2017-2018 Draft Prospects watch.

[Phrazbit]

If we got the top pick and traded back I'd lose my freaking mind.

 

[Covert Rain]

If we got the top pick and traded back I'd lose my freaking mind.

After all these years? Oh hell no. I am with you. Sarver would never live it down allowing that to happen.

 

[AzStevenCal]

If we got the top pick and traded back I'd lose my freaking mind.

Well, one of my many draft fantasies involves trading back to the 2 because that team just has to have Doncic. Then, we draft Ayton and use the assets acquired to pick Young, saving our 16th pick for Robert Williams who then goes on to win Co-ROY with Ayton and Trae. Also, Aaron Holiday inexplicably falls to us in the 2nd round, completing what will become an historic draft class for the Suns as they go on to win 11 straight NBA Championships.

 

[Cheesebeef]

If we got the top pick and traded back I'd lose my freaking mind.

I would unleash holy hell the likes of which this board has never seen... and it's seen A LOT from me.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Well, one of my many draft fantasies involves trading back to the 2 because that team just has to have Doncic. Then, we draft Ayton and use the assets acquired to pick Young, saving our 16th pick for Robert Williams who then goes on to win Co-ROY with Ayton and Trae. Also, Aaron Holiday inexplicably falls to us in the 2nd round, completing what will become an historic draft class for the Suns as they go on to win 11 straight NBA Championships.

this is the ONLY scenario where I wouldn't lose my mind.

 

[Mainstreet]

The way we end up hearing way less complaining is if that #4 pick ends up being great. If we take Young at 4 and he really is the next Curry, then people will only complain about not getting the top pick every other day instead of every single day.

I know... but it's waiting for it to happen.

In the meanwhile I think a lot of fans will intially be unhappy if the Suns pick #4.

Drafting #1 is so much easier.

 

[pokerface]

I know... but it's waiting for it to happen.

In the meanwhile I think a lot of fans will intially be unhappy if the Suns pick #4.

Drafting #1 is so much easier.

In some ways #2, #3, #4 are all the same . Are Doncic/Bagley so much better than Young/Jackson? One could argue Young and Jackson are the better fit while having a similar floor/ceiling.

 

[Phrazbit]

In some ways #2, #3, #4 are all the same . Are Doncic/Bagley so much better than Young/Jackson? One could argue Young and Jackson are the better fit while having a similar floor/ceiling.

The Suns cannot afford to have a complete whiff on a top 4 pick, especially in this draft. I don't know who the best player is going to be, but I do think that Jackson, Bamba, Porter... these are guys that have potential to be the nobodies in a draft full of somebodies.

IMO, the players with the highest ceiling are Ayton, Young, Doncic... maaaaaaaybe Jackson, but he also has a super low floor, while I think the other 3 are, at worst, going to be solid starters. Bagley does not entice because, I think the is the high floor, low ceiling guy of this draft, I just don't see him being a star. Bamba (because of obvious flaws that typically guys of his ilk never change) and Porter (because of his back) scare me the most... along with Jackson again, because his floor is a less athletic and more foul prone version of Chriss. If we ended up with one of those 3 guys as our top pick I'd be really disappointing.

 

[pokerface]

The Suns cannot afford to have a complete whiff on a top 4 pick, especially in this draft. I don't know who the best player is going to be, but I do think that Jackson, Bamba, Porter... these are guys that have potential to be the nobodies in a draft full of somebodies.

IMO, the players with the highest ceiling are Ayton, Young, Doncic... maaaaaaaybe Jackson, but he also has a super low floor, while I think the other 3 are, at worst, going to be solid starters. Bagley does not entice because, I think the is the high floor, low ceiling guy of this draft, I just don't see him being a star. Bamba (because of obvious flaws that typically guys of his ilk never change) and Porter (because of his back) scare me the most... along with Jackson again, because his floor is a less athletic and more foul prone version of Chriss. If we ended up with one of those 3 guys as our top pick I'd be really disappointing.

I've been reading a lot on Jackson tonight. Yeah he's a project which is a big knock right now. But his main strength is defense which Bagley nor Ayton bring in great quantity. JJJ is a decent rebounder but actually is probably better because his team was good at grabbing boards in general...I think they were ranked seventh. I read he's like a scoring version of Bamba.

 

[Phrazbit]

I've been reading a lot on Jackson tonight. Yeah he's a project which is a big knock right now. But his main strength is defense which Bagley nor Ayton bring in great quantity. JJJ is a decent rebounder but actually is probably better because his team was good at grabbing boards in general...I think they were ranked seventh. I read he's like a scoring version of Bamba.

I think Ayton's defensive potential is really high. He was stuck defending on the perimeter because UofA was committed to lineups that featured him and Ristic and Ristic sure as hell was not mobile enough to do anything outside of the paint.

I also think defense is a team game, far more about scheme than individual talents. As is evident with Kyrie Irving going from being one of the statistical worst defenders at his position, to being a part of one of the best defensive units in the league.

I do like Jackson more than Bamba though. Jackson is actually a good shooter... unlike Bamba, whom people claim can shoot but only makes shots when he is in an empty gym with no defenders, Jackson also consistently shows a ton of hustle.

Regardless, I think there are some borderline, can't miss players in this draft, who's range rates from solid starter to monster. Jackson might be really really good, but I don't think his ceiling is as high as a few guys and, as we've discussed, his floor is really low. If we were looking at likely picking between 4th-7th... I'd have probably have Young and Jackson at the top of my realistic hopes, but not with us picking 1-4.

 

[pokerface]

I think Ayton's defensive potential is really high. He was stuck defending on the perimeter because UofA was committed to lineups that featured him and Ristic and Ristic sure as hell was not mobile enough to do anything outside of the paint.

I also think defense is a team game, far more about scheme than individual talents. As is evident with Kyrie Irving going from being one of the statistical worst defenders at his position, to being a part of one of the best defensive units in the league.

I do like Jackson more than Bamba though. Jackson is actually a good shooter... unlike Bamba, whom people claim can shoot but only makes shots when he is in an empty gym with no defenders, Jackson also consistently shows a ton of hustle.

Regardless, I think there are some borderline, can't miss players in this draft, who's range rates from solid starter to monster. Jackson might be really really good, but I don't think his ceiling is as high as a few guys and, as we've discussed, his floor is really low. If we were looking at likely picking between 4th-7th... I'd have probably have Young and Jackson at the top of my realistic hopes, but not with us picking 1-4.

Yeah I agree about liking Jackson more than Bamba but they are both projects.

My whole point is at #4 pick it's not necessarily a draft death sentence. Worse case we end up with Young , Doncic, Bagley, JJJ. One of them has to be there. But they all have potential drawbacks . They aren't necessarily dominating each other .

 

[Phrazbit]

Yeah I agree about liking Jackson more than Bamba but they are both projects.

My whole point is at #4 pick it's not necessarily a draft death sentence. Worse case we end up with Young , Doncic, Bagley, JJJ. One of them has to be there. But they all have potential drawbacks . They aren't necessarily dominating each other .

I feel pretty confident that Ayton and Doncic are going 1 and 2, I'd be shocked if Doncic slips to 4th. So, of the Young/Bagley/JJJ... to me, it's an easy call, I'm grabbing Young. His combined shooting and passing he displayed are really really rare skills, I just don't see how a guy who is so good at both ends up being anything less than a really good starter.

I know I'm going against the grain of a lot of posters, but the one who could knock me off of it is Porter. He was considered a lock for top 3 before his injury, and while back injuries are always scary I know very little about the history of his type of injury and athletes. If he starts rocketing up the boards once teams get a close inspection then I'd be really tempted to take him at 4. The hyperbole about him a year ago exceeded all of these guys.

 

[pokerface]

I feel pretty confident that Ayton and Doncic are going 1 and 2, I'd be shocked if Doncic slips to 4th. So, of the Young/Bagley/JJJ... to me, it's an easy call, I'm grabbing Young. His combined shooting and passing he displayed are really really rare skills, I just don't see how a guy who is so good at both ends up being anything less than a really good starter.

I know I'm going against the grain of a lot of posters, but the one who could knock me off of it is Porter. He was considered a lock for top 3 before his injury, and while back injuries are always scary I know very little about the history of his type of injury and athletes. If he starts rocketing up the boards once teams get a close inspection then I'd be really tempted to take him at 4. The hyperbole about him a year ago exceeded all of these guys.

Its Young for me too at #4

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

I've been reading a lot on Jackson tonight. Yeah he's a project which is a big knock right now. But his main strength is defense which Bagley nor Ayton bring in great quantity. JJJ is a decent rebounder but actually is probably better because his team was good at grabbing boards in general...I think they were ranked seventh. I read he's like a scoring version of Bamba.

I get what they're saying with the "scoring version of Bamba"...He played on a more stacked team, was a high-efficiency outside shooter, flashed potential to drive...But that term is pretty funny to me considering he actually scored a full two less points per game last year than Bamba did!

 

[hsandhu]

I feel pretty confident that Ayton and Doncic are going 1 and 2, I'd be shocked if Doncic slips to 4th. So, of the Young/Bagley/JJJ... to me, it's an easy call, I'm grabbing Young. His combined shooting and passing he displayed are really really rare skills, I just don't see how a guy who is so good at both ends up being anything less than a really good starter.

I know I'm going against the grain of a lot of posters, but the one who could knock me off of it is Porter. He was considered a lock for top 3 before his injury, and while back injuries are always scary I know very little about the history of his type of injury and athletes. If he starts rocketing up the boards once teams get a close inspection then I'd be really tempted to take him at 4. The hyperbole about him a year ago exceeded all of these guys.

I've been right there with you on porter, if the suns medical staff gives the ok, I'm taking him at 4.

Reading on the injury, he had a hard fall in high school, but didn't get it fixed until last year when it really bothered him.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

I know... but it's waiting for it to happen.

In the meanwhile I think a lot of fans will intially be unhappy if the Suns pick #4.

Drafting #1 is so much easier.

Whenever I think about falling to 4 and start to feel sad, I watch this video to cheer myself up:

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[Mainstreet]

In some ways #2, #3, #4 are all the same . Are Doncic/Bagley so much better than Young/Jackson? One could argue Young and Jackson are the better fit while having a similar floor/ceiling.

Solid point.

I'd like to find a way to get two bites of the apple by adding another pick in the top 7 or 8.

I don't think picks 4-5 will be that much better than 6-8 pick.

 

[Hoop Head]

Ayton is skipping the draft combine. If Doncic didn't already say he wasn't going to do individual workouts he may have a shot at stealing the #1 overall spot from him but I can't see it happening since missing workouts is bigger than the combine. Missing the combine won't help Ayton clinch that spot though.

EDIT: Doncic will be in the Euroleague playoffs so he won't be available for team workouts prior to the draft. It's not really a choice of his to miss those and it's totally understandable why he won't take part. Current Team Playoffs > Workouts for Draft


Also worth noting...

The only other notable prospect who won’t make the trip is Texas A&M center Robert Williams, a projected mid-first-round pick. That means potential top-10 prospects Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mohamed Bamba, Trae Young and Michael Porter Jr., among others, will work out in front of NBA teams.

http://arizonasports.com/story/1522...-nba-draft-combine-allonz-trier-rawle-alkins/

 

[Ronin]

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[Superbone]

Doncic is skipping workouts for a good reason. He'll still be playing for his professional team.

 

[Hoop Head]

Doncic is skipping workouts for a good reason. He'll still be playing for his professional team.

I know that, it was debated quite a bit a few pages back. I debated on including that in my last post but thought most people knew why he was skipping those workouts so I didn't bother to include that note. It's also mentioned why he'll miss things in the article I linked though. I probably should have included a note on that, I'll edit it to mention it now before that gets bumped back by other posts.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Watching some more video of draft prospects. I am still in favor of Ayton #1.

However, I am cooling a lot on Bagley. Bagley's has real issues as a defender. He seems lost a lot on defense. Ayton has problems too, but those seem to be about motivation and playing out of position. To me, Bagley's problem is more significant. It seems like an intelligence thing. I might normally chalk this up to bad coaching, but he is playing for coach K.

Meanwhile, Bamba is a very good defender due to his length. He is also very intelligent and seems to be developing a mid-range and even outside shooting. I am thinking that it is more likely that Bamba develops his offense than Bagley his defense.

 

[overseascardfan]

I’m surprised some of the other big names aren’t pulling out. The risk of injury is too great when you are a near lock to go #1.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Man we’ve picked these guys apart and back again. I’ll be happy once the draft is over, we know who we picked, and we can start discussing next year’s tank (I keed, I keed!)

 

[Hoop Head]

I’m surprised some of the other big names aren’t pulling out. The risk of injury is too great when you are a near lock to go #1.

I'm not. There are too many questions in regards to who will go #2-10. Doncic is going top 3 but other than him and Ayton, no one else is a lock to go that high. You could say Bagley is a lock for top 5 but then you have Young, Porter, Bamba, Jaren Jackson, Wendall Carter, Mikal Bridges, Collin Sexton, Kevin Knox, and Shai all going in the lottery but they may slip if some of the people that do attend perform great.