Trade down scenarios with the #1 pick

[Mainstreet]

I wish there was more film on the guy.

From what I did see he has terrible footwork on his jumper. His toes were pointing three different directions on three different shots. Most often they point left at a 45 degree angle putting tons of unnecessary stress on his back and knees. That can cause long term problems which doesn't bode well for a guy who had back surgery at 19 years old.

I'm gonna guess that his poor elevation in traffic is due to his back issues. He had very little lift post surgery. I'm interested to see what he he looks like in work outs.

Defensively he has poor footwork. He's often flat footed on the perimeter and not exactly a rim protector.

There's a ton of red flags for a team to pass on Bamba or Bagley to get Porter. I just don't see enough there to warrant a top 5 pick in a LOADED draft.

He could be Griffin or he could be Oden.

I don't see it either. Charlotte was stubborn about drafting Frank Kaminsky when Trey Lyles and Myles Turner were still on the board. Some teams lock onto a player and won't let go.

 

[pokerface]

I really don't see any good trade down scenarios because other teams in the top 6 are getting studs as well. I don't think there is enough of a talent gap to throw us a bunch of assets for the trade up.

 

[Mainstreet]

I really don't see any good trade down scenarios because other teams in the top 6 are getting studs as well. I don't think there is enough of a talent gap to throw us a bunch of assets for the trade up.

This is very close to the truth. I guess this is why McDonough dangles the bait of #1 because one never knows for sure.

The more likely scenario is the Suns move up from #16 a few slots for a player you like... Shai or someone else.

I would be happy staying at #1 and #16.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I really don't see any good trade down scenarios because other teams in the top 6 are getting studs as well. I don't think there is enough of a talent gap to throw us a bunch of assets for the trade up.

Yeah. I think we have the assets to get a deal done (without Booker or Jackson) but I don't see why anyone in the top 5 or 6 would be a seller. About the most I could hope for is for the Kings to join the Grizzlies on the Porter bandwagon. A trade with the Kings (to shut out Memphis) won't net us much but it might get us another future first. Anything extra is better than nothing extra.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Some of these tweets provide great amusement.

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[pokerface]

This is very close to the truth. I guess this is why McDonough dangles the bait of #1 because one never knows for sure.

The more likely scenario is the Suns move up from #16 a few slots for a player you like... Shai or someone else.

I would be happy staying at #1 and #16.

I wouldnt be happy if we stayed at #16. It would be ok I guess. I think a lot depends on how free agency plays out. If we score there then #16 isn't as big a deal.

 

[Mainstreet]

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Exactly. We could make up more realistic rumors all day long.

 

[Mainstreet]

I wouldnt be happy if we stayed at #16. It would be ok I guess. I think a lot depends on how free agency plays out. If we score there then #16 isn't as big a deal.

Suns should go BPA and fill in any holes in free agency. They have the assets to do it.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We just need to start spreading rumors.

Atlanta wants to trade up with us to draft Bamba.
Someone else really wants to move up to get Mikal Bridges.
Cleveland wants Wendell Carter.
Dallas really wants MPJr.

Everyone except Trae. Maybe we can get him to drop.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Wow. That’s fascinating. He must be killing it in workouts. We, and most of the mainstream media, have just relegated him to the last of top 7 picks (or so it seems) but we might be missing something here.

I think for their (Grizzlies) current makeup, he's the best fit. They don't necessarily need a point guard or a big, so Porter is the most logical.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Ayton is the safe pick. No one should fault McD for taking him and getting upset that Bagley or Bamba ends up the better pro. I highly doubt Ayton won't be a solid player and a franchise Center. A franchise Center doesn't need to be an All-Star, but they can't be too far from it either. I could see him averaging 16 & 10 at the least and manning the position for close to a decade. Sort of like a Brook Lopez. Not great but not bad either. A dependable player that you know what to expect he'll give night in and night out. Having Jackson and Booker would alleviate the sting if he's never an All-Star. Booker should be in the discussion this year and Jackson is on his way. Not a lot of teams have 3 All-Stars around the same age, locked in long term. So if Booker and Jackson are All-Star wings with a sturdy Center like Ayton to round out our Big 3, we should be a team to contend with. I believe Ayton is more likely to be an All-Star than Jackson though and he'll more than likely be our #2 option, possibly our #1a or #1b with Booker. If that happens, we'll contend for titles. Ayton is the most likely to lead us to title contention, IMO.

If Ayton is a 16-10 player, I will be shocked. I think he's easily a 20-10 or 22-10 player very early on in his career. And if he's Brook Lopez then he's a massive disappointment for what he is currently projected to be.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Some of these tweets provide great amusement.

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how did anyone even find this guy with 8 followers?

 

[Hoop Head]

If Ayton is a 16-10 player, I will be shocked. I think he's easily a 20-10 or 22-10 player very early on in his career. And if he's Brook Lopez then he's a massive disappointment for what he is currently projected to be.

I think that is his floor, which isn't bad, really. Of course he has the potential to be so much more. Potential is a big part of a lot of the players entering the draft this year. Ayton has the highest floor of anyone. I don't think he has the highest ceiling but he does have the best odds of being a great player throughout his career. 16 & 10 isn't terrible and anyone expecting more in his rookie year may be disappointed. He'll take some time getting his feet under him but I'm confident he will. 16 & 10 for a rookie is good and should show everyone what he's capable of becoming with experience. He's 20 years old, I don't expect him to be a world beater out of the gate.

 

[Hoop Head]

how did anyone even find this guy with 8 followers?

I'd guess he was found while looking at hashtags. The "company" he works for has another dozen accounts that are just like that one but pushing other absurdities. They all seem to link to each other also, which could be how it was found. The reach for a dozen accounts peddling basketball news is probably pretty large. Even with limited followers, it's easy to spread around twitter responding to, liking, retweeting, and engaging with others. Once you stumble across one, there are 3 more linked on their feed with the next person having another few linked, etc. It's like a pyramid scheme with Fake Sports News. Some have taken to calling them Russians, not sure about that but the similarities are there in terms of spreading fake news.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'd guess he was found while looking at hashtags. The "company" he works for has another dozen accounts that are just like that one but pushing other absurdities. They all seem to link to each other also, which could be how it was found. The reach for a dozen accounts peddling basketball news is probably pretty large. Even with limited followers, it's easy to spread around twitter responding to, liking, retweeting, and engaging with others. Once you stumble across one, there are 3 more linked on their feed with the next person having another few linked, etc. It's like a pyramid scheme with Fake Sports News. Some have taken to calling them Russians, not sure about that but the similarities are there in terms of spreading fake news.

the internet is a weird place.

 

[pokerface]

We just need to start spreading rumors.

Atlanta wants to trade up with us to draft Bamba.
Someone else really wants to move up to get Mikal Bridges.
Cleveland wants Wendell Carter.
Dallas really wants MPJr.

Everyone except Trae. Maybe we can get him to drop.

I didn't know you were a journalist JC! Ha

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think that is his floor, which isn't bad, really. Of course he has the potential to be so much more. Potential is a big part of a lot of the players entering the draft this year. Ayton has the highest floor of anyone. I don't think he has the highest ceiling but he does have the best odds of being a great player throughout his career. 16 & 10 isn't terrible and anyone expecting more in his rookie year may be disappointed. He'll take some time getting his feet under him but I'm confident he will. 16 & 10 for a rookie is good and should show everyone what he's capable of becoming with experience. He's 20 years old, I don't expect him to be a world beater out of the gate.

I’ll be shocked and disappointed if he doesn’t average at least 16, and should average 18-20 his rookie season. The nba is not made up of stud bigs. He’s not going to go against a ton of great players, even as a rookie. He should be able to get his.

Let’s look at some rookies:


KAT 18 & 11 as a rookie

Embiid 20 & 8 as a rookie

AD 14 & 8 as a rookie

So average is 17.3 & 9

 

[Krangodnzr]

I think that is his floor, which isn't bad, really. Of course he has the potential to be so much more. Potential is a big part of a lot of the players entering the draft this year. Ayton has the highest floor of anyone. I don't think he has the highest ceiling but he does have the best odds of being a great player throughout his career. 16 & 10 isn't terrible and anyone expecting more in his rookie year may be disappointed. He'll take some time getting his feet under him but I'm confident he will. 16 & 10 for a rookie is good and should show everyone what he's capable of becoming with experience. He's 20 years old, I don't expect him to be a world beater out of the gate.

OK. I buy the premise that his floor is 16-10 for next season. I just think if that's his floor as a player, he probably had a major lower extremity injury early in his career and was robbed of most his athleticism. Dude is special. He scores with ease and even in the NBA, will be a top 3 athlete at the 5 in his rookie season.

I think his ceiling ranks nearly at the top of the class as well. Even in the guard/wing centric modern NBA, if you can get a big like Ayton, you take them over other positions.

 

[Phrazbit]

With Booker already a big time scorer, Ayton averaging 20 as a rookie is probably unrealistic but I think 16-18 points and 9-11 boards is totally doable.

I don't recall any of those other dudes having much competition for touches.

But I'll say... I expect that by years 3 and 4 Ayton will be scoring around 25 a night and hauling in 12 boards.

 

[pokerface]

It's going to be interesting watching how our team gels with Ayton in the lineup. I think everyones numbers start to climb.

 

[Cheesebeef]

With Booker already a big time scorer, Ayton averaging 20 as a rookie is probably unrealistic but I think 16-18 points and 9-11 boards is totally doable.

I don't recall any of those other dudes having much competition for touches.

But I'll say... I expect that by years 3 and 4 Ayton will be scoring around 25 a night and hauling in 12 boards.

all of this.

 

[Hoop Head]

Another thing to consider is we don't have a playmaking PG. How is Ayton going to get enough looks to score over 20 ppg if he doesn't have a quality PG feeding him the ball? He's not Booker, able to set up the offense and get his shot at will. He'll be the 2nd option, at best, and that's fine. I don't know if he'll be the 3rd option behind Josh but I doubt that. Jackson can score by cleaning up others mistakes, running down loose balls, rebounds, and sprinting back in transition. Ayton can score a lot of ways but this is the NBA, it won't be the same as it was at UofA. He'll need to work harder but I believe he will, he'll struggle some though. That's just what rookies do.

 

[pokerface]

Another thing to consider is we don't have a playmaking PG. How is Ayton going to get enough looks to score over 20 ppg if he doesn't have a quality PG feeding him the ball? He's not Booker, able to set up the offense and get his shot at will. He'll be the 2nd option, at best, and that's fine. I don't know if he'll be the 3rd option behind Josh but I doubt that. Jackson can score by cleaning up others mistakes, running down loose balls, rebounds, and sprinting back in transition. Ayton can score a lot of ways but this is the NBA, it won't be the same as it was at UofA. He'll need to work harder but I believe he will, he'll struggle some though. That's just what rookies do.

I think the suns score a pg somewhere.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I'm just excited that the Suns are finally going to be able to field a team that we can get excited about. In year one, Ayton could be one of the most exciting acquisitions in franchise history.

I think it was Cheese who mentioned that it's crazy that the Cardinals AND Suns might be getting franchise building blocks in the same year, within a matter of months.

All McD has to do is make the obvious choice and not screw it up. And if he can somehow use some of the draft capital he has gathered to trade up and add another good player, all of McD's flubs will be forgiven, because this team won't be like the middling, playoff flameout teams that the Colangelos assembled.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I think the suns score a pg somewhere.

Throw a good offer at Van Vleet that the Raptors won't match.