Haliburton was the overwhelming choice on this board. After the pick was made we (that includes me) starting looking for reasons why the Suns did not seem to make the obvious choice, figuring that there was probably was something going on behind the scenes that we did not know about.
Same for me. Had Hali top 3 in my personal big board and thought he was the pick when he made it to us. However there were serious questions at the time as to whether or not he could legitimately fit into 1 specific role as a SG or PG and then reports came out about him telling teams not to draft him.
The point is he may not have gotten that very chance to prove himself on this team. The Kings are a pretty poor team without a whole lot of guard depth so Haliburton was able to get a lot of playing time right away. On this team with Paul starting and playing 32 or so minutes and with Monty being confident in Payne and his vet guards Haliburton may have seen next to no playing time.
I’m trying to figure out why you especially don’t like Cam Payne.
And you don’t think it’s possible that after the bubble the Suns thought that the difference between Payne and Halliburton was negligible? James Jones LOVES Cam Payne and at the time he was a signature signing.
That’s terrible reasoning. With Payne the bubble is what matters.
So? It was 8 pro games and he had previous pro experience. This is prime whataboutism right now.
I actually liked Smith after Halliburton. At the time I wanted Smith if they weren’t going to get Halliburton.
Yes and the way called him and he was working out well and James Jones really liked him. Just because they didn’t pick him up before the bubble doesn’t mean they thought he was expendable. They spent the bubble with him and a few months before the draft with him. They probably had a good idea of what he was. And they obviously liked what they saw.
Ok... and...?
