Barkley On Zion: He’ll Have To Adjust

Charles Barkley knows far more about the NBA than we do so we won’t argue with him when he says it’s going to be a tough adjustment for Zion Williamson. We would only make a few points.

First, if the idea is positionless basketball he should do okay. People have to guard him too.

Second, while we think he was fit at his college weight, we’re sure that any NBA team is going to work hard to get him to his absolute peak of conditioning. Could he play at his listed 285? Probably. Would losing 10 or 15 pounds hurt? It’s hard to say.

His body is so unique that who knows? We’re in uncharted territory when it comes to Williamson’s physique. Not even Barkley knows.

The key figure is his body fat and while we don’t know what his body fat is we saw a shirtless picture earlier this year and he looked quite fit.

Still, if he dropped 10-15 what would that do to his vertical? At Duke it was said to be 45-46 inches; his high school coach says it’s closer to 50.

Third, having watched him face down point guards in college and run down blocks after getting beat, we think he’s quick enough to guard a lot more guys than people think.