2017-2018 Draft Prospects watch.

[Chaplin]

He needs to cut down his turnovers and improve his shot selection but no, I have no reservations about him as a player. I worry only about his slight build and whether it would hold up to life in the NBA. I think he's the closest thing to a "can't miss" prospect in this class.

Can I ask why you think that specifically? Obviously, you don't seem to have any concerns about his issues the second half of the season, and I don't really remember him being on the "can't miss" radar before the college season started. That's a pretty short few months to put him at the "can't miss" category.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Can I ask why you think that specifically? Obviously, you don't seem to have any concerns about his issues the second half of the season, and I don't really remember him being on the "can't miss" radar before the college season started. That's a pretty short few months to put him at the "can't miss" category.

I watched the defensive attention he had to deal with, the physicality he faced and the inability of his teammates to come through on their own. Freshmen often wear down as the season progresses. Especially when they are logging 35+ minutes a game and responsible for most of a team's offense. Defenses were designed to limit his effectiveness and when he passed the ball, his teammates typically did nothing. So he had to force the issue against double and triple teams and an awful lot of banging. IOW, he passes the eye test in a big way.

I like Ayton too and if I were convinced that he could ever live up to his physical gifts, he'd be the easy first pick. As it is, with the way the game has changed, I give a slight edge to Young in the race to future superstar status.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

All I have to say about Doncic is TRAE YOUNG. Call me Traezy but that's the guy I want. Not Doncic, even though I mostly believe in Luka. And anyone can have a bad game.

Liked for "Traezy"

That being said I would be happy with Trae if we are drafting 3rd or 4th and Doncic, Ayton and Bagley are off the board. I highly doubt he doesn't become a very good player at the NBA level.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Liked for "Traezy"

That being said I would be happy with Trae if we are drafting 3rd or 4th and Doncic, Ayton and Bagley are off the board. I highly doubt he doesn't become a very good player at the NBA level.

I can see the case for Ayton first but I'm less interested in Doncic and Bagley, partly due to our needs. If the front office decides any of them is the best player available, I'll have to hope they know what they're talking about. But Chriss, Bender and to a lesser extent Len, leave me with more concerns than confidence.

 

[Hoop Head]

Way to throw some balance in there Chaplin. Sometimes I feel Doncic is held to a standard that other prospects aren't.

I think part of the knock on Doncic is most haven't seen more than Youtube highlights. Youtube videos aren't enough to properly judge talent. Since he plays in Europe it's not as easy for basketball fans to watch complete games with him, especially compared to the other top NCAA prospects this year. You can find some streams of Euro League games but catching them live is more difficult because of the time difference. The quality of the streams are hit or miss also, typically. Finding a good stream is hard enough but finding one with english commentary makes it more difficult as well. You don't need commentary but it add another layer to what you're watching. You can miss a lot of info without the commentary. I'd say commentary is more important when you're watching a league you don't follow regularly. Most people don't know which teams are good, which are bad, who the best players are, any talk of injuries, slumps, etc. Commentary would shed a light on all that.

With Ayton and Bagley most fans have been able to follow them easier than Doncic, especially Suns fans. With Ayton playing for UofA it was pretty easy for most Suns fans to watch him play if they wanted to because UofA games are televised regularly in Arizona. The majority of Suns fans live in Arizona and if they don't live here then they know where to get info on AZ Sports like this site, AZCentral, Fox Sports AZ, Gambo, Scott Bordow, etc.

Bagley being from Tempe has gotten him a bit more coverage by local sports writers here also. Definitely not like Ayton but since he plays for Duke there's been a lot of coverage of them as a team and he is their best player. Duke is probably the college team that gets the most nationally televised games also. They made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament also which helped get Bagley more coverage and exposure.

You seem to be the top Doncic supporter on this board, so I have to ask, how many full games did you watch Doncic play this year? For comparison, how many did you see Bagley or Ayton play?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Do you have any reservations about Young? I like him, but his mediocre play the 2nd half of the season was concerning. A good PG makes those around him better--I think that applied at the beginning of the year, but not at the end when it mattered.

It’s hard to make that team better. Once he got into conference play, teams just focused on him and there were not enough other threats on his team to keep the opponents honest. That won’t happen in the NBA.

Honestly. I like Trae over Doncic.

 

[pokerface]

I think part of the knock on Doncic is most haven't seen more than Youtube highlights. Youtube videos aren't enough to properly judge talent. Since he plays in Europe it's not as easy for basketball fans to watch complete games with him, especially compared to the other top NCAA prospects this year. You can find some streams of Euro League games but catching them live is more difficult because of the time difference. The quality of the streams are hit or miss also, typically. Finding a good stream is hard enough but finding one with english commentary makes it more difficult as well. You don't need commentary but it add another layer to what you're watching. You can miss a lot of info without the commentary. I'd say commentary is more important when you're watching a league you don't follow regularly. Most people don't know which teams are good, which are bad, who the best players are, any talk of injuries, slumps, etc. Commentary would shed a light on all that.

With Ayton and Bagley most fans have been able to follow them easier than Doncic, especially Suns fans. With Ayton playing for UofA it was pretty easy for most Suns fans to watch him play if they wanted to because UofA games are televised regularly in Arizona. The majority of Suns fans live in Arizona and if they don't live here then they know where to get info on AZ Sports like this site, AZCentral, Fox Sports AZ, Gambo, Scott Bordow, etc.

Bagley being from Tempe has gotten him a bit more coverage by local sports writers here also. Definitely not like Ayton but since he plays for Duke there's been a lot of coverage of them as a team and he is their best player. Duke is probably the college team that gets the most nationally televised games also. They made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament also which helped get Bagley more coverage and exposure.

You seem to be the top Doncic supporter on this board, so I have to ask, how many full games did you watch Doncic play this year? For comparison, how many did you see Bagley or Ayton play?

Honestly I haven't watched full games of any player. Ive only watched clips and done a lot of reading. I'm not claiming to be a scout by any stretch. I'm just picking on Doncic as an overachiver. His overall game and the level of competition he's played against (and succeeded) is important. To me he's a hustle kind of player with an varied skill set. I just don't see this kid as being a loser. To me that is a very important quality. A crafty clutch player that knows how to play the game. I would take him #2 behind Ayton.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Honestly I haven't watched full games of any player. Ive only watched clips and done a lot of reading. I'm not claiming to be a scout by any stretch. I'm just picking on Doncic as an overachiver. His overall game and the level of competition he's played against (and succeeded) is important. To me he's a hustle kind of player with an varied skill set. I just don't see this kid as being a loser. To me that is a very important quality. A crafty clutch player that knows how to play the game. I would take him #2 behind Ayton.

I agree with everything you say here except taking him second. I think he's a very safe pick and will have a good NBA career, perhaps even a great NBA career. I just think Young could be even better and he and Ayton both fit our needs more than Luka.

 

[pokerface]

I agree with everything you say here except taking him second. I think he's a very safe pick and will have a good NBA career, perhaps even a great NBA career. I just think Young could be even better and he and Ayton both fit our needs more than Luka.

I think Young is a heck of a player. Him and Booker could shoot lights out. I just look at Doncic as a little more versatile. But Young is more a pg than Doncic so I can't argue that he might fit better.

 

[Hoop Head]

CBS Sports has a prospect big board of sorts, ranking the talent for this draft class, and they have Trae Young at #20. They have Bagley, Doncic, and Ayton as the top 3 prospects and in that order. It's not a true mock draft but a ranking of the top prospects this year. I was quite surprised they have Young so low. If he fell that far it would be great for the Suns because they'd be able to pick him with the Heat pick. If he was available and the Suns past on him with the 16th pick then I'd be for firing McD immediately. In that case he should be fired before he could hand in the selection for whatever other player he'd choose instead of Young.

They have Young as the 3rd PG in the draft behind Collin Sexton and Duke's Trevon Duval. It's not surprise that Duval's stock has gone up after Duke's tournament run but I can't see him going before Young. Other than anomaly they have both Jaren Jackson and Mo Bamba listed as Power Forwards. I can understand listing Jackson as a PF but not Bamba. He's more of a Center than Ayton is.


Here is a link to check it out. I've also included a screenshot because it appears that their list changes based on the URL they've used.


https://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/prospect-rankings/

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Hoop Head]

Honestly I haven't watched full games of any player. Ive only watched clips and done a lot of reading. I'm not claiming to be a scout by any stretch. I'm just picking on Doncic as an overachiver. His overall game and the level of competition he's played against (and succeeded) is important. To me he's a hustle kind of player with an varied skill set. I just don't see this kid as being a loser. To me that is a very important quality. A crafty clutch player that knows how to play the game. I would take him #2 behind Ayton.

I can respect that. The one thing I'm curious about based on your own admission of not watching him play a full game is how sure you seem to be that he'll be a Point Guard in the NBA. I know I've read that a few times but I've also read the opposite. Watching him is the easiest way to determine that and answer the question and based on what I've seen I'm not sure he'll be a PG. If the Suns do go with a PG in this draft, which they do need, I like Trae Young the most. Young and Booker could be a fantastic backcourt for the next decade and there is no doubt at all that Young is a PG. There are questions about how he'll hold up in the NBA and how he'll be defensively but he's definitely a PG.

I think Doncic will be more like Booker as a PG, capable but not an ideal spot for him. I think that's a gamble for the Suns at #2 or #3. He could be a great player but if he ends up not capable of playing PG fulltime here then we're stuck needing to make a trade to move either him, Jackson, or Booker. I think Booker is safe but I'd choose Jackson over Doncic because Jackson plays defense well and should only get better. Doncic's defensive potential isn't very good. I'm not against the Suns taking him but I'm more cautious with him than any other prospect because the potential of him fitting poorly is higher than it would be with Ayton, Bagley, Young, Bamba, or Jackson. He's similar to Porter in that we may already have their natural position filled so we would need to play them out of position in order to have them on the floor and that could be an issue for a few reasons.

 

[pokerface]

I can respect that. The one thing I'm curious about based on your own admission of not watching him play a full game is how sure you seem to be that he'll be a Point Guard in the NBA. I know I've read that a few times but I've also read the opposite. Watching him is the easiest way to determine that and answer the question and based on what I've seen I'm not sure he'll be a PG. If the Suns do go with a PG in this draft, which they do need, I like Trae Young the most. Young and Booker could be a fantastic backcourt for the next decade and there is no doubt at all that Young is a PG. There are questions about how he'll hold up in the NBA and how he'll be defensively but he's definitely a PG.

I think Doncic will be more like Booker as a PG, capable but not an ideal spot for him. I think that's a gamble for the Suns at #2 or #3. He could be a great player but if he ends up not capable of playing PG fulltime here then we're stuck needing to make a trade to move either him, Jackson, or Booker. I think Booker is safe but I'd choose Jackson over Doncic because Jackson plays defense well and should only get better. Doncic's defensive potential isn't very good. I'm not against the Suns taking him but I'm more cautious with him than any other prospect because the potential of him fitting poorly is higher than it would be with Ayton, Bagley, Young, Bamba, or Jackson. He's similar to Porter in that we may already have their natural position filled so we would need to play them out of position in order to have them on the floor and that could be an issue for a few reasons.

I've said a couple times here and there pg is not his natural position...he plays off the ball quite a bit. But as my understanding goes he is a creative passer and has good court vision. Plus his height advantage would serve him well at pg. I think him and Booker would play well together and play off each other. I think more important than a classic pg is a coach like Bud that teaches team passing in general. Plus NBA is going positionless and Doncic fits that mold beautifully. I want guys that are winners and understand the game. To me that is more important than just being pegged pg, sg, etc etc.

As far as Defense...Booker isn't a good defender either but that's not stopping love for Book. I think we need team defense and a defensive frontcourt.

About Young, I'm sure he'd be good but he's mostly a shooter right? And so is Booker. Doncic can shoot but does a lot of other things to affect the game. I think Doncic would blend better with Booker because he doesn't have to rob Booker of his shots.

 

[Hoop Head]

I've said a couple times here and there pg is not his natural position...he plays off the ball quite a bit. But as my understanding goes he is a creative passer and has good court vision. Plus his height advantage would serve him well at pg. I think him and Booker would play well together and play off each other. I think more important than a classic pg is a coach like Bud that teaches team passing in general. Plus NBA is going positionless and Doncic fits that mold beautifully. I want guys that are winners and understand the game. To me that is more important than just being pegged pg, sg, etc etc.

As far as Defense...Booker isn't a good defender either but that's not stopping love for Book. I think we need team defense and a defensive frontcourt.

About Young, I'm sure he'd be good but he's mostly a shooter right? And so is Booker. Doncic can shoot but does a lot of other things to affect the game. I think Doncic would blend better with Booker because he doesn't have to rob Booker of his shots.

Young is more than a shooter, he's a great playmaker. He had 11 double doubles this year with assists out of the 32 games he played. He ranked 46th all time in the total number of assists he had this year. Looking at that list there are some players who were busts, like Kendall Marshall is 3rd for most assists in a NCAA season, but he couldn't shoot. Steph Curry and Nash are the players he's compared to the most and he's been sort of a mix of the two, with Nash's playmaking and Curry's shooting touch and range. He won't be an MVP in the pros, that's expecting too much, but he should easily be a top 10 PG within his 2nd or 3rd year and help make his teammates better right away.

His best game was against NorthWestern when he scored 26 and had 22 assists. That's impressive on it's own but in the 29 minutes he was on the floor he was responsible for all of the Sooners points. He had a 100% assist percentage, which you don't see often at any level. Here is the boxscore for the Oklahoma vs NorthWestern game. I know NW isn't a good college program but Oklahoma aren't very good either. Without Young they wouldn't have made the NCAA Tournament and they'll probably be pretty bad next year. You can knock him for going to a school like that but his shooting talent and passing ability should translate to the next level.

 

[JCSunsfan]

The player Doncic reminds me of most is Booker, but his shooting is not as good.

 

[JCSunsfan]

CBS Sports has a prospect big board of sorts, ranking the talent for this draft class, and they have Trae Young at #20. They have Bagley, Doncic, and Ayton as the top 3 prospects and in that order. It's not a true mock draft but a ranking of the top prospects this year. I was quite surprised they have Young so low. If he fell that far it would be great for the Suns because they'd be able to pick him with the Heat pick. If he was available and the Suns past on him with the 16th pick then I'd be for firing McD immediately. In that case he should be fired before he could hand in the selection for whatever other player he'd choose instead of Young.

They have Young as the 3rd PG in the draft behind Collin Sexton and Duke's Trevon Duval. It's not surprise that Duval's stock has gone up after Duke's tournament run but I can't see him going before Young. Other than anomaly they have both Jaren Jackson and Mo Bamba listed as Power Forwards. I can understand listing Jackson as a PF but not Bamba. He's more of a Center than Ayton is.


Here is a link to check it out. I've also included a screenshot because it appears that their list changes based on the URL they've used.


https://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/prospect-rankings/

You must be registered for see images attach

That has to be a list that has not been updated since the preseason. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is listed as 52. If not it’s the dumbest list on the planet.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

That has to be a list that has not been updated since the preseason. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is listed as 52. If not it’s the dumbest list on the planet.

Has to be. That would explain Duval and Diallo being where they are.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He won't be an MVP in the pros, that's expecting too much

IMO, declaring that he won't be an MVP in the pros is simply expecting too little. Very few players actually win MVP so the odds are well against him but I do believe he'll be special enough to enter the conversation.

 

[pokerface]

Young is more than a shooter, he's a great playmaker. He had 11 double doubles this year with assists out of the 32 games he played. He ranked 46th all time in the total number of assists he had this year. Looking at that list there are some players who were busts, like Kendall Marshall is 3rd for most assists in a NCAA season, but he couldn't shoot. Steph Curry and Nash are the players he's compared to the most and he's been sort of a mix of the two, with Nash's playmaking and Curry's shooting touch and range. He won't be an MVP in the pros, that's expecting too much, but he should easily be a top 10 PG within his 2nd or 3rd year and help make his teammates better right away.

His best game was against NorthWestern when he scored 26 and had 22 assists. That's impressive on it's own but in the 29 minutes he was on the floor he was responsible for all of the Sooners points. He had a 100% assist percentage, which you don't see often at any level. Here is the boxscore for the Oklahoma vs NorthWestern game. I know NW isn't a good college program but Oklahoma aren't very good either. Without Young they wouldn't have made the NCAA Tournament and they'll probably be pretty bad next year. You can knock him for going to a school like that but his shooting talent and passing ability should translate to the next level.

I just wonder why Young isn't ranked higher in most mock drafts. Maybe his size...maybe because his fizzled out a little bit off his hot start. I'm not knocking him though as I'm sure he'd be a solid pg.

 

[Mainstreet]

I just wonder why Young isn't ranked higher in most mock drafts. Maybe his size...maybe because his fizzled out a little bit off his hot start. I'm not knocking him though as I'm sure he'd be a solid pg.

This could be good news if the Suns can find a way to move up in the draft with their second pick or the Suns slide to four with their pick.

 

[Ronin]

scott bordow‏Verified account@sbordow 3m3 minutes ago

Jared Dudley on Ayton-Doncic debate: “I think Doncic will be a very good player but I think Ayton is a can’t miss star. “The way he moves, blocking shots, his jump shot, his size. I don’t know what his weakness is. I think he’s something the Suns have never had in the post.”

 

[overseascardfan]

CBS Sports has a prospect big board of sorts, ranking the talent for this draft class, and they have Trae Young at #20. They have Bagley, Doncic, and Ayton as the top 3 prospects and in that order. It's not a true mock draft but a ranking of the top prospects this year. I was quite surprised they have Young so low. If he fell that far it would be great for the Suns because they'd be able to pick him with the Heat pick. If he was available and the Suns past on him with the 16th pick then I'd be for firing McD immediately. In that case he should be fired before he could hand in the selection for whatever other player he'd choose instead of Young.

They have Young as the 3rd PG in the draft behind Collin Sexton and Duke's Trevon Duval. It's not surprise that Duval's stock has gone up after Duke's tournament run but I can't see him going before Young. Other than anomaly they have both Jaren Jackson and Mo Bamba listed as Power Forwards. I can understand listing Jackson as a PF but not Bamba. He's more of a Center than Ayton is.


Here is a link to check it out. I've also included a screenshot because it appears that their list changes based on the URL they've used.


https://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/prospect-rankings/

You must be registered for see images attach

There is no way Young is the 20th best player in this draft.

It’s hard to make that team better. Once he got into conference play, teams just focused on him and there were not enough other threats on his team to keep the opponents honest. That won’t happen in the NBA.

Honestly. I like Trae over Doncic.

I like Young too.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm okay with getting Young at #16. I'd even move up from #16 to get him.

 

[Mainstreet]

Recently watched some video on PG Elie Okobo who is projected to go around #31 in the draft.

Really like what I saw.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Recently watched some video on PG Elie Okobo who is projected to go around #31 in the draft.

Really like what I saw.

Yeah I do too at the 31 slot

 

[JCSunsfan]

Yeah I do too at the 31 slot

Is it just me or does his play remind anyone of Mike James?