Luka Doncic is an entitled p.o.s

[Finito]

So I'm going to sound like a curmudgeon here:

There is no such thing as luck.

McD was using a flawed process. He kept betting on kids with high potential who had no go to skill on a basketball court.

I wanted Jayson Tatum. I remember quite a few people on this board lauding Jackson and bashing Tatum. Tatum supposedly had little upside, while Jackson was going to be the best player in that draft.

Obviously Danny Ainge was smart enough to know its crazy to bet on guys like Jackson and you take the guy with an NBA skill over guys who are just athletes. The Suns had no shot at Tatum, but they could've taken Fox.

Oh 100% luck is involved. We’ve seen even the most blue chip prospects fail over and over. It’s true in both

McDonough also hit big on a raw Devin Booker who was a bench player at Kentucky.

Danny Ainge wasn’t some super smart draft guru his draft history is pretty bad. He took plenty of raw guys that didn’t pan out

 

[TJ]

Really?

I think you are in the minority there.

I get that Young has flaws defensively, but he is a very good scorer.

For the Suns Ayton is more valuable because we have Booker, but not for most teams.

Agree here. The argument people have been making about Mikal Bridges and his worth has been that he's a prolific defender, which I agree with. Ayton, however, is both an excellent defender and efficient scorer when tasked with the job of scoring. Trae and Luka are liabilities defensively, which makes Ayton closer to those guys' worth than people want to admit.

 

[TJ]

I think Young is a significantly better player than Ayton, but like it was said, finding a good big man is so much harder than finding a good guard.

I'd probably still take Ayton over Young because of that. The real error was taking Josh Jackson. Dude was really good at anything other than being an athlete at Kansas. Those guys develop sometimes, but usually they don't. You take guys with real, definable skills high in the lottery.

Better? Sure. Significant? No.

Jackson, Len, Bender, Chriss, Marshall, and others set this franchise back years.

 

[TJ]

I missed this. I dont think he's going to eat his way out of the league like Zion, but dude just doesnt GAF in the offseason

Luka Doncic says he relaxed 'maybe too much' after reportedly showing up to camp at 260 pounds

TNT's Reggie Miller had plenty to say about Doncic's weight during a Mavericks loss.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Chaplin]

We agree about this. I think the Suns gave up on Stix too soon.

They should have concentrated on developing his inside game and then worked on his outside game later.

You keep saying this over and over and over. They haven’t given up on him yet.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns didn't pick up on the option for Stix so he will be a free agent next season.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Josh Jackson really stings, I was all in on that pick too. But looking back it should not have taken hindsight... a raw player, who needs to really dedicate himself if he wants to be an NBA player... who also does wildly stupid **** off the court.

I don't think James Jones will ever draft that type of player.

I am not going to move the goalposts and say I didn’t want josh. I was 100% in. But I do recall the incident where he kicked some woman’s car and I posted on here that said actions give me pause.

 

[AzStevenCal]

So I'm going to sound like a curmudgeon here:

There is no such thing as luck.

McD was using a flawed process. He kept betting on kids with high potential who had no go to skill on a basketball court.

I wanted Jayson Tatum. I remember quite a few people on this board lauding Jackson and bashing Tatum. Tatum supposedly had little upside, while Jackson was going to be the best player in that draft.

Obviously Danny Ainge was smart enough to know its crazy to bet on guys like Jackson and you take the guy with an NBA skill over guys who are just athletes. The Suns had no shot at Tatum, but they could've taken Fox.

I agree with most of this but when I said "poor luck" I was talking about our position in the draft versus where we should have been by record. Then, you also have to consider that when we did get picks that aligned with how bad we were, it was in weaker drafts until we finally got lucky with a number one pick.

Regardless though, we were incompetent. Anyone that watched Chriss and Jackson play should have known better and no one got to see Bender play which should have been a giant red flag all on it's own.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

So I'm going to sound like a curmudgeon here:

There is no such thing as luck.

McD was using a flawed process. He kept betting on kids with high potential who had no go to skill on a basketball court.

I wanted Jayson Tatum. I remember quite a few people on this board lauding Jackson and bashing Tatum. Tatum supposedly had little upside, while Jackson was going to be the best player in that draft.

Obviously Danny Ainge was smart enough to know its crazy to bet on guys like Jackson and you take the guy with an NBA skill over guys who are just athletes. The Suns had no shot at Tatum, but they could've taken Fox.

Jaylen Brown says hello.

ainge bets on athleticism with no single skill set too, he just did it with a guy who didn’t have red flags and it turned up aces.

 

[Chaplin]

The Suns didn't pick up on the option for Stix so he will be a free agent next season.

So? We all know that. I’m not sure why you have that on repeat so much.

It’s possible we’ll resign him and the Suns just didn’t think he is worth the dollars that am extension for a #10 pick would be.

He certainly hasn’t lived up to his draft position and certainly doesn’t deserve the kind of money that draft slot is owed.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns are limited to the qualfying offer to sign Stix. Other teams can offer more if they like him.

 

[Chaplin]

The Suns are limited to the qualfying offer to sign Stix. Other teams can offer more if they like him.

Ok... and again, you're assuming that other teams like him. Why are the Suns always the one with the incorrect opinions on our own players?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Never quite understood why teams don't pick up options. Creates a lame duck year with no future. Basically becomes a one year contract with a guarantee not to resign.

 

[GatorAZ]

Jaylen Brown says hello.

ainge bets on athleticism with no single skill set too, he just did it with a guy who didn’t have red flags and it turned up aces.

I didn’t like Brown coming out of college but he’s regarded as one of the emotionally mature players in the league. That had a lot to do with him going that high considering he wasn’t really elite in any skill at Cal.

 

[GatorAZ]

Josh Jackson was the better fit than Tatum in real time. They needed an athletic wing defender next to Book and TJ Warren wasn’t that guy. Tatum was too similar to those guys. I remember Mainstreet wanting Fox and Slin hyping up Tatum but it was near universal on here liking the JJ pick.

 

[JCSunsfan]

So I'm going to sound like a curmudgeon here:

There is no such thing as luck.

McD was using a flawed process. He kept betting on kids with high potential who had no go to skill on a basketball court.

I wanted Jayson Tatum. I remember quite a few people on this board lauding Jackson and bashing Tatum. Tatum supposedly had little upside, while Jackson was going to be the best player in that draft.

Obviously Danny Ainge was smart enough to know its crazy to bet on guys like Jackson and you take the guy with an NBA skill over guys who are just athletes. The Suns had no shot at Tatum, but they could've taken Fox.

I considered Fox in the same category as Jackson. Much more athletic than skilled. And that is even a more critical factor with a point guard than a wing. The difference is that Jackson was a total knucklehead. He could have been a great NBA player but he already thought he was great.

 

[JCSunsfan]

James Jones certainly drafted Stix too early, but Stix is clearly a good kid that wants to learn. Jones seems to have an ability to avoid drafting or signing head cases.

So there's that.

 

[Mainstreet]

Never quite understood why teams don't pick up options. Creates a lame duck year with no future. Basically becomes a one year contract with a guarantee not to resign.

I'm with you on Stix. I guess the Suns didn't want to commit a guaranteed $4,458,000 to Smith next season.

In fairness to the Suns, I think they tried to trade him but apparently there were no takers.

 

[Finito]

Ok... and again, you're assuming that other teams like him. Why are the Suns always the one with the incorrect opinions on our own players?

Because it’s a really odd. It’s super rare a team doesn’t pick up that option on a player drafted in the top ten. I wanna say it’s only happened 2 or 3 times

Even if you don’t want him and are going to trade him the team your trading him to would want him under contract.

It’s like you just tanked your own players trade value.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

James Jones certainly drafted Stix too early, but Stix is clearly a good kid that wants to learn. Jones seems to have an ability to avoid drafting or signing head cases.

So there's that.

Agreed. He generally drafts for downside protection imo. Guys he knows have a higher floor. May mean if we ever need a star he doesn’t get that guy.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Agreed. He generally drafts for downside protection imo. Guys he knows have a higher floor. May mean if we ever need a star he doesn’t get that guy.

Perhaps. But maybe he figures Booker and Ayton give us star power and he's been trying to acquire pieces that can fill in around them?

 

[Mainstreet]

Perhaps. But maybe he figures Booker and Ayton give us star power and he's been trying to acquire pieces that can fill in around them?

The Suns will have to invest in more in scouting to regain my confidence.

I understood the trade-down for Cam Johnson, the selection of Ty Jerome and even trading the 29th pick for Shamet (even though I wanted McBride).

I understand the play-now philosophy when the window is open.

I have more trouble the Suns not drafting Tyrese Haliburton but I could better accept that if they gave Stix another year to develop by picking up his option.

All that said, James Jones has done a tremendous job as the Suns GM.

 

[Chaplin]

Because it’s a really odd. It’s super rare a team doesn’t pick up that option on a player drafted in the top ten. I wanna say it’s only happened 2 or 3 times

Even if you don’t want him and are going to trade him the team your trading him to would want him under contract.

It’s like you just tanked your own players trade value.

The player does that just fine on his own. He has the value of a late first at best.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Perhaps. But maybe he figures Booker and Ayton give us star power and he's been trying to acquire pieces that can fill in around them?

Good point

 

[Hoop Head]

So? We all know that. I’m not sure why you have that on repeat so much.

It’s possible we’ll resign him and the Suns just didn’t think he is worth the dollars that am extension for a #10 pick would be.

He certainly hasn’t lived up to his draft position and certainly doesn’t deserve the kind of money that draft slot is owed.

Stix has only played 2 years, this being year 2, we won't even have his full bird rights this offseason. I don't believe a 1st round pick has ever had their option declined and resigned for less with his current team, especially a lottery pick. The Suns gave up on him by declining that option and it's been proven further by Hutchinson and Wainright seeing more time than Stix also.