Lauri Markkanen

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You are correct that something translates....

Ryan Anderson played in the Pac 12 and shot 49% from the field and 41% from 3 in college. He averaged 21.1 points per game.

Yup, and you want a better player than Ryan Anderson if you're drafting at 4.
 
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Mainstreet

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I don't think anyone disagrees with that. Disagreement is about whether or not there is anything better at #4. Are there players who can do multiple things really well? Does he do anything else well? Is the talent he has easier to find in free agency than the talent someone else has? I really think reasonable people can agree he will at least be a Frye/ Anderson type. The question is whether or not he can be more, and whether or not guys like Tatum, Isaacs, Fox are just going to be better.

I do not believe the Suns would draft Markkanen at #4. He would be a trade-down option at best. Even then, the Suns have Chriss and Bender. However, I think Markkanen will develop into a nice player so he should not be underestimated.
 

SirStefan32

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"Upside" aka another project.

No, we arent a role player away from being relevant, but sorry, we fell to the #4 pick. Complain all you want, but it is what it is. The odds of landing a superstar are absolutely nil. So a "Solid" player is more than good enough.


Well, if you don't want a project, then you draft Tatum. He is probably the most ready to contribute right now.
 

SirStefan32

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I do not believe the Suns would draft Markkanen at #4. He would be a trade-down option at best. Even then, the Suns have Chriss and Bender. However, I think Markkanen will develop into a nice player so he should not be underestimated.


No argument from me. I haven't seen the kid play all that much, so I really don't have a strong opinion. Honestly, McD found warren and Booker at the end of lottery, Chriss at #8, and Ulis in the second round. By comparison, I wanted Thskitishvili over Amare back in the day, so if McD drafts this kid, I won't be upset.
 
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Mainstreet

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No argument from me. I haven't seen the kid play all that much, so I really don't have a strong opinion. Honestly, McD found warren and Booker at the end of lottery, Chriss at #8, and Ulis in the second round. By comparison, I wanted Thskitishvili over Amare back in the day, so if McD drafts this kid, I won't be upset.

I wanted Nene over Amare. LOL :)

Thank goodness these players were drafted before Amare and that Jerry Colangelo trusted his judgement.
 

AzStevenCal

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Your words in bold are not true

the mentality of a "solid" player is more than good enough will get you at best a first round playoff exit and at worst a high lottery pick.

It really isn't that cut and dried IMO. Sure, we need a superstar but we aren't just a budding superstar away from success either. More than anything, we need to hit with this pick, which means that floor and risk also need to be considered. It's challenging to quantify all that, especially risk, but that's what our GM and scouts are going to have to do.
 
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AzStevenCal

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No argument from me. I haven't seen the kid play all that much, so I really don't have a strong opinion. Honestly, McD found warren and Booker at the end of lottery, Chriss at #8, and Ulis in the second round. By comparison, I wanted Thskitishvili over Amare back in the day, so if McD drafts this kid, I won't be upset.

What a goofball, it was NENE all the way man.:) Yeah, I've had some tremendous misses myself. I guaranteed that Don Maclean would be the next Danny Manning and Drew Gooden would be the next Karl Malone. And don't even get me started on Stromile Swift. The fact is, we have only a fraction of the information available compared to what the front offices have and even they fail at a fairly high rate.
 

SirStefan32

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What a goofball, it was NENE all the way man.:) Yeah, I've had some tremendous misses myself. I guaranteed that Don Maclean would be the next Danny Manning and Drew Gooden would be the next Karl Malone. And don't even get me started on Stromile Swift. The fact is, we have only a fraction of the information available compared to what the front offices have and even they fail at a fairly high rate.

Exactly! I enjoy debating with people who understand that we are all a bunch of amateurs. There is a reason I manage an IT team and not a basketball team. :cheers:
 

JCSunsfan

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What a goofball, it was NENE all the way man.:) Yeah, I've had some tremendous misses myself. I guaranteed that Don Maclean would be the next Danny Manning and Drew Gooden would be the next Karl Malone. And don't even get me started on Stromile Swift. The fact is, we have only a fraction of the information available compared to what the front offices have and even they fail at a fairly high rate.
Are your kidding? It was Chris Wilcox all the way.
 

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Are your kidding? It was Chris Wilcox all the way.
I was focused on Wilcox too.

Just be glad McD is in charge and not Lance Blanks. Heard a story on Burns & Gambo that Blanks passed on Kawhi Leonard because he sweated a lot during the interview and Blanks didn't think he would be able to handle the pressure of the NBA....smh.
 

AzStevenCal

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I was focused on Wilcox too.

Just be glad McD is in charge and not Lance Blanks. Heard a story on Burns & Gambo that Blanks passed on Kawhi Leonard because he sweated a lot during the interview and Blanks didn't think he would be able to handle the pressure of the NBA....smh.

Yeah, I heard that too. I'm sure it was more of a "final straw" but still, what a horrendous call. But I watched Kawhi play high school ball and watched a lot of pickup games too and I never saw the player we see now. I think Pop deserves a lot of the credit there, with maybe a little going to Bill Frieder's UM assistant coach.
 
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Mainstreet

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Are your kidding? It was Chris Wilcox all the way.

For years I thought Wilcox would be a perfect fit in a Suns uniform. Ugh.

Did I tell anyone I liked Lonny Baxter coming out of college?
 

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Yeah, I heard that too. I'm sure it was more of a "final straw" but still, what a horrendous call. But I watched Kawhi play high school ball and watched a lot of pickup games too and I never saw the player we see now. I think Pop deserves a lot of the credit there, with maybe a little going to Bill Frieder's UM assistant coach.


Fisher helped him yes but the biggest impact since he got to the NBA IMO is Chip Engelland the shooting coach of the Spurs. Kawhi is a great offensive player now entirely because he's improved his shot so much that teams can't back off him and now his athleticism and off teh bounce game is a huge factor because guys worry he's going to hit the shot and then he goes by them.

I'm surprised nobody has hired Engelland as a promotion, I've always wondered is he just content at what he does or overlooked because Pop is so good?
 
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Mainstreet

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I was a huge Baxter fan. I really thought he was strong enough to overcome being short.

I hope the Suns keep us a away from their draft war room. :lol:

There is such a fine line between those who can be successful in the NBA and those who drop out.
 

AzStevenCal

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Fisher helped him yes but the biggest impact since he got to the NBA IMO is Chip Engelland the shooting coach of the Spurs. Kawhi is a great offensive player now entirely because he's improved his shot so much that teams can't back off him and now his athleticism and off teh bounce game is a huge factor because guys worry he's going to hit the shot and then he goes by them.

I'm surprised nobody has hired Engelland as a promotion, I've always wondered is he just content at what he does or overlooked because Pop is so good?

Yeah, when I gave credit to Pop I was rolling all his assistants in under him. I really don't follow anything about the individual guys that work for him so I knew nothing specific about the guys who worked with him, including Chip.
 

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Your words in bold are not true

the mentality of a "solid" player is more than good enough will get you at best a first round playoff exit and at worst a high lottery pick.

Newsflash...we had the 2nd worst record in the NBA. We arent even contending to win our division next year.

We are in total rebuilding mode. A collection of solid players over multiple drafts will eventually result in a very solid team that is a contender. Look at all the top teams. They have 2 stars, surrounded by solid supports. We have our 2: Booker/Bledsoe. Now you surround them with solid guys. And you eventually win.

This idea that you take a boom/bust type player leads you to more busts than anything.
 

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Where are you advocating we play Markkanen? Chriss is our 4. Are you playing him at the 5 or saying we should take Chriss' backup at 4?
 

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And for the record, the GM has already said we are taking a guard or a wing. He did mention Markkanen at the end of rattling off a bunch of prospects, which makes me wonder if they aren't going to try to move back into the lottery.
 
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StreetTruckinTitan

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You def play him at the 5. He's a stretch type player similar to Frye but not as soft. He can move to the four if we want to pair with Chandler and be very effective from the outside. We'd have a pretty decent stable of centers with Chandler, Markkanan and if we retain Williams.
 

AzStevenCal

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Where are you advocating we play Markkanen? Chriss is our 4. Are you playing him at the 5 or saying we should take Chriss' backup at 4?

I like the idea of a front line of Bender, Chriss and Markkanen. All of them can guard up and down and B&C both provide some rim protection that Lauri is missing. It's anyone's guess which player would draw which positional label but I see enough complementary skills to at least have hope that it would flourish.
 
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