small forwards. He is a juggernaut in that position. As a fourman, you’re you’re the smallest fourman. Paulo Paulo is damn near seven foot, man. Giannis is seven foot, man. Anthony Davis, god damn it. He’s at the four sometimes. Like these fours are still big. playing the four. That’s what I’m saying. Starting four, man. The position like you just that doesn’t back in the day is different. No, we’re talking about today. Back in the day was fine cuz everybody was 66. Charles Barkley, everybody all all of them was 66. Centers are 66. No, all of them was 66 then. Back then when Kevin Gardinette and Duncan them came in, that’s what changed the position. They were scared of Shaq. So they was like, “Ah, now we’ll be the four cuz everybody’s small.” Fours in the West. Who you gonna guard? I don’t who he’s gonna guard in the West. Who you going to guard? Gordon. Gordon 610. Lakers. Lakers. Who you gota guard? LeBron. LeBron 610. Everybody’s big. You’re out rebound. So if you’re power Rand 610. No. Hell no. Come on, man. All them guard. Everybody. What I’m saying is he is still 66, right? So, he’s still giving up some type of leverage on offense and defense, meaning he has to work a lot harder. Meaning, your small fort and your center has to work a lot harder just to get rebounds. You’re just It’s just a small team. If he plays at the three, there’s nothing that can guard him at the three. Nothing can guard him at the four. He can’t guard nobody at the four. Nobody. Who’s at the four? Draymond did it. That’s what I’m saying. Like the big Houston I mean sit KD probably have the KD guard that. No. No. Can you Can KD guard him? It doesn’t m I got protection back there when he drives. I I got a real big man back there. No, he don’t. Who? Sang Goon’s a real big man that’s going to block shots. You got Adams back there. Sangon is at the four four five. That’s what I’m saying. Everybody’s tall, dog. No, man. We talking about the NBA now. Even Even when you talk about Even when you talk about OKC got two sevenfooters like good stuff. They got Looney back there. He got big back there. It’s the four position we talking about. Yes. Huh? No, we’re just thinking about how big Houston can play. Houston City. Everybody’s playing big. Ain’t nobody small Houston. Who? Who’s big? Clint Capella, Steven Adams, San Goon, Thompson, Kevin Durant. All 610 and above. Jabari Smith, Tyra E, all them is 69. Everybody I just named is 69 and above. Thompson Smith, Een Compella’s not playing. Everybody else and oh man 610 and above the forward. What I’m saying is if if your forward everybody I just name can play that position except Adams and Capella them two. If you put Thompson at the four on Zion, I’m I’m taking Zion right there. So you do know him first. You do you do know he made all defensive team. But you do know it’s not about made all defense. Listen, it’s offensive. It’s offensive rebound. It’s all of it that matters. He has now that means he has to be the backline on all defense getting in foul trouble. It it just weighs on him because he’s he’s not tall enough. Yeah. Athletic. Yeah. He can do his thing, but you still have to have four championships being a 66 center. He guard everybody. What are we talking about? But offensively, this is the NBA. But offensively, damn, you act like is big. Julius Randle killed LeBron last year. And a half. Swag. Yeah, you’re talking about just still talking about 610. Who’s 610? Julius Randle. All right, Gil, you just saying with with the defensive player of the year behind him, throwing out numbers. Julius Randle is not 16. Y’all see why he keeps getting hurt. How much energy does he have to do? Try to rebound, offensive rebound, box these big. It’s a It’s a toll. You put him at the three. Who guards him at the three? Nobody. And you get to keep your team big so he don’t have to rely on defense. You think he can guard threes though? Guard nobody at the four. Yes, he can guard three NBA. Yeah. Who’s at the three? That’s good because what are guys doing now though? It ain’t. So this is my thing. Was at the three. That is fair. It ain’t like when we played when Tracy and them night after night them them days are over, right? where you knew them dudes is going to get 20, 25, 30 a night. Like you you knew that that ain’t the certain guys these days. Yeah. But on a nightly basis, you knew like at that position it was going to be a long night. Just what it was like this NBA, he can play the three, guard threes. It’s a jump shoot, man. No one No one’s going to guard him at the three. All they going to do cuz all they do is run paper rolls and try to pick matchups out. So who’s at the three? Uh three at the three, right? pump. Jaylen Brown is better than four. Either one. Pick one. Jayen Brown and James at the four. Three and four. He can interchangeable. He got to guard Jason. 16. 16. No, he don’t. Scotty Barn. Oh, he has to guard. No, he has to guard Brown at the three. So swag and Brown got to guard him coming down the hill. Like guys like that. Like he can guard like OG. That’s what he has to guard. like oh because dudes from now OG and not even OG too um sometimes OG but who made it to the western Bridges Bridges Bridges guarding him I think with the center that made it I mean the power forward that made it to the championship there seven foot on the east what was his name he came from Toronto ain’t that the center power forward who Pascal Pascal that’s who that’s who have to guard him Jesus Christ he is skinn no op toppin is the Pascin is skinnier OB to is big taller the bench start Pascal started at the four and that’s M turn started at a five and who’s a three Nimhart Nimart that’s who has to guard him not even got clamp he’s too small like he’s trying to fight look what I’m who’s at the three that can guard Zion coming downhill so why is bad for him like Pascal and Pascal before. He make it to the championship. He’s 67 and way skinnier than Zion because he guard every goddamn position. His position for his got to guard towns big ass. Look what he did to Towns for his position being hurt is because he’s exerting too much for the fourman position. Being hurt, you just need to stop eating Threeman position. Like you’re arguing for no reason about nothing. I’m not because I’m saying lose a couple pounds, be at the three. You’re unstopp. You’re goated at the three 66 with a 40-in vertical. You’re a juggernaut. You’re like a more powerful Dwayne Wade coming downhill. There’s nothing stopping you because you’re moving forward. At the four, it kind of makes it hard. Defensively, we’re not talking about offense. We’re talking about defensively. It puts too much energy on him. At the three, he has no one that really gives him anything. Nothing. At the three, like Jaylen Williams has to guard him. like from like it’s good defender but this boy is he a problem at the three I agree the three that’s I think he has no match up at the three got to go big you go big you got to go big put him at the three you protect you protect him defensively you you much he don’t have you put a shooting four out there you put a stretch four out there what’s the top three small forwards in the league I know top I mean I mean top five like top five small forwards uh you’re going to have Brown you’re going to have Leonard Kawad Kawhai. Yeah. Kawhai played a four sometimes, too. But he’s a three. Everybody’s a three. Start at the three. Who? Oh, Mo. No, man. Stay out of Suge. Shut up. See who? Think about Cleveland. Look, who has to guard him? What’s the um the white dude? Oh, they just trade. Okay. Um um him. Dean or No, not Dean. Wade. No, not him. M uh Bruce. Uh Bruce. Max, that’s who has to guard him. Max from Miami. That’s who has to guard him at the three. That’s what she beat, man. That’s easy work, man. It’s a better Yeah. Yeah. And this Yeah, it’s a better situation. So, we asked, but he has to lose weight for that. No, he has a problem. He has I don’t think he do. We asked the chat, “Will the Pelicans make the playoffs?” I don’t think he do. 51% of the chat said no. You You don’t think he has to lose any? 19% of the chat said yes. You’re a problem, dog. You just got to got to keep moving. Somehow just got to try to stay healthy as much as he possibly can. But the way he plays, man, he just exerts so much energy and force, man. Every time it’s a possibility, man. This NBA hurts him. If he was in old NBA, 90s, early 2000s before when they was lifting weights and keeping the muscle strong, I don’t think he’ll be injured as much. I treat him as Giannis. Treat him as put the ball in his hand, man. Like I put the ball in his hand. Yeah. Like let him go make plays because he hell of a passer. I’m have go make plays. Um Yeah. Like that it’s it’s it reminds me of the like Lamar ODM style. Just even Magic Johnson or Braun, right? Because you can pass the ball, right? And you’re you’re unselfish. I rather put the ball in your hand. Let you make plays. Yeah. You got a better Right. Cuz if you come downhill, they mess up on that downhill, you dunking that ball. Yeah. Right. I wouldn’t I wouldn’t you coming off down screens and I’m passing you isoing like none of your momentum is there. Just you just keep it all like if you you see any kind of steam just come at it. That that’s how I’ll be. I want them cuz they got to cuz they got they always on the back heel they got to be getting hurt from. What have been his injuries? Hamstrings. Hamstrings. Hamstring man. A lot a lot. Yeah, just little But yeah, them hamstrings getting off. Yeah, that explosion trying to Yeah, because you know you can do it. You know you can get there. Go from here to there. You just That’s what you rely on. Like instead of like And I get it. Like that’s it’s tough not to. When get tough, you going to go back to your roots or what you know. How can you fix that? By playing. Don’t that mean like too much sitting and going? Yeah. It just seems like it’s like like I think that’s how you pull some when dead ass. You when you don’t play and then you try to get out there and do a hunt. Like what’s so funny is when you think about Achilles injuries, right? What group of people usually get those stop playing basketball for a long ass time and then they just and then they come out. They come out and y’all hooping. So when you start looking at like what happened to Rick? Huh? Oh no. Okay. But like like Jason Tatum’s like, “Damn, you you was conditioned all year.” So that’s, you know, that’s just wear and tear. Yeah. It’s just wear and tear. Could be understanding too much rest or no rest. Understanding that these calves, man, y’all got to rest. Y’all got to do cal. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Too much rest and then and or no rest, not enough rest leads to that for some of these guys, man. No, Zia is just it’s the way he plays the game and it’s unfortunately man like that’s who he is. He’s an explosive. What got him drafted number one, what got him all the notoriety is all of these things. It just so happens at the highest level. It’s a lot of attention on him now. And appreciate he wants to play, but it’s just the way he plays the game. It’s We said that last season. If I could play back to backs, I would play back to back. My employer don’t want me to play back to back. Yes. You got to I think Yeah. I think he goes out and play, man. And you deal with whatever comes with it. But he just got to look at it. What whatever you’ve done this this thus far, it it ain’t it. Yeah. Right. All that that’s going on with your with outside stuff, work related issues, it hasn’t helped to the success. Yeah. That means cancel it all. Got to switch something. Regroup all of it. Just hand in the work it hey work the BMA all of it just look at it all and just say you know what I’m getting rid of all of it I don’t want to see nobody right now I need to tap in I’m sitting in the gym all summer and I’m coming back and then who I let in one by one into this door of my new life than I I am other than that man you have to scrub because it ain’t it ain’t done nothing it’s just a big ass headache one after other right it’s you’re not regular Right. You’re not a regular dude and you know everybody you meet has an angle at this point and you know what I mean? It’s everybody figure they got a solution on try to try to how they can help him. Mhm. Still tap in just one year. Just one year. So you can see like that one year, man. Just all distractions gone. And do you think like it’s cardiovascular? You think he need like maybe need to like run more? You think he get tired and and it’s his muscles fatigue fast? I just Oh, I’m just trying to Okay. So, did you ever play with uh you played with Melo, right? Yeah. And Melo’s body type looks like it can How much did he do outside of practice? He just worked on his game. It wasn’t like he went on like runs and like he wasn’t doing three minute runs and like that after practice. No, he was working on his craft. Like he was working on his spots and after practice before, but he was practicing the whole practice. Didn’t want to come out of practice never. And just worked on his out like he was constantly working on his his his spots, right? Constantly. So, it’s it’s that, but he practiced still. So, like um Al Harrington was like he said what he would do is like let’s say he’s going to Atlanta and he’s like man I love eating Atlanta food. He said, “So before the plane, I’mma just get on the treadmill, do two miles, right? I’m gonna do two miles on the treadmill. I’m not eating none of the food on the plane.” He said, “I’m not snacking so I can use my calories, you know, body.” Yeah. You got to know your body type. And sometimes like I even said it when he first came into everybody thought I was hating, but I’m like, if this is what he weighs now, man, when he gets to the NBA, it’s not college. College, you you practicing two and a half hours. like you doing conditioning like this is the smallest he’s gonna be. NBA is different. But I gained I I gained damn near 15 pounds just drinking Gatorade. I had to get the G2 then dilute that because I was drinking four Gatorades a day. You were just doubling up on the G2s or Yeah. So I took the G. So I took four G2 and then I poured that out. Poured half of it out and put water. So I only had one two but great G2. Put the electrolytes in it. Like it was just oh that’s nasty because I was gaining weight and didn’t know what that what I was gaining weight from. So do Draymond Draymond came in fat to them. Yeah but you gota but you got to understand that man you got listen we think about how we we are during the season plane ride we going to eat that So we gonna be drinking, talk Then city to city, we drinking, eating, having fun, coming in 3:00 a.m. ordering room, serving. Let me get the burger. Let me Sometimes, let me get the salmon and this little salad, right? We We try it, but you feel like we going to burn it. We playing 38 minutes if we ain’t burn. We ain’t burning nothing. Just gaining weight during the season. So he really had to be mindful. Definitely got to be mindful of it. Well, we hope it works off. Looking forward to him having a successful season next year. Let’s keep this thing moving. So we talked about Kon Looney earlier looking like

Gilbert Arenas’ INSANE Idea To Save Zion Williamson’s Career as Gilbert Arenas & The Gil’s Arena Crew preview a pivotal season for Zion & The New Orleans Pelicans as the young superstar looks to make the NBA Playoffs for the first time in his NBA Career and discuss how a potential change of position would redefine Zion’s place on the court. They break down how Zion staying away from distractions and keeping his weight down can change everything and highlight how a switch to the SF position will turn the former Duke Blue Devil into a more explosive version on Dwyane Wade.

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