2017-2018 Draft Prospects watch.

[sunsfan88]

okay... so, Stef said there are reports that Doncic is more 6'6 than 6'8... maybe I've been thinking about him a little wrong. Would that put him more in the James Harden mode? Harden's not a super-athlete but he IS athletic and has a craftiness to his game. Maybe that's the best comparison, high ceiling-wise for Doncic?

Harden even as a prospect had some of the best ball handling ability and ability to draw fouls ever seen.

 

[SirStefan32]

Without looking at stats, I'd say Harden was an outstanding shooter even in his first year. Doncic isn't as good of a shooter, but he could get there. Best-case scenario, Harden might be a good comparison. But that's REALLY the best-case scenario. I am pretty high on Doncic, but I don't see him being as good as Harden.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Without looking at stats, I'd say Harden was an outstanding shooter even in his first year. Doncic isn't as good of a shooter, but he could get there. Best-case scenario, Harden might be a good comparison. But that's REALLY the best-case scenario. I am pretty high on Doncic, but I don't see him being as good as Harden.

Harden is a good shooter, but I think you may be overrating his shooting a bit. He has been under 39% from 3 in all but one of his years in the NBA and was 37% for his two years in college. Sure Doncic is having a down year in that regard, but I don't think there is really that big of a gap in their shooting. Especially comparing them around the same age.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

okay... so, Stef said there are reports that Doncic is more 6'6 than 6'8... maybe I've been thinking about him a little wrong. Would that put him more in the James Harden mode? Harden's not a super-athlete but he IS athletic and has a craftiness to his game. Maybe that's the best comparison, high ceiling-wise for Doncic?

Watching some film, to me Doncic looks like Pre Injury Penny Hardaway

 

[Cheesebeef]

Watching some film, to me Doncic looks like Pre Injury Penny Hardaway

uh... chris, is that film being sped up in fast motion?!

There's no comparing those two guys' game, IMO. Penny was one of those athletic freaks. Fast and ridiculously explosive. Doncic ain't close to that level of athleticism and it was Penny's innate bball skills plus his quicks and hops that made him special.

 

[GatorAZ]

uh... chris, is that film being sped up in fast motion?!

There's no comparing those two guys' game, IMO. Penny was one of those athletic freaks. Fast and ridiculously explosive. Doncic ain't close to that level of athleticism and it was Penny's innate bball skills plus his quicks and hops that made him special.

Yeah as a Doncic guy there’s little comparison physically. Penny could easily get wherever he wanted on the court. Productive post-microfracture Penny might be a good comp.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Yeah as a Doncic guy there’s little comparison physically. Penny could easily get wherever he wanted on the court. Productive post-microfracture Penny might be a good comp.

Man... if that’s good comp it just leaves me even more co. Dude’s about the hype.

Productive Post-Op Penny was a good player... think 16.7/6/6 but far from great.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Yeah as a Doncic guy there’s little comparison physically. Penny could easily get wherever he wanted on the court. Productive post-microfracture Penny might be a good comp.

Yikes. That is NOT first pick material.

 

[hsandhu]

I'm trying to talk my self into not being pissed if doncic is the pick, since the suns will have one of the top picks.... And all the nba writers/nerds treat doncic like he is a god, and has to be one of the top picks.

I heard Bill Simmons and the nerd who works for the ringer compare him to bird!

I just don't see that level of hype, but if he can guard pgs in the nba... Maybe I can be talked into it.

Mainly because I think he is clearly a better prospect than ball, bigger, seems as fast, shiftier and can score from everywhere with a non messed up form.

Can he reach ginobili in 2005 level, I would doubt it, but if so then im excited. Ginobil in 2005 was a top ten player, who murdered the suns

 

[Hoop Head]

I'm trying to talk my self into not being pissed if doncic is the pick, since the suns will have one of the top picks.... And all the nba writers/nerds treat doncic like he is a god, and has to be one of the top picks.

I heard Bill Simmons and the nerd who works for the ringer compare him to bird!

I just don't see that level of hype, but if he can guard pgs in the nba... Maybe I can be talked into it.

Mainly because I think he is clearly a better prospect than ball, bigger, seems as fast, shiftier and can score from everywhere with a non messed up form.

Can he reach ginobili in 2005 level, I would doubt it, but if so then im excited. Ginobil in 2005 was a top ten player, who murdered the suns

I like that comparison, to Ginobli. I think that is fair also. If he could be as good as Ginobli at his peak then he'll be a solid player and I could live with that. I still like Ayton and Bagley ahead of Doncic though. He's the one player I haven't been able to convince myself would be a good fit. I'd only take him ahead of Jaren Jackson and Michael Porter because I've convinced myself that Ayton, Bagley, Bamba, and Young would be great fits for the Suns. By the time Jackson's stock went on the rise I was looking at the top 3 picks for the Suns and I don't think he should be one of them. Porter's injury scared me off from him early on but his return is promising, he wouldn't be playing unless he were healthy because he was still going in the top 10 even with that injury.

I'd rather have Trae Young than Doncic but I think if a GM made that selection they would be asking to get fired, and probably would be unless Young can play great to start and wins Rookie of the Year. I really like the idea of pairing Young and Booker together in the backcourt and was sold on that earlier this season when the Suns looked like they would be picking around #5-#8. That's also when I sold myself on Bamba as the player to take if Young was off the board or the Suns added a PG another way.

 

[SirStefan32]

I'm trying to talk my self into not being pissed if doncic is the pick, since the suns will have one of the top picks.... And all the nba writers/nerds treat doncic like he is a god, and has to be one of the top picks.

I heard Bill Simmons and the nerd who works for the ringer compare him to bird!

I just don't see that level of hype, but if he can guard pgs in the nba... Maybe I can be talked into it.

Mainly because I think he is clearly a better prospect than ball, bigger, seems as fast, shiftier and can score from everywhere with a non messed up form.

Can he reach ginobili in 2005 level, I would doubt it, but if so then im excited. Ginobil in 2005 was a top ten player, who murdered the suns

I am a Doncic fan, but I can tell you right now that he won't be able to do that.

 

[hsandhu]

I am a Doncic fan, but I can tell you right now that he won't be able to do that.

Then why is he even in the discussion for the suns pick? last i checked the sg and sf positions are locked up for the future.

 

[SirStefan32]

Then why is he even in the discussion for the suns pick? last i checked the sg and sf positions are locked up for the future.

Because of his versatility. A lot of players can't guard point guards. Not comparing Doncic to them, but Steve Nash and Magic Johnson couldn't guard a chair. When it comes to quick point guards like Westbrook and Lillard, nobody can guard them anyway. I don't think anyone here would take Doncic over Ayton, but if he is gone, there is no player with no faults. You take a gamble on just about any player.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Because of his versatility. A lot of players can't guard point guards. Not comparing Doncic to them, but Steve Nash and Magic Johnson couldn't guard a chair. When it comes to quick point guards like Westbrook and Lillard, nobody can guard them anyway. I don't think anyone here would take Doncic over Ayton, but if he is gone, there is no player with no faults. You take a gamble on just about any player.

I agree. There’s ayton (who even has warts - he’s not an accomplished defender and despite his success I wonder if he’ll have the overwhelming drive to dominate - all that said I’m salivating over the mere thought of him in purple and orange), and then there is everyone else with warts:

Doncic - position and can he dominate in the nba with his level of athleticism

Bagley - defensive sieve and will he have a well-rounded enough offensive game for today’s nba

Porter - the back, the back, and the back - also fit with the suns (I think for him to truly be dominant he should play a large sf role - will he be diminished playing an undersized-weight wise-pf

Bamba - drive and offensive development

Young - lack of explosiveness and defensive liability

JJJ - lack of playing time - why???

Sexton - outside shot

Mikal bridges - positional glut for suns

Miles bridges - tweener

Carter - high floor low ceiling guy

 

[Hoop Head]

I agree. There’s ayton (who even has warts - he’s not an accomplished defender and despite his success I wonder if he’ll have the overwhelming drive to dominate - all that said I’m salivating over the mere thought of him in purple and orange), and then there is everyone else with warts:

Doncic - position and can he dominate in the nba with his level of athleticism

Bagley - defensive sieve and will he have a well-rounded enough offensive game for today’s nba

Porter - the back, the back, and the back - also fit with the suns (I think for him to truly be dominant he should play a large sf role - will he be diminished playing an undersized-weight wise-pf

Bamba - drive and offensive development

Young - lack of explosiveness and defensive liability

JJJ - lack of playing time - why???

Sexton - outside shot

Mikal bridges - positional glut for suns

Miles bridges - tweener

Carter - high floor low ceiling guy

The Suns would need Porter to put on muscle to play PF for them, which could be a problem because of his back injury. Could his back support another 15 pounds of muscle without aggravating his previous back injury? The Suns already have Jackson and Warren at SF, one will enter his 2nd year and the other his 5th next season. Do you want to add a 3rd player who is a natural SF? Our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best players would all be SF's, which is far from ideal. That's too uneven and is asking for problems. Even if you move Porter to PF because he has the height, how well would he do there? He'd be a stretch 4, which is fine because those are the new type of PF that every team is after but they still need to be capable of banging inside for rebounds defensively. There is no guarantee he'll be on the perimeter guarding another stretch 4 every night. Do you really want to move a player that has already had a back injury into that position? He'd end up being one of the interior defenders and main rebounders defensively for the team if he was played as a PF.

Porter has too many question marks for the Suns to take him. If they fall to #6 or #7 in the draft and he's the last guy left, I think they should see what the trade market for that pick would look like because taking him would be asking for trouble, in numerous ways.

 

[elindholm]

Harden is a good shooter, but I think you may be overrating his shooting a bit. He has been under 39% from 3 in all but one of his years in the NBA and was 37% for his two years in college. Sure Doncic is having a down year in that regard, but I don't think there is really that big of a gap in their shooting. Especially comparing them around the same age.

Harden is hugely overrated. His entire game relies on exaggerating contact so that he can get to the line, which makes players afraid to guard him, which opens up the rest of his arsenal. If NBA officials weren't so indoctrinated into skewing the playing field toward "stars," Harden would be a marginal All-Star, not a top MVP candidate.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Porter... man, a Kid with back issues that young scare the crap out of me... especially because we haven’t even seen him play at any kind of level in college.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Porter... man, a Kid with back issues that young scare the crap out of me... especially because we haven’t even seen him play at any kind of level in college.

Generally I agree. But the fact that he’s back playing already alleviates some of that concern. I mean, it’s a BACK (for those of you who don’t know back injuries run in our family and cheese has had 3 back surgeries) and he’s already not only cleared for workouts, but he already played an NCAA game for a power program. That leads me to believe that the injury may not have been the disaster some of us think of when we hear back injury.

 

[Ronin]

Jon Rothstein
@JonRothstein

Georgia Tech's Josh Okogie will enter the 2018 NBA Draft, but won't hire an agent, per release.

 

[Mainstreet]

Porter... man, a Kid with back issues that young scare the crap out of me... especially because we haven’t even seen him play at any kind of level in college.

Agree on this. Maybe if the Suns could draft Michael Porter with a later pick, not their own, I would consider it.

 

[Mainstreet]

Harden is hugely overrated. His entire game relies on exaggerating contact so that he can get to the line, which makes players afraid to guard him, which opens up the rest of his arsenal. If NBA officials weren't so indoctrinated into skewing the playing field toward "stars," Harden would be a marginal All-Star, not a top MVP candidate.

I used to think Harden was overrated coming out of college. I'm not doubting him any more.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I used to think Harden was overrated coming out of college. I'm not doubting him any more.

same.

 

[Mainstreet]

Then why is he even in the discussion for the suns pick? last i checked the sg and sf positions are locked up for the future.

It would be like the Suns not considering Donovan Mitchell if he were in this draft.

Have to take a step back and then draft BPA.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

So, Young can't get the Sooners out of the first round. Does he drop? Or is there no one to take his spot after 6 or 7?

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

So, Young can't get the Sooners out of the first round. Does he drop? Or is there no one to take his spot after 6 or 7?

This game shouldn't cause his stock to drop. He played really, really well. The rest of that team just isn't good at all.