Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
That's basically it. They're basically setting up their line of attack. Like if JJack said, if Zion comes out slow in his rookie season and doesn't start really lighting it up until December or so (which is entirely possible, and not even a big deal), then they've already set up their targets: it'll be weight, work ethic, discipline, that will be what gets questioned. Then, if he fixes it, they can pretend that all they ever were concerned about is weight and that he fixed it! So there's no backlash if their terrible takes become irrelevant.