With the 4th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns select...

[Finito]

He’s a weak PG that struggles against length. He shot really well against poor competition in their non-conference schedule and then tanked pretty hard in the B12. I don’t project him to be a strong shooter/scorer in the NBA.

Exactly he started out on fire but once people got a look at him the party was over.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I like Bamba he's raw on offense but so was Amare.

Expecting someone to progress offensively like Amare is the height of folly. Amare was a unicorn - went from hopeless to the best offensive big man in basketball.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Teams started to scheme him out of the game and he didn't have good enough teammates to make the opposition pay either. I think with better teammates who can take advantage of their teammate getting extra attention he will fair much better. He was almost single handedly carrying that team all season and thus it makes sense that as the competition got better his ability to play well and win dropped off. Bottom line is the guy can flat out shoot, has very good passing instincts/court vision, and is very good at getting in the lane a drawing contact. I have a hard time seeing him not being a good scorer and passer at the next level.

 

[SirStefan32]

I really struggle with this one. Almost as much as I struggle with Doncic, The thing is, Young can shoot, and he can pass. Those things will translate. I am not too concerned about him struggling recently. He has no help on his team, so the teams figured how to stop him. He does multiple things well, which I believe will make him a good NBA player. If he were slightly taller and a bit more explosive, nobody would doubt him. I'd be comfortable drafting him at #4 if Ayton and Bagley were gone. I'd be torn if both he and Doncic were available, though.

 

[Phrazbit]

I do not think Bamba is anywhere near ready like Amare entering the NBA.

However, I think Bamba projects more like Gobert... which is a really special in it's own right.

Maybe more like Bismack Biyombo.

 

[Finito]

Expecting someone to progress offensively like Amare is the height of folly. Amare was a unicorn - went from hopeless to the best offensive big man in basketball.

Amare was never "hopeless" come on now. He was a top ten pick and the number one high school prospect in the country. It's not like he came out of nowhere. Outside of a 15 foot jumper he never really developed any stand out offensive moves either and no he was never the best offensive big man in basketball considering he shared the era with guys named Duncan and O'Niel

 

[Finito]

Maybe more like Bismack Biyombo.

He's head and shoulders a better prospect that Biyambo. Bamba has been on the basketball radar for a long time now.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

He's head and shoulders a better prospect that Biyambo. Bamba has been on the basketball radar for a long time now.

He legitimately has Gobert like measurements as well. I have seen some compare Bamba to Noel, but he has like 6" of standing reach on him.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Amare was never "hopeless" come on now. He was a top ten pick and the number one high school prospect in the country. It's not like he came out of nowhere. Outside of a 15 foot jumper he never really developed any stand out offensive moves either and no he was never the best offensive big man in basketball considering he shared the era with guys named Duncan and O'Niel

I can agree with Duncan, but no way was Jermaine O'Neal a better offensive player than Amare. Sure he had a better post game and was a better defender, but pure offense I have to go with Amare.

 

[Phrazbit]

He legitimately has Gobert like measurements as well. I have seen some compare Bamba to Noel, but he has like 6" of standing reach on him.

Don't fall in love with measurements. Watch a couple full Texas games... you'll come away thinking that he is a serious project, and most project bigs end up being total busts. There are too many players with legit skill in the top part of this draft for me to consider Bamba with a top 5 pick.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Don't fall in love with measurements. Watch a couple full Texas games... you'll come away thinking that he is a serious project, and most project bigs end up being total busts. There are too many players with legit skill in the top part of this draft for me to consider Bamba with a top 5 pick.

I get where your coming from, but if he can have a Gobert like impact on defense than he is worth a pretty high pick to me. Right around 5 is likely the highest I would select him personally. That would obviously depend on who is still on the board at 5 though.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Amare was never "hopeless" come on now. He was a top ten pick and the number one high school prospect in the country. It's not like he came out of nowhere. Outside of a 15 foot jumper he never really developed any stand out offensive moves either and no he was never the best offensive big man in basketball considering he shared the era with guys named Duncan and O'Niel

I can agree with Duncan, but no way was Jermaine O'Neal a better offensive player than Amare. Sure he had a better post game and was a better defender, but pure offense I have to go with Amare.

I have to believe he was talking about Shaq. But by 2005, Shaq wasn’t Shaq anymore and Amare was a freaking unstoppable offensive force. He could shoot the 15-20 footer, take guys off the dribble and even had a great back to the basket spin move that was lightning fast.

To be honest... just as far as offense was concerned, he was better than Duncan. Duncan towered over him defensively but Amare was the best big offensive player in the game the year before his micro... and it was only his THIRD year.

Sigh.

 

[Phrazbit]

I get where your coming from, but if he can have a Gobert like impact on defense than he is worth a pretty high pick to me. Right around 5 is likely the highest I would select him personally. That would obviously depend on who is still on the board at 5 though.

That is a huge "if", and the modern NBA it's really hard to win if you're playing 4 on 5 on offense, there just isn't a ton of value in a one dimensional rim protector anymore.

 

[Praxis]

It is BS that Young struggled against length. Watch his tape. He can shoot over anyone, and at NBA distance. If we draft him, I hope Sarver opens up his wallet to get Nash to come work with him. I think Curry is fine without Nash at this point.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I have to believe he was talking about Shaq. But by 2005, Shaq wasn’t Shaq anymore and Amare was a freaking unstoppable offensive force. He could shoot the 15-20 footer, take guys off the dribble and even had a great back to the basket spin move that was lightning fast.

To be honest... just as far as offense was concerned, he was better than Duncan. Duncan towered over him defensively but Amare was the best big offensive player in the game the year before his micro... and it was only his THIRD year.

Sigh.

Duncan was a similar scorer and was also a very good passer out of the post. The passing is a big part of why I can put Duncan over Amare on offense.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

That is a huge "if", and the modern NBA it's really hard to win if you're playing 4 on 5 on offense, there just isn't a ton of value in a one dimensional rim protector anymore.

The Utah Jazz have the leagues 2nd best defense with Gobert in the middle. They are also a very good team when Gobert is on the court. Bamba also seems quick enough to at least handle 4s and 5s out on the perimeter.

 

[Mainstreet]

That is a huge "if", and the modern NBA it's really hard to win if you're playing 4 on 5 on offense, there just isn't a ton of value in a one dimensional rim protector anymore.

I think Bamba's floor is a rim protector.

He has the chance to catch lop passes, clean up underneath the basket and possibly hit the 3 point shot. IMO, he has a chance to be better than Rudy Gobert in time.

 

[Phrazbit]

The Utah Jazz have the leagues 2nd best defense with Gobert in the middle. They are also a very good team when Gobert is on the court. Bamba also seems quick enough to at least handle 4s and 5s out on the perimeter.

Just because they have the similar measurements does not mean he will be as effective. Which is why I meantioned Bismack Biyambo... a guy with an 8 foot wingspan, a rim protector... also, he kinda has no skill. I don't see much skill in Bamba's game.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Duncan was a similar scorer and was also a very good passer out of the post. The passing is a big part of why I can put Duncan over Amare on offense.

Yeah... that’s true. And I always think of Duncan as just a 20-23 ppg guy but that’s really because of the team game he played. When/if they needed Duncan to go off, he always could.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Just because they have the similar measurements does not mean he will be as effective. Which is why I meantioned Bismack Biyambo... a guy with an 8 foot wingspan, a rim protector... also, he kinda has no skill. I don't see much skill in Bamba's game.

Well he does already have a decent jumper (not quite to the 3 point line or anything, but decent). Also his standing reach is about 3 inches higher than Biyombo (not a massive difference, but enough to make a bit of a difference).

 

[Phrazbit]

Well he does already have a decent jumper (not quite to the 3 point line or anything, but decent). Also his standing reach is about 3 inches higher than Biyombo (not a massive difference, but enough to make a bit of a difference).

I know in workouts with no defenders I've seen clips where Bamba has a decent shooting touch. On the court with people actually playing against him though, his jumper was hot garbage. He shot 32% on 2 pt jumpers.

http://hoop-math.com/Texas2018.php

When I watched Texas live, he did not wow me, and when I read what the scouts say about him, even the bullish ones, their concerns are HUGE redflags. Bigs who play with iffy energy and are supposedly in there for defense are the stuff busts are defined by.

Another thing worth noting... Bagley absolutely destroyed him head to head this year.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I know in workouts with no defenders I've seen clips where Bamba has a decent shooting touch. On the court with people actually playing against him though, his jumper was hot garbage. He shot 32% on 2 pt jumpers.

http://hoop-math.com/Texas2018.php

When I watched Texas live, he did not wow me, and when I read what the scouts say about him, even the bullish ones, their concerns are HUGE redflags. Bigs who play with iffy energy and are supposedly in there for defense are the stuff busts are defined by.

Another thing worth noting... Bagley absolutely destroyed him head to head this year.

I think most people would take Bagley over Bamba anyways. I have Bagley in my top 3 and Bamba somewhere around around 7-8.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Another thing worth noting... Bagley absolutely destroyed him head to head this year.

That seems like an unfair characterization imho. He had a better game, for sure, but a lot of his best moments came in overtime after Bamba fouled out. Also, Bamba was on Wendell Carter for the vast majority of the game. Then of course there's the play at 12:10.

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For the record, Bagley had a great game, and I would take Bagley over Bamba, but "absolutely destroyed him head to head" would have required them matching up against each other far more frequently in this game than they actually did.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think most people would take Bagley over Bamba anyways. I have Bagley in my top 3 and Bamba somewhere around around 7-8.

Bagley is awesome. He can make a lot of players look bad. An argument can be made he is the best player in the draft.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Bagley is awesome. He can make a lot of players look bad. An argument can be made he is the best player in the draft.

Bagley did pretty well putting a body on Bamba and getting position for rebounds. Many athletic players these days do not understand boxing out.