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His Pels career so far have been plagued by rumours that he's going to leave, he's spoken about how these rumours have caused his family to be chased around by Pels fans, and when those things haven't been happening, he's either been injured or had people taking jabs at his appearance. On top of that, he's been involved in all of the general issues that all the Pels have felt: turnover with the FO, turnover with the coaching, etc. He's mentioned multiple times that he's been having tough times mentally and physically since being drafted.
This is the first season, I think, that he's going into
1) In clear good shape, with no major injuries that we know of, and having been able to do full training over the summer
2) With continuity on the court, FO, and coaching staff
3) A huge contract extension signed, securing his future regardless of injury, taking a lot of pressure off
4) Extremely vocal veteran support from CJ and Nance who have themselves stressed the importance of being open and more present in the media
I'd be more open and engaged too
Basketball.
People will say that the nitpicking and shaming done by local fans and national media was wrong, and it probably was. I honestly dont think we see THIS Zion without it.
I know people are running around, trying to clown Perkins or Windy or whoever was saying that Zion had one foot out the door and wasnt all in on New Orleans and/or his body, but all that stuff was true at the time. Then, over about two months, the majority of fans turned on Zion, JJ called him out, CJ said he wasnt answering, etc and the kid legit got scared he wasnt getting that big second contract and got humbled real quick. The family tucked its tail and started working with the organization more, and the rest is history.
Did some of the jabs go too far? Yeah, fat jokes arent cool. But without all that, I dont think you see a 5 year extension with no options and a "best shape of his life" Zion today
Potentially.
OR, the kid wasn't able to do the thing that drives his absolute soul for an entire season and so decided to get in shape to ensure that wouldn't happen again REGARDLESS of contract issues, and is over-the-moon excited just to step on the court again; (players vary as too how much they actually love the game, and IMO, Z is towards the very top of the list.) Combined with the POSITIVE reinforcement and advice (as opposed to the negative) he received from CJ and Nance, COMBINED with the inspiration provided by a new incredible coach who cares about his players and the stability of having him return, COMBINED with the fact that he and his family bore witness to new evidence NO FO may be far more competent than they were previously letting on with the drafting of three sensational rookies and the amazing trades for Jonas and CJ which stabilized the future AND which were selected to complement Zion's skillset, COMBINED with the obvious crazy potential the team showed by making it to the playoffs despite an atrocious start to the season and giving the number one team in the whole league a run for its money without him even being there for it.
OR could be some combination of both... We tend to psychologically project onto others what motivates us, so if shame and negative feedback provides the motivating mechanism by which someone is forced to reevaluate and reassess their own choices, they assume it must work the same for others.
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