Zion Joins Jordan Brand

[langfor5]

Jordan Brand's problem has been while the models have performed pretty well none of them have been visually appealing which leads to zero off court appeal.

In the case of Kawhi I wonder if that was more reluctantly on him, at that stage of his career that he did not want to be a part of any advertising campaigns.

 

[Deleted member 170883]

trash. bust. role player

 

[160jordansdeep]

He’s going to end up like all the other Jordan brand players over the years

 

[wayniac211]

“Air Zion”. Can’t get any higher than that

 

[Magic33]

JB also somehow had arguably the best player in the league currently (Kawhi) and basically did absolutely nothing with him. I get he was never going to be as marketable as LeBron but they could have done more with him than simply releasing a pair of super limited AJ 1 mids and calling it a day.

He wasn't the best player then, has no personality and he played in San Antonio

They were right to let him go.

 

[wackazz]

Nicekicks killed it with this post lol

 

[staffsgtdignam]

He wasn't the best player then, has no personality and he played in San Antonio

They were right to let him go.

Kobe wasn’t the best player but Adidas let him go. JB did the exact same thing with Kawhi.

KD and Russ played in OKC so small market teams can still be marketable if the player is good enough.

I can’t deny that Kawhi has no personality but look at the interest in New Balance he is creating. His New Balance shoes and shirts are actually fetching resell prices. I can’t think of any non-collab, performance New Balance shoes ever reselling.

My main point is that JB signed him and literally did nothing with him aside from that one, limited AJ 1 release. Yet they put out shoes by CP3 and a washed Melo-what sense does that make?

 

[JRepp23]

As far as personality, Zion seems very likable. Always smiles, so thats gonna be easy to market a fun loving type of kid. I just hope his play does the speaking on the court. I dont think they will have trouble marketing him. The shoe HAS to stand out from the rest though. Its a perfect opportunity for JB here.

 

[ceo insane]

I can’t deny that Kawhi has no personality but look at the interest in New Balance he is creating. His New Balance shoes and shirts are actually fetching resell prices. I can’t think of any non-collab, performance New Balance shoes ever reselling.

Only because they pinched units to create faux demand. Most brands run this scheme for the new guys. I don’t see his first national FSR launch hitting re-sale, most b-ball releases aren’t these days.

Kawhi didn’t want the promos, no China trips, no social media but wanted a big raise, own sig line with royalties, company stake with full sponsorships.

 

[staffsgtdignam]

Only because they pinched units to create faux demand. Most brands run this scheme for the new guys. I don’t see his first national FSR launch hitting re-sale, most b-ball releases aren’t these days.

Oh for sure, nowhere in my comment did I deny any of this.

But, as a brand, Kawhi definitely brought renewed interest into New Balance. When Kawhi was on JB, they did little/nothing to market him or even bother to release even a Kawhi PE of the main Air Jordan line (which, ironically, they already had him wearing PE cws).

 

[jadaqwest]

he shouldve signed with nike cause from pg to giannis these guy cant push a signature shoe no buzz nike needed zion cause beside lebron the other signature dont have the hype behind them

 

[Kinfolk]

Kobe wasn’t the best player but Adidas let him go. JB did the exact same thing with Kawhi.

What are you talking about?

Kobe had to pay Adidas $8M to get out of his deal with them.

JB did not do the “exact” same thing with Kawhi.

Kobe had multiple signature sneakers with Adidas, Kawhi had 0.

 

[staffsgtdignam]

What are you talking about?

Kobe had to pay Adidas $8M to get out of his deal with them.

JB did not do the “exact” same thing with Kawhi.

Kobe had multiple signature sneakers with Adidas, Kawhi had 0.

Right, I was referring to Kobe not being in his prime when he was with Adidas and Adidas not retaining him by mismanaging the partnership. I apologize, I realize I worded that poorly-Adidas did the “exact” same thing in that situation by not coming to terms with Kobe, which is what happened with JB and Kawhi.

 

[ekhunter]

shoulda signed with nike, jb will ruin the shoe and make it lame, they will nvr let someone or their shoe outshine the king jordan

 

[aj27526]

Agreed, move makes 0 sense, sign with Nike, create your own brand/legacy, you never topping MJ"s legacy when you on JB. Air Zion 1's sound way cooler than Jordan Shootaround Zion 1's.

Nike is too slammed. Lebron, Kobe, KD, PG, and now Giannis all with signatures. Zion doesn’t have to worry about topping a legacy, Jordan Brand is wide open for him to LEAD the charge of JB becoming more than just MJ. Absolutely no one in his way over there. Nike is loaded.. Zion can be THE dude at Jordan Brand. Wonderful signing for both

 

[Kinfolk]

Jordan Brand has a legacy of signing really really good players and not generational talents.

They started humble with Michael Finley, Eddie Jones, Ron Mercer, Darius Miles, Q Rich etc.

Then there’s like the Melo, CP3, Blake Griffin, Russ era with Russ being the most successful on court winning an MVP ( and having the best non-MJ sig to date with the WNZ2).

I hate to be negative here but I have a feeling that Zion has a more Blake Griffin type of career... which isn’t a failure by any measure but it falls short of the hype.

My guess is Nike feels similar to that and they had a meeting and were just like “let’s throw him on JB, if he revives it, that’s a huge win because outside of retros people don’t buy Jordan’s like they used to, if he sucks we’re not in an Adidas Derek Rose nightmare situation where we have to put out a signature model for the life of the contract regardless of performance.”

 

[RustyShackleford]

I'm glad JB is signing new talent, but they need to sign better designers as well.

 

[ninjahood]

I hope they end up better than CP3, Melo and Blake

melo had a good run wit JB thou...

 

[staffsgtdignam]

melo had a good run wit JB thou...

If that’s the case, why don’t we see any retros of Melo’s signature, performance shoes?

 

[staffsgtdignam]

I'm glad JB is signing new talent, but they need to sign better designers as well.

This x1000

What was the last great model JB even put out that was relevant to streetwear/casual wear? They had some great performance models like the XX9 but none of the recent models have any lifestyle crossover.

 

[aj27526]

We have. The 1.5s

And if anyone was in it back then, those 1.5s and ESPECIALLY the 5.5 saw tons of court and casual wear. No reason the same can’t happen again.

I look at NCAA feet. Jordan brand schools adore CPs line. It’s quiet, not a lot of buzz, but they’re constantly on foot

 

[wayniac211]

melo had a good run wit JB thou...

He did but his kicks were basura

 

[aj27526]

This x1000

What was the last great model JB even put out that was relevant to streetwear/casual wear? They had some great performance models like the XX9 but none of the recent models have any lifestyle crossover.

There is nothing that can’t be worn with a hoodie, some M&N shorts and white nike crews lol

 

[ilike turtles]

Nicekicks killed it with this post lol

That lean tho

 

[Xennial]

7 years for only $75 mil, $15 mil less than Lebron's rookie deal with Nike in 2003. If Zion was a real 1 he would've signed with BBB