2017-2018 Draft Prospects watch.

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Well nowhere else is reporting it as far as I can tell.

Should have just watched the video. They say it's April fools at the end. It was pretty funny though. They had someone do a terrible audio impersonation of a Doncic interview.

 

[Lefty]

If the Suns have the #1 or #2 pick, they eneed to take Ayton or Bagley. Doncic is not going to be a superstar. I rememberbefore Rubio came in the league, everyone thought he was going to be the next great point guard. The Suns can't waste this pick on an European player.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

If the Suns have the #1 or #2 pick, they eneed to take Ayton or Bagley. Doncic is not going to be a superstar. I rememberbefore Rubio came in the league, everyone thought he was going to be the next great point guard. The Suns can't waste this pick on an European player.

Doncic is not Rubio. He is a better passer and a better shooter and scorer. He is also only 19 years old. He has just as much potential as Ayton and Bagley. They all have their warts, but Doncic is currently the most skilled of the three.

 

[Mainstreet]

If the Suns have the #1 or #2 pick, they eneed to take Ayton or Bagley. Doncic is not going to be a superstar. I rememberbefore Rubio came in the league, everyone thought he was going to be the next great point guard. The Suns can't waste this pick on an European player.

I had Ayton #1 and Bagley #2 but some of the mocks say Bagley will have to play center to take full advantage of his skills.

I'm now leaning towards Doncic at #2.

I do not think Doncic would be a wasted pick. I'm just geared towards drafting a big man. However, the Suns need to draft BPA.

 

[Cheesebeef]

5 top 5 picks. If we draft Doncic that means we will have gone 3 Of 5 with white Euros... with 2 already having proven nada.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

5 top 5 picks. If we draft Doncic that means we will have gone 3 Of 5 with white Euros... with 2 already having proven nada.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

It's not doing the same thing.......

Just because they are euros does not make them even similar prospects. Doncic is by far the better prospect than Bender and Len. It truly isn't even close to being close.

 

[Lefty]

Doncic is not Rubio. He is a better passer and a better shooter and scorer. He is also only 19 years old. He has just as much potential as Ayton and Bagley. They all have their warts, but Doncic is currently the most skilled of the three.

When Rubio was a teenager, people were saying he was going to be a great player. He turned out to be a bust and if the Suns take Doncic over Ayton or Bagley, it will be a wasted pick.
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/sports/basketball/29rubio.html

 

[Sun Devil Mania]

Goran Dragic's opinion of Luka Doncic

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...uka-doncic-is-going-to-be-one-of-worlds-best/

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

When Rubio was a teenager, people were saying he was going to be a great player. He turned out to be a bust and if the Suns take Doncic over Ayton or Bagley, it will be a wasted pick.
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/sports/basketball/29rubio.html

That's great and all, but Doncic is significantly better at 18/19 than Rubio was at 20/21.

In Rubio's final season in Euroleague he was putting up 6.5/3.3/3.6 in 23 minutes. Doncic this year is putting up 16.8/4.8/4.6 in 25 minutes. They simply were net even close to the same level as players or as prospects.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

When Rubio was a teenager, people were saying he was going to be a great player. He turned out to be a bust and if the Suns take Doncic over Ayton or Bagley, it will be a wasted pick.
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/sports/basketball/29rubio.html

I feel like this is a very limiting argument. Doncic is European. This is one attribute. Shabazz Muhammad was supposed to be a great player as a teenager as well. Does that mean we should avoid Americans? Or small forwards? Or UCLA players?

He is a European.

He has great size.

He has a unique feel for the game.

He's 6'8 with point guard skills.

He's a lifelong basketball fanatic.

There are a lot of characteristics that factor into his viability as a prospect.

To narrow it down to he's a European guard and therefore a bust is, imho, an unproductive viewpoint.

 

[pokerface]

I feel like this is a very limiting argument. Doncic is European. This is one attribute. Shabazz Muhammad was supposed to be a great player as a teenager as well. Does that mean we should avoid Americans? Or small forwards? Or UCLA players?

He is a European.

He has great size.

He has a unique feel for the game.

He's 6'8 with point guard skills.

He's a lifelong basketball fanatic.

There are a lot of characteristics that factor into his viability as a prospect.

To narrow it down to he's a European guard and therefore a bust is, imho, an unproductive viewpoint.

Worst case scenario Doncic is a very good player....borderline all-star.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Worst case scenario Doncic is a very good player....borderline all-star.

Not to be a contrarian on every level, but I'm not sure ANY prospect's worst case scenario is borderline all-star....Unless we're talking about the Brandon Knight version of borderline all-star

 

[Mainstreet]

Goran Dragic's opinion of Luka Doncic

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...uka-doncic-is-going-to-be-one-of-worlds-best/

My initial thought was Dragic was talking up a teammate in Doncic.

However, Dragic turned serious when he said he would be one of the best in the world... when he was talking about Doncic' ability.

It's too bad things could have not worked better with Dragic and the Suns.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think there has been enough Euro prospects in the NBA that their country of origin should be considered more rather than lumping all of them in a big "Euro" pool of players. Doncic has more similarities to Dragic than he does Bender and it's not surprise that's because they're from the same country. Not all Euro's will end up like others, their are plenty of busts and plenty of hits over the last few years. Comparing them to their fellow countrymen seems like it would be more accurate and fair to that player because a PG from Spain won't be the same as a PG from Slovenia. If you watch their national teams play they play different styles entirely. Since national teams are a point of pride for most European countries though players from that area do end up developing similarly.

 

[Errntknght]

I'm not hoping for Doncic but if we're drafting 3 or 4 and he's there it will regarded almost a no brainer to take him. Personally, I'd take Bamba and get ridiculed for it - and might even regret it. I'd give odds that McD will take Doncic at 3 or 4... he sticks close to where a guy is rated in the mocks. IIRC, Bender was not a significant reach at 4 and Len was definitely not at 5. I'd rather have an ace pick evaluator than McD, but he isn't killing us with his picks, and he's not wowing us either, of course. And it may be that it's our scouting thats falling down on the job. Percudani(scout) is the one who got the bulk of the credit back when the Suns were nailing every draft pick.

 

[pokerface]

I'm not hoping for Doncic but if we're drafting 3 or 4 and he's there it will regarded almost a no brainer to take him. Personally, I'd take Bamba and get ridiculed for it - and might even regret it. I'd give odds that McD will take Doncic at 3 or 4... he sticks close to where a guy is rated in the mocks. IIRC, Bender was not a significant reach at 4 and Len was definitely not at 5. I'd rather have an ace pick evaluator than McD, but he isn't killing us with his picks, and he's not wowing us either, of course. And it may be that it's our scouting thats falling down on the job. Percudani(scout) is the one who got the bulk of the credit back when the Suns were nailing every draft pick.

I think no way Doncic falls past three. He might even go #2.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I think no way Doncic falls past three. He might even go #2.

He will almost certainly go top 2 and maybe even #1. All comes down to who has the top 2 picks. There is a reason that so many experts and draft sites have had him as a top two prospect in the draft for the better part of a year or so and that he remains up there still. Not everyone on this board sees it, but I would be willing to bet that a good amount of NBA front offices agree with those experts and draft sites as well.

 

[Cheesebeef]

He will almost certainly go top 2 and maybe even #1. All comes down to who has the top 2 picks. There is a reason that so many experts and draft sites have had him as a top two prospect in the draft for the better part of a year or so and that he remains up there still. Not everyone on this board sees it, but I would be willing to bet that a good amount of NBA front offices agree with those experts and draft sites as well.

heard the same thing about Darko... how great he looked against great competition.... comparing him to KG... hell, there were even some during the lead up to the draft even wondering if he could go above LeBron.

 

[Cheesebeef]

all of this just reads too similar:

https://www.detroitbadboys.com/2014/9/24/6841293/rip-hamilton-reaction-darko-milicic-2003-nba-draft

 

[Cheesebeef]

here's the list of idiots comparing Darko to LeBron:

http://www.givemesport.com/1083660-...o-milicic-comparisons-from-the-2003-nba-draft

 

[pokerface]

heard the same thing about Darko... how great he looked against great competition.... comparing him to KG... hell, there were even some during the lead up to the draft even wondering if he could go above LeBron.

What kind of numbers did Darko put up? And for how long?

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Darko did not love basketball the way that Doncic does. His heart was never in basketball and that is a big part that he never panned out. Doncic eats, drinks and breathes basketball from everything I have heard. Darko also wasn't nearly as successful at such a young age as Doncic. On top of that European basketball has grown significantly over the past 15 years or so. The league that Doncic plays in right now is at a much higher level than anything Darko played in prior to the NBA.

 

[Errntknght]

What kind of numbers did Darko put up? And for how long?

I just read them in one of the posts above... I think it was around 6 pts, 3 rbs in 400 games or so, 18 min/game. Don't quote me on it!

 

[Phrazbit]

Darko's stats in Europe don't even remotely compare to what Doncic is doing. It's like comparing Pistol Pete at LSU to Lavar Ball at what ever bum turd school he played college ball at.

Yeah, Darko had a lot of hype, but the only similarity he has to Doncic is that they're both from Europe. Darko's hype was based on measurables and workouts, Doncic's is based on what he has actually done against real competition.

Saying don't draft Doncic because of Darko holds as much water as saying don't draft Ayton because of Derrick Williams.

 

[pokerface]

Read an article recently about Doncic and the suns. They mentioned how Doncic could help Bender and Chriss. With Luka's passing abilities and drawing teams defenses with his scoring that could really open up their games. Part of me would prefer Doncic over Bagley for that reason. If Bagley gets drafted then its like Bender or Chriss's game gets flushed prematurely. I'd dump one of them over Ayton easily...

Part of me still wants to get more out of Bender and Chriss.... and Doncic would make that happen IMO.