Will Guillory
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
No, what's funny is I was at the arena last night. I was joking with a buddy of mine telling him that I was going to be on the show. And I was like, yeah, man, I get to go on the show. And it's like, these guys are lucky because they chose the best week ever to be Pelican super fans. You got to see.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
zion come back you got to see cj score 50 yeah i know we've been suffering through all of these losses and you guys just come through and get to see great basketball and then that happened last night so you gotta you got the full pelicans experience you got to see zion be great you got to see eight people out and then lose by 30 so it was the complete experience
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I think, you know, in short, no, there's no way they should be this bad. I think, you know, I kind of break the season up into segments because, you know, earlier in the season around November, that's when literally everybody was out. And it was like the starting lineup was like Brandon Ingram, Brandon Boston, Jeremiah Robinson, Earl.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Like it was literally Brandon Ingram and a bunch of G leaguers. And they were really bad during that time. But they would get a win like here and there. And then it got to the point where. DeJounte Murray came back. CJ McCollum came back. Herb Jones came back. Trey Murphy came back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
So it looked like night to night they were able to put a legit starting five out there, multiple guys making like $20 million a year. And it felt like they got worse during that time. Like they were playing probably their worst basketball during that time. That's when DeJounte Murray, you know, had back-to-back games or career highs and turnovers. Trey Murphy was going through it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Herb Jones' shooting was down. And I think that's when it was like, man, this is really bad. Because you kind of look at November like, okay, once they get past this, they'll be able to figure it out a little bit. But that's when it got really, really bad. And I think they've kind of ticked up a little bit. Like we've joked about, it's great to have back-to-back games against the Wizards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
That's a good way to kind of pick up morale. But, yeah, I think... it has been much worse than I expected it to be, particularly when they got most of these guys back, because this is the team that is going to be moving forward. Right. You're going to have the Janta. You're going to have Trey Murphy, Herb Jones with Z. Of course, you always got to deal with the questions about his injuries.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
But these are the guys they've invested in long term. And it just hasn't looked very good early on. Um, Maybe it gets better over time. Guys get to build some chemistry. DeJounte Murray's going through some stuff right now. But it's been really disappointing December on just how much they've struggled with most of their main guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
How do you anticipate like so many?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think the number one thing is what you guys saw this week is them getting Zion Williamson back. Above all, that's the main priority is getting him on the court, seeing if he can last the rest of the season, how good he plays with his core. I think David Griffin, I would bet he's probably going to stick around. I think they like a lot of the stuff he's done with
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
outside of zion williamson you know drafting trey murphy drafting herb jones finding a bunch of these you know supporting cast guys uh i think you know and he's got done a pretty good job as far as finding people under him and doing it doing a lot of little stuff that they felt like wasn't getting done with dell dumps uh but i think willie green is going to be the big question during the second half of the season just because like we said he's had to deal with so much injury bad luck during the first half of the season i think it was tough for anybody to really look at you know
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
the job he was doing and say, man, this guy is the reason that they're losing these games. But I think you've got to be able to build on something during the second half of the season. You've got to be able to have, you know, more games like they had against the Wizards and less like they had against the Blazers with Zion out there, with these guys figuring something out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think, you know, if it continues on the trend that they're on right now, I would bet Willie Green won't be there next year. They'll probably end up going into a different direction. But I think they're going to try to give him a chance. They want to believe in Willie Green. I think one of the reasons they hired him was they wanted to invest in a young coach and have him be there long term.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
That's something that this ownership really believes in. But I think it's really tough when you're this bad, when you got what they felt like was a talented roster.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
My bet would be probably B.I. I think that's the guy I've consistently said is the most likely to get traded. I think, you know, just overall, I've been one of the guys that's been very skeptical when it comes to these big money guys getting traded before the deadline, whether it's B.I. or Jimmy Butler or you can go down the list.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think, you know, with these these new, you know, CBA rules, it's just really difficult for some of these teams to. to make moves in season and avoid the apron, kind of tie their hands down to some of these guys. And I think it's just easier to be a little bit more flexible during the offseason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
But I think with B.I., my bet was, you know, once we get closer to the deadline around February, I'm thinking that at the very least somebody will jump in and say, hey, we'll pick this guy up for a run order to make a run in the playoffs. We'll see what it looks like in the offseason just because I think he's getting closer to getting healthier.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
You know, he's been doing some stuff on the court lately. I think his hope would be to obviously get back on the court and show that he can play and kind of, you know, show some of the teams out there that he's worth trade for before the deadline. But I think. It's just tough right now around the league just because nobody has cast space in the offseason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I recently did a back-and-forth with our guy John out in Minnesota about the big question with this new CBA is how much is a Brandon Ingram worth if he's not a max player? We can look now and say, all right, the Brandon Ingrams are Julius Randles of the world. They're probably not max guys if that pushes you into the second apron. So if they're not, then what are they?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
How much should you be paying these guys? And I think it's a real big question right now that a lot of people are having a tough time answering. And I think it's particularly tough for those guys because they're sitting around thinking, hey, I've done this. I got all-star on my resume. I've had big playoff moments. Why are guys treating me like I'm unwanted?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
And I think a lot of it is just the uncertainty about what the future is going to look like for these guys. And I think That's what makes it really tough for the Pels right now, trying to figure out, you know, how they're going to handle this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think the two big ones that I've heard, I would say San Antonio is a team I think a lot of people are looking at saying, okay, when is San Antonio going to make that move to get Wimby's co-star in there? Obviously, we've heard about De'Aaron Fox being a possibility. People are throwing Jimmy Butler out there. I think that might be a little bit far-fetched.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
We all kind of see they're going to make a move at some point. I don't know if it'll be as early as this season, but they got to get a true number two next to Wimby if they're going to be a legit playoff team. And I think also another interesting one is maybe Orlando. I've heard some whispers about Orlando. I think, you know, obviously Miami is lurking with the Jimmy Butler thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think there are a few teams out there, but I think the big question is which one of these teams are going to be willing to sign him to the next contract. I think it's going to be the big question. You know, we heard over the summer that Utah was a team that was interested in him, but B.I. wasn't interested in signing another contract with Utah. So they kind of backed off at that point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
So I think that's going to, you know—
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
dictate a lot of this is where can he go where he can feel like he's a part of a winning situation and want to sign that next contract and also the pals get some type of value for him in return uh if i i would bet it probably comes all the way down to the deadline uh just to get all of those dots to line up yeah what would be the return from orlando like what's the thought there
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Ah, man, I think, you know, probably you would want to throw in maybe some, I would say contract-wise, I would think Jonathan Isaac would have to be in there, maybe Cole Anthony, something like that. I doubt Katavius Caldwell-Pope would be involved just because he's got a few more years left on that contract.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think that one might be a little bit more far-fetched just because I don't know if they want to invest that amount of money in a B.I., Franz, Paolo contract. Yeah. Trio because it feels a little redundant. But I mean, that's kind of the point I'm making overall. I think the options are very limited for B.I.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
where he can go in a team with willing to invest in him and he can feel like I can win here. I just don't think there are a whole lot of options out there for him right now. And I think maybe there'll be some more clarity as, you know, we get closer to February and the team pops up and says, all right, we've got a legit chance if we trade for a B.I. But the list looks pretty short right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think CJ will probably be a little less just because he's got another year left on his contract at $30 million. Any team trading for him is like, okay, how open are we to having CJ on our books at $30 million next year? A team I've kind of looked at with CJ that makes some sense in my head is like a Houston team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Where they can kind of add that money to their books and still feel like, you know, they can keep most of their young guys. And then, you know, basically the same thing they're doing with Fred VanVleet this year is like, okay, we can remove that contract and be able to spend more money on our core guys and kind of do the same thing with CJ next year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
But I think it'll be that type of move where a team's looking at that one veteran piece to push them over. But I think having an extra year on CJ contract makes it a little tougher. I think him playing as well as he has obviously kind of makes it a little bit more appealing for some of these teams to be like, hey, this dude just dropped 50 a couple days ago.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
He can obviously contribute at a high level. But again, it's just about the finances and making these contracts work so you're not kind of tying your hands in the way you build out the rest of your roster.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I tell you, just in general, I would say activity. He plays extremely hard on a nightly basis, and he's a great athlete. So just having him flying around the way he does, he's already an excellent offensive rebounder. I think he's one of the better offensive rebounders in the league day one as soon as he stepped in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think he's very versatile defensively, where I think when they had Jonas Valanciunas, they were a very drop-heavy team, and that can limit you in certain matchups. And I think this he could play drop. He can step up. He can switch. I think that's one of the things they really liked about him going into the draft, being able to play those different defensive coverages.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
And I think, you know, hearing from people around the team, what they've all talked about is just his IQ for the game, which was a little bit surprising how quickly he picks up things and how they're able to throw a lot on his plate. And he kind of they don't have to go over things, you know, with him repeatedly, which is super impressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I mean, this guy just started playing basketball when he was like 15, 16 years old. So he's still learning the game in a lot of ways. And they feel like, you know, there's no hesitation about, you know, bringing him along quickly and teaching him all these different things because he picks it up really well. So I think that's really impressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think the one thing for him is, you know, a lot of these centers in today's NBA, you got to be very, fluid in the dribble handoff game, being able to handle the ball, make those backdoor passes, being comfortable on the perimeter, moving around with the ball. And I think he's decent with that right now, but I think he'll get better over time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think he's comfortable, you know, facing the basket and doing stuff with the ball. But I think, you know, just getting more experience doing that and making the right decisions. I think that'll be the next step in his game because they like, you know, him being involved in that way on offense. They don't think he's a guy that's that they're just going to hide in the dunker spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
He can do some stuff at the top of the key, but I think it's just about getting more experience with that and kind of cutting out some of those mistakes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Listen, I've been having it open during games. That's just my thing now. Whenever there's another air ball, I just click the randomizer one more time and just see where it lands.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
That's been one of the more interesting things about looking at this draft because there are so many very different types of players at the top of the draft. We've heard that everybody basically loves all of these guys at the top of the draft, but I think Cooper Flagg is very different from Ace Bailey, who's very different from Dylan Harper, who's very different from Vijay Edgecombe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
So I think I look at a lot of these guys and say, like you're saying, how does it fit when you feel like you kind of have an idea of what the starting five is going to look like next year? I think for me, the guy that I probably like the most would be Dylan Harper. Just kind of having that point guard you can build around next to Zion Williamson. I mean, we can get into the Jante Murray.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I think overall it's been a pretty disappointing experience up to this point. Some of that, you know, was out of his, you know, not his fault with the breaking his hand the first game of the season. He's got some stuff going on off the court. But I think, you know, in today's league, you've got to have an elite level guard. to be able to compete with some of these top teams.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
And I just feel like night to night, the Pells are lacking in that area. And I think being able to take that home run swing with a guy like Dylan Harper and hoping that's a guy you can build with next design Williamson, I think will make a lot of sense. And I think a guy like Ace Bailey might be a little bit more risky when you already have a Herb Jones and a Trey Murphy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
So yeah, I'm really a big fan of Dylan Harper. And I think Vijay Edgecombe is another guy I'm really interested in With the Pels, another defensive guy, great athlete, great motor. I think he's a guy that that would really just fit in. And I think that's something that the Pels, you know, it's crazy to say a team that might, you know, lose 50, 60 games this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
They need a guy to just step in and fit in instead of being a guy that's going to come in and try to be an all star. And I think P.J. Edgecombe. would be really good with the rest of these guys to kind of bring the energy that they need next to Herb Jones. But to be real, I mean, any of these guys would be great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
You know, you add any of these guys at the top of the draft and you feel pretty good about what you could do going forward.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Well, I don't know if we get to the trivia this early, but I love it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
And I feel like every time we do it, it's very dramatic, the matchups between me and Andrew. It is. It always is. It always comes down to like a buzzer. Oh, I'm a little stressed out. Starting to sweat a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
As always, I got to start off with number seven. Shout out to the seven ward.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Every day. Every day. Every day.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
No days off when it comes to these hot chocolates. No days off for the hot chocolate. Oh, wow. 15-16 all-star game. Made five All-Stars, so this is a guy that's really good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, this is a very good basketball player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Oh, man. I'm just drawing a complete blank. I can't even lie to you. I'm going to go with... This is going to be completely off. I'll just say Victor Oladipo. I know he didn't make that many all-star games, but that's the only name that's popping into my head.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Maybe Rasul Butler? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Oh, my God. I was literally, I swear to God, I was going to say Dan Dickow. Dan Dickow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
We were just talking about Dan Dickow at a game not that long ago. I'm so upset. I'm really upset.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Oh, I'm so upset right now. Let's go number two. Number two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Oh, wow. Most blocks as a rookie. This is a good one. Maybe. I don't know if he played enough as a rookie, but maybe Jackson Hayes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Number two. Oh, man. Big guys who are rookies. Maybe David West.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I thought about Herb. Dang it. I wanted to say Herb, but I thought I was going to be wrong.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
God, I really hope so because I tweeted this during the game, so it's going to look really crazy if I get this wrong. But I believe the answer is Jamal Mashburn.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I looked at that box score not too long ago. That was the Pau Gasol Grizzlies.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Number five, please.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Jeez Louise. So this was pre-Anthony Davis, is that right? Oh, God. The previously mentioned... No, I won't go there. Um...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Dan Dickow. Dan Dickow is the answer. Geez. Really, this is sad that I don't remember one guy from the 2011-12 New Orleans Pelicans. I'm going to go with my first mind. The previously mentioned Jason Smith. Was he on that team?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Oh, I got you. I got you. I got you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I'm going to throw a name out there and say Gustavo Ayon. Okay. Gustavo Aion was the name I remember from that era. Did you second guess? Oh, man.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Oh, yeah. I was a big Gustavo Aion guy. Man, I really don't remember any of these dudes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I'm going to throw Brian Roberts out there as one. And I'm going to throw... These are all such deep cuts. I'm telling you, these are the names that were going on around that era. And I know this is wrong. I'm going to just throw Tyreek Evans out there. I'm pretty sure that one's wrong.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I don't know. I'm thinking of a completely different name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I'm going to go with the number one overall pick, Zachary Resache.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I was going to throw out Bub Carrington.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
It's a defensive battle going on right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Two players taking more than eight threes per game. Um, number one, I'll go with, wow, this is tough because you think a lot of the top shooting guys, but how many of them have a second guy that attempts that many? Number one, I'll go with the Warriors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Tatum, White, and Holiday, maybe?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Norm is having a year, man.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I'm going to go higher. I would have guessed 31 maybe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
Another heartbreaker for Will.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Time for Zion to go? + Cade Cunningham MIP? | Slam N Jam
I appreciate you guys. It's official now. There's no way the wheel can send you any lower than you've been the last two weeks. Congratulations, guys. It's only up from here. That's right. Fast forward now to y'all getting the wizards on the wheels. We're going to get the wizards on the wheels.