2018 NBA Draft Live Discussion Thread
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I'm thinking people are too caught up in the positional log jam idea. I really don't see a reason why our front court can't be Ayton, Jackson, and Bridges. Seriously, look around the league. Players that were traditionally PF's are now Centers. Does adding Aaron Gordon instead of Bridges make us a better team? Does that make a better frontcourt? I know he's one of the "PF" that people discussed bring in. How about Julius Randle or Jabari Parker? I could see Jackson and Bridges being similar to them without much work needing to be done. Get them to hit the weights and bulk up some, we'll be fine. We're not going to be giving up a lot of size. Ayton is our big, that's fine. We'll have Bender and Chriss to bring in if needed. Warren as the first forward off the bench. It's the new NBA. Bridges has the length to play PF. I'm not nearly as worried as I was last night after looking around the league and reading up on Bridges.
Chaplin
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Why not? Like it or not, at this time he IS our starting PG.
I'm not sure what Knight will be next year but there is nothing wrong with hoping he's a positive player for us. I don't expect an All-Star or anything close to that. If he can score occasionally and pick up more assists than turnovers I'll be happy. He can't be worse than he was, so there's only way we can go.
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JCSunsfan
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Boston has Tatum, Brown, Hayward and Marcus Morris and they are doing Ok.
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gimpy
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I'm just sitting here relaxing, loving our draft, and drinking the koolaid
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(actually morning cuppa Joe)Go, Suns
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elindholm
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No they don't. Hayward didn't play last year. If he's back, and they don't trade someone away, one of those four is out of the rotation (presumably Morris).
You will not see all four of those players at 20+ mpg for the Celtics next season, unless they wind up doing a lot of platooning because of injuries.
Because now his attitude appears to be right. He's not talking about how he's a PG and nothing but and also about how he should be starting. If you've read any of the interviews or things written about him, it's encouraging. It seems the injury put his career in perspective and he's more interested in helping the team than trying to prove he who is. We'll see if that's true but so far he's been working out at the Suns facility with our young players since the season ended. That's encouraging.
Morris primarily played at PF for Boston and Brown at SG. Even with Hayward back, those 4 should all be over 20 minutes a game next year. I can't see that changing much. Tatum will probably be the guy who backs up all 3. Sort of shuffling their lineup with whoever subs out.
elindholm
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They also have Horford at PF and Smart at SG. And they did some double-PG sets last season with Irving and Rozier.
http://www.82games.com/1718/1718BOS2.HTM
Hayward's addition will make things very crowded, mainly because of the logjam at SF.
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As you know I wanted Shai so much I was hoping the Suns had figured out a way to get him until all was lost. Still I wouldn't have given up the future Miami pick to get him. This draft was too loaded in PGs to do that. I might have done it for Doncic or Young but that wasn't happening.
Mikal Bridges was a top ten talent in almost every mock I have seen. He is the perfect piece for the Suns. He can shoot the lights out, play multiple positions and most of all, play excellent defense. Also, he should be the glue that brings the player rotations together where the Suns can switch on defense. I didn't like giving up that future Miami pick but the Suns are making their move now. At some point a team has to risk to receive.
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And the Suns have CAP space if they want to tweak the roster. They can still make a big trade if they desire. More moves are sure to be made.
I was worried the Suns did not value their draft picks. The relief to me is that they did and likely 3 players from the draft will make their roster.
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I'm not so sure. They'll likely run A line-up of Irving, Tatum, Hayward, Brown and Hordford with Rozier and Morris being key reserves.
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It's all about putting the best talent all the floor as you point out.
I agree with you Chap, Knight has really been working very hard and looks like a different guy. He is also well liked by his teammates. I would not count him out just yet.
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Is he? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just hadn't noticed any real camaraderie involving Knight and teammates.
elindholm
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They may, but I think Morris has a hard time getting to 20 mpg if everyone is healthy. (Of course, part of the problem is that he isn't that good.)
He's been working with them a lot since the season's ended. Every time pics have been posted of him working out or discussions about him are happening by informed sources (Bordow and McD, primarily) it seems teammates are involved. I know he was one of the guys mentioned when it was said Ayton was watching the finals game after his Suns workout. Check out his instagram and there are photos of him at the Suns facility with Jackson and Reed. He was also featured in that video where Jackson showed he'd shaved his afro as one of his teammates messing with him. I'll take that as someone who is at least part of the "clique" the team has. Remember that he didn't play with them last year so being around them now shows he's built relationships with them in other ways than sharing court time.
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I'm aware of all those but I don't know that they really tell us much. He and his teammates have always seemed distanced during the games and on the sidelines and that goes back to when he was playing, not just his occasional bench appearance last year. I'm not saying they're enemies, I just don't know if there's enough evidence to state that they are all close knit. I hope so but I don't know.
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I’m totally on board the Knight reclamation bandwagon. I have no additional info and make no guarantees. I just love the idea of him taking the long way but ending up right where he wants to be.
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He hasn't played in about a year and we've never used him as a pg so excuse me if I'm hesitant. Yeah I'm sure he'll be thrown in there and he might be adequete but coming off an injury he's a unknown right now.
Chaplin
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But it is what it is. He is our starting PG. You or I may hope he ends up NOT being that, but for now, it's something you have to plan for.
That's fair. You asked for examples of camaraderie and I tried to provide them. If you're aware of that though I'm not sure what more you'd want to see. It's not like players put themselves out in the public much more than that unless it's Lebron, Melo, Chris Paul, and Wade riding a banana boat. I'd rather not see Booker, JJ, Ayton, and Knight recreate that photo but that's just me.
It's odd that it seems like half the board is taking an optimistic approach towards Knight though. I don't know if that means anything but I'd like to think that people sense he's genuine in his comments about doing what's best for the team going forward and buying into the team concept. He hadn't spoke like that before or played with that sort of attitude so it is new for him. Whether it is genuine, we won't know until the season starts but at the worst we'll see be awful, kill any value he may have had, and probably sit for a while until a buy-out can be reached. If he's capable of providing anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes of quality guard play night in and night out that will help the team a lot. We don't have a lot of quality depth in our backcourt and he was someone who was seen as an up and coming star a couple years ago. He has talent, it's just a matter of him applying that talent in a fashion that benefits the team.
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Press conference is up on Suns.com
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