The 2018-2019 Around the NBA thread

[JCSunsfan]

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This is why I’ve hated the idea of youth being used as an excuse for losing.

The only reason that team is younger is because we have Rip Van Chandler on our team. Their key pieces have been together over a year now. False comparison. We have new players even the vets, young players, brand new coach.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

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This is why I’ve hated the idea of youth being used as an excuse for losing.

I watched this game, and it was close until late. Nuggets can't shoot, but Jokic had 16(!) assists. Jazz went ice cold in the 4th - which I was happy to see (I can't ever root for the Jazz even though I live in the SLC market) - but it was close until then.
The Nuggets are young but they have been together for a while now. In Suns terms, that would be more than one year of stability.
P.S. - The Suns need more than one year - hell, 6 months - without upheaval, imo.

P.P.S - Is it just me or has officiating really fallen off this year? They are looking too much for this freedom of movement crap while ignoring basic tenets of the game. Mitchell has this move where he jab steps, lifts his pivot foot to go the other way and starts dribbling. He is quick enough that it is nearly impossible to defend and he gets to the rim. Drives me nuts. Yet touching an offensive player away from the play gets a whistle. It is getting out of hand.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Cavaliers have their woes as well as detailed by Sam Amico.

http://amicohoops.net/nba-analysis-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-rumors-jr-smith-larry-drew-kevin-love/

 

[Chaplin]

The Cavaliers have their woes as well as detailed by Sam Amico.

http://amicohoops.net/nba-analysis-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-rumors-jr-smith-larry-drew-kevin-love/

I got a notification that Cleveland's veteran players don't think Collin Sexton knows how to play basketball. LOL

I wouldn't mind getting him and giving him a shot here...

 

[Hoop Head]

The Cavaliers have their woes as well as detailed by Sam Amico.

http://amicohoops.net/nba-analysis-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-rumors-jr-smith-larry-drew-kevin-love/

I saw this earlier about the Cavs. Apparently they are starting to think Sexton was a bad pick and he's not as far along as he should be. Sexton is averaging 2.2 assists per game to go with 2.1 turnovers in 23.7 minutes a game. He's not shooting or scoring well either, shooting 41% from the field, 22% from 3pt range, and averaging 11.1 points a game. His per is 11.1, with his eFG% at 42.5%, and TS% of 52.4%.

It was said that he compared well to Bledsoe but I think that's an insult to Bledsoe. Maybe he's the full time version of Bledsoe that started out last season on the Suns roster. He appears to be more of a combo guard in a PG's body, which isn't a surprise.

I know there was some talk here of trading up to acquire him in the draft but I am glad we didn't. I wasn't a fan of Sexton then and it seems like he is to much of a shoot first player to mesh that well with Ayton and Booker.

https://cavsnation.com/cavs-news-pe...ion-think-collin-sexton-doesnt-know-how-play/

 

[Mainstreet]

@Chaplin @Poop Head

Let's get Sexton and Fultz and see who is best. We can add them to our point guard collection. LMAO

 

[JCSunsfan]

@Chaplin @Poop Head

Let's get Sexton and Fultz and see who is best. We can add them to our point guard collection. LMAO

Who are you? Ryan McD? Isn't that his MO?

 

[JCSunsfan]

I got a notification that Cleveland's veteran players don't think Collin Sexton knows how to play basketball. LOL

I wouldn't mind getting him and giving him a shot here...

I've lost a lot of respect for "NBA vets" lately.

 

[Finito]

Sexton will be alright he's just on a horrible team with what sounds like some not so good teamates and the coaching job is a mess.

Trust me the cavs will get rid of all those veterans before Sexton

 

[Mainstreet]

Who are you? Ryan McD? Isn't that his MO?

Of course it was meant in humor. That seems to be the Suns mode of operation. I'm not against though if they had a quality starter. Sometimes one has to look for players like TJ McConnell.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Of course it was meant in humor. That seems to be the Suns mode of operation. I'm not against though if they had a quality starter. Sometimes one has to look for players like TJ McConnell.

I know. I figured I would play along.

 

[Hoop Head]

Sexton will be alright he's just on a horrible team with what sounds like some not so good teamates and the coaching job is a mess.

Trust me the cavs will get rid of all those veterans before Sexton

They aren't going to give up on him that quickly but his college stats really weren't better than what he's posting now. He averaged 3.6 assists a game to go with 2.8 turnovers. That's not the assist to turnover ratio you want to see from a PG that was taken in the lottery, in the top 10 at that. They would have been better off trading that Nets pick because at worst they would have someone to pair with Love right now to help him try to keep the Cavs in the playoff hunt. I'm not sure who they could have gotten for that pick, I know Bledsoe was available and I don't think any Suns fans would have minded sending him to Cleveland for that pick when he asked out. If Bledsoe is the worst they could have traded that pick for, that's still a lot better than what they are now.

That Nets pick could very well end up like the Suns pick this coming draft. It has more value in a trade than in selecting another rookie to add to our core, especially since there aren't any high quality PG's that figure to be in the top 10 next year. There are only 2 or 3 bigs that could play PF also. It's a wing dominate draft and we don't need more wings.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think I might rather stick with Okobo than trade for Sexton. Okobo has a more balanced game. Just the view from this present moment. Things will change of course.

 

[AzStevenCal]

That Nets pick could very well end up like the Suns pick this coming draft. It has more value in a trade than in selecting another rookie to add to our core, especially since there aren't any high quality PG's that figure to be in the top 10 next year. There are only 2 or 3 bigs that could play PF also. It's a wing dominate draft and we don't need more wings.

It's way too early to reach this conclusion. There are some highly rated 2nd year point guards that didn't get a lot of play last season (or 3rd year guards from the season before that) that could mature and dominate and there are a lot of new ones just entering college.

 

[Hoop Head]

It's way too early to reach this conclusion. There are some highly rated 2nd year point guards that didn't get a lot of play last season (or 3rd year guards from the season before that) that could mature and dominate and there are a lot of new ones just entering college.

I know it's early but if you look at some early mock drafts, you'll see the top PG's are listed in the teens. This is a wing heavy class, with a couple of bigs also.

Forbes has Garland at #11 and Morant at #20
NBADraft.net has Morant at #13, Garland is #23 there
BleacherReport has Morant at #25, Garland at #14

I know that's a very small sample size but most mocks only have 3-4 PG's as 1st round picks also. Darius Garland from Vanderbilt and Ja Morant from Murray State are the highest PG's on either of those and with one being listed in the lottery and the other slipping to the 20's, it's not that promising.

Last year's class had a number of standout players. You can see talk here about the top 6 players from about November on. Ayton, Doncic, Porter, Bagley, and Bamba were always looked at as top prospects and Trae Young squeezed himself in there early also to change it from a top 5 to top 6. This year's isn't as deep at the top, where the Suns will most likely be picking. There hasn't been a PG mentioned as the possible #1 overall pick, or even one going in the top 3 or 5. Zion is the best fit for us and he may be more Anthony Bennett than Larry Johnson entering the league. To get one of the best PG's though, the Bucks pick may work for that and that's not exactly promising.

 

[GatorAZ]

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[elindholm]

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It's funny that of the top four players in the 2017 draft, only one of them can shoot at all. It's like most of the league suddenly forgot that shooting is the single most important skill in basketball.

 

[Phrazbit]

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His defender was begging him to shoot too. Man, he looks like a disaster.

 

[Phrazbit]

Sexton relied on getting to the rim to score in college and his assist stats stunk there too. If the Cavs are surprised that he looks like that Colin Sexton kid who played for Alabama and not someone who was ready to be an NBA contributor, it is just more evidence that the Cavs are idiots.

Also, it's waaaaaaaaaaay to early to say there are not any high level point guards in this draft. The season hasn't even started yet. Furthermore, if we end up at the top of the draft, I'd be fine with taking a skilled freak like Zion and using our gobs of cap space on any one of the dozen of point guards in next year's free agent class.

 

[slinslin]

Fultz is the most mind-boggling draft story in NBA history.

His shot looked absolutely fine in college but somehow his complete mental makeup must have been destroyed for it to detoriate to this degree.

Maybe he is a guy that really just needs a change of scenery. He seems under the microscope in Philly.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We could trade for Fultz.

Fultz is the most mind-boggling draft story in NBA history.

His shot looked absolutely fine in college but somehow his complete mental makeup must have been destroyed for it to detoriate to this degree.

Maybe he is a guy that really just needs a change of scenery. He seems under the microscope in Philly.

Wasn't he working with some sort of personal trainer who tried to "fix" his shot over his draft summer? He repeatedly practiced a new motion and lost the mental and muscle memory I guess. The guy has the worst case of the yips I have ever seen.

 

[Mainstreet]

His defender was begging him to shoot too. Man, he looks like a disaster.

Fultz was lucky to hit the backboard on that shot much less the rim.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Jackson for Fultz? Somehow, I think we would get the raw end of that deal if it was straight up.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Jackson for Fultz? Somehow, I think we would get the raw end of that deal if it was straight up.

I'm a no on this, but not out of any love for Jackson. Fultz isn't the type of PG the Suns need. Fultz would cramp the spacing, and doesn't provide much else at this venture. I'd prefer to keep rolling Canaan and developing Okobo/Melton until a better fit can be found.

 

[Hoop Head]

Jackson for Fultz? Somehow, I think we would get the raw end of that deal if it was straight up.

I would be hesitant to do Okobo and Melton for Fultz. There's no reason to believe that he would improve mentally here compared to Philly. His confidence is shot and that's similar to what's wrong with Bender. I'd rather not have 2 headcases that are their own worst enemies.