Ayton is making me a believer

[Mainstreet]

Deandre Ayton has put the off season behind him.

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[JCSunsfan]

If I could go back in time, I'd trade the first pick for a boatload of unprotected picks. Unless I was Sarver, in which case I'd draft the cashcow.

Luka is incredible but the game is played on both ends and he mails it in on defense far too often. Add to that his ridiculous usage rate and I'm just not convinced you can build a championship team around a player like Doncic unless he's historically efficient. I'm convinced you can't build a championship team around DA either but unlike with Luka, I can see Ayton being content and successful as a number 2 or 3.

What you are saying is that you do not believe there is ANY player in the 2018 draft that you could build a championship team around. Maybe that draft was not as loaded as it appeared. It is an interesting conversation.

 

[Carolinacacti]

But we should go overboard after 4? How about Ayton, the number 1 pick in a loaded draft, actually plays at a high level for… GASP… 10 games before people declare he’s arrived… in year FIVE of his career.

I like to say he has arrived at the age of 24

 

[AzStevenCal]

What you are saying is that you do not believe there is ANY player in the 2018 draft that you could build a championship team around. Maybe that draft was not as loaded as it appeared. It is an interesting conversation.

Well, I have no confidence that it will happen with any from that class although Luka probably has the best chance to do it. He can carry a team quite a ways, I just don't like his chances of carrying a team all the way and with his usage rate, no one else is going to be a number one on his team.

Trae Young needed to enter the league under a coach like Pop or Nate McMillan - someone that would have forced him to value possessions before his ego blew up. Talent wise, he's elite but teammates rarely like to play with someone like him despite his assist numbers.

I think Ayton and JJJ can be great number 2's if DA can get a little more consistent and JJJ can figure out how to stay healthy. And Mikal is an elite role player but all told, that class probably will never quite reach the greatness predicted for it.

 

[Phrazbit]

It's going to be very difficult for the Mavs to build a real contender around Luka. They basically need to get several Mikal Bridges (totally unselfish guys who can shoot and play great defense) and a phenomenal 2nd ball handler who doesn't mind that he will only get to handle the ball when Luka is off the court. And given that the entire team will need to be structured around Luka, they will need him to be at his absolute healthiest and best.

I don't see any other stars trying to make their way to Dallas, being his teammate does not seem like a fun experience. They're going to have to find those parts in the draft, while drafting in the late teens and early 20s.

He's obviously far better than Ayton, but I think if we'd drafted Luka we'd be what Dallas is. I doubt we draft Mikal because Luka was viewed as a "point forward" coming out of the draft, Paul never would have forced his way here and I suspect we'd have traded Booker because I don't think he and Luka would make a good pairing, especially when Booker's defense had yet to mature.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It's going to be very difficult for the Mavs to build a real contender around Luka. They basically need to get several Mikal Bridges (totally unselfish guys who can shoot and play great defense) and a phenomenal 2nd ball handler who doesn't mind that he will only get to handle the ball when Luka is off the court. And given that the entire team will need to be structured around Luka, they will need him to be at his absolute healthiest and best.

I don't see any other stars trying to make their way to Dallas, being his teammate does not seem like a fun experience. They're going to have to find those parts in the draft, while drafting in the late teens and early 20s.

He's obviously far better than Ayton, but I think if we'd drafted Luka we'd be what Dallas is. I doubt we draft Mikal because Luka was viewed as a "point forward" coming out of the draft, Paul never would have forced his way here and I suspect we'd have traded Booker because I don't think he and Luka would make a good pairing, especially when Booker's defense had yet to mature.

They never should have let Brunson go.

 

[Superbone]

They never should have let Brunson go.

They ripped their heart out.

 

[TJ]

Dallas is going to have to hope that they have a draft pick flourish or that one of their mid-tier FAs play beyond expectations. I dont get the vibe that people around the league like Luka. I’ve also heard that he’s a prick in public.

 

[Superbone]

It's going to take more consistency for Ayton to make a believer out of me. I'm hoping for the best. When he's good, he's really good. I think his issues are mostly between the ears. If he wanted to be dominant, he could be.

 

[Mainstreet]

It's going to take more consistency for Ayton to make a believer out of me. I hoping for the best. When he's good, he's really good. I think his issues are mostly between the ears. If he wanted to be dominant, he could be.

It's hard to know which games to watch if one is looking for dominate Ayton.

He does tend to have trouble with long athletic front lines.

 

[Cheesebeef]

They never should have let Brunson go.

Yup. Didn’t understand that decision. He was the second piece of that offense that made them really hard to defend.

 

[GatorAZ]

Trae Young, Shai and Jalen Brunson might get some votes.

I was a Trae defender but it’s clear he will have permanent issues. SGA right now looks like the second best guy from that draft.

 

[Mainstreet]

I was a Trae defender but it’s clear he will have permanent issues. SGA right now looks like the second best guy from that draft.

Yeah. That's who I wanted but Bridges was a good pick.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I watched the same game as you with two other people and every one of us kept shaking our head at how stupid and lazy the Suns fouls were.

The excuses made for Ayton in a game where he came out sleepwalking from the jump is comical.

And the idea that there’s somehow a conspiracy against the Suns is from the refs is ludicrous.

Okay. Never said there was a conspiracy and I didn't say the Suns didn't play some lazy defense, but there were a lot of crap calls in that game. They were being rewarded for being aggressive even when there wasn't much of any contact on the play.

 

[Sparky16]

Well, I have no confidence that it will happen with any from that class although Luka probably has the best chance to do it. He can carry a team quite a ways, I just don't like his chances of carrying a team all the way and with his usage rate, no one else is going to be a number one on his team.

Trae Young needed to enter the league under a coach like Pop or Nate McMillan - someone that would have forced him to value possessions before his ego blew up. Talent wise, he's elite but teammates rarely like to play with someone like him despite his assist numbers.

I think Ayton and JJJ can be great number 2's if DA can get a little more consistent and JJJ can figure out how to stay healthy. And Mikal is an elite role player but all told, that class probably will never quite reach the greatness predicted for it.

Luka is going to break down, i heard he was taking his conditioning seriously this off-season. He looks like a fat arse right now still. He also is getting the LaBron treatment from the refs which helps

 

[AzStevenCal]

Luka is going to break down, i heard he was taking his conditioning seriously this off-season. He looks like a fat arse right now still. He also is getting the LaBron treatment from the refs which helps

Yeah he's been getting the Lebron treatment since the day he stepped on an NBA court. But he occasionally drives the refs so nuts that they start making up calls against him. It doesn't happen often enough to come anywhere close to creating a fair play balance but it does happen. The guy is a first class player but he's a first class jackass too.