With the FIRST pick in the 2018 NBA draft, the Phoenix Suns select...

[Superbone]

October 4?

And? Was the content dated for you? It was new for me.

Thanks for posting it, but yes, it is a little older than I expected. Anyone want to go look at film of Doncic last summer and the end of this year and see if he has improved any?

OK, good. For anybody that hasn't, like me, it's a great read and gives the full account of Luka Doncic.
Did you read it?

yes i did, several months ago.

[Superbone]

October 4?

And? Was the content dated for you? It was new for me.

Thanks for posting it, but yes, it is a little older than I expected. Anyone want to go look at film of Doncic last summer and the end of this year and see if he has improved any?

Did you read it?

yes i did, several months ago.

OK, good. For anybody that hasn't, like me, it's a great read and gives the full account of Luka Doncic and his upbringing.

[Superbone]

Having said that, I've been listening to Ayton's high school coach, his college coach, and James Jones and I am now full on team Ayton for our #1 draft pick. The guy is just too big and strong and skilled and continues to get better at every level as well as doesn't miss a workout. He's my guy. Make it so, McD. I think he may be better than Joel Embiid without the injuries and who wouldn't want that?

[Flagrant Fowl]

Having said that, I've been listening to Ayton's high school coach, his college coach, and James Jones and I am now full on team Ayton for our #1 draft pick. The guy is just too big and strong and skilled and continues to get better at every level as well as doesn't miss a workout. He's my guy. Make it so, McD. I think he may be better than Joel Embiid without the injuries and who wouldn't want that?

I really like the last part. If the Suns go with Ayton I hope he can at least body shame Chriss into becoming a professional.

I'm still wavering on a daily basis. I was about 90/10 Luka a few days ago, now around 65/35 Luka.

[O_Gardino]

October 4?

And? Was the content dated for you? It was new for me.

Thanks for posting it, but yes, it is a little older than I expected. Anyone want to go look at film of Doncic last summer and the end of this year and see if he has improved any?

Did you read it?

yes i did, several months ago.

You should read it again. His childhood has changed a lot since then.

[Indy]

Having said that, I've been listening to Ayton's high school coach, his college coach, and James Jones and I am now full on team Ayton for our #1 draft pick. The guy is just too big and strong and skilled and continues to get better at every level as well as doesn't miss a workout. He's my guy. Make it so, McD. I think he may be better than Joel Embiid without the injuries and who wouldn't want that?

Embiid is one of the best defensive centers in the game. What makes you think Ayton can just turn that on at the NBA level when he couldn't at the NCAA level?

[jonh]

Hot take--Just watched the NBA combine interview with Mo Bamba--Holy cow. I honestly would be fine trading down to 3, and picking him up.

[TOO]

Hot take--Just watched the NBA combine interview with Mo Bamba--Holy cow. I honestly would be fine trading down to 3, and picking him up.

Mo Bamba <3

[Superbone]

Having said that, I've been listening to Ayton's high school coach, his college coach, and James Jones and I am now full on team Ayton for our #1 draft pick. The guy is just too big and strong and skilled and continues to get better at every level as well as doesn't miss a workout. He's my guy. Make it so, McD. I think he may be better than Joel Embiid without the injuries and who wouldn't want that?

Embiid is one of the best defensive centers in the game. What makes you think Ayton can just turn that on at the NBA level when he couldn't at the NCAA level?

Who said he could "just turn it on"? Coaching, practice, and time. He's got the size, athleticism and intelligence to get there.

[O_Gardino]

I do like Bamba a lot, and we know how Sarver loves guys who interview well.

[Superbone]

Hot take--Just watched the NBA combine interview with Mo Bamba--Holy cow. I honestly would be fine trading down to 3, and picking him up.

Based on a single interview?!

[jonh]

And a single youtube highlight clip. Though to be fair, I was interested enough in the first interview to watch a second before posting.

Its probably a good thing that my personal opinion isn't going to be heavily relied on by the team come draft night. I might even take a breather from the board for the next few weeks, as there might be a lot of nothing but speculation for the next little bit.

[TOO]

And a single youtube highlight clip. Though to be fair, I was interested enough in the first interview to watch a second before posting.

Its probably a good thing that my personal opinion isn't going to be heavily relied on by the team come draft night. I might even take a breather from the board for the next few weeks, as there might be a lot of nothing but speculation for the next little bit.

The speculation is the best part.

[Superbone]

And a single youtube highlight clip. Though to be fair, I was interested enough in the first interview to watch a second before posting.

Its probably a good thing that my personal opinion isn't going to be heavily relied on by the team come draft night. I might even take a breather from the board for the next few weeks, as there might be a lot of nothing but speculation for the next little bit.

You can bank on it. Not much else to talk about for us Suns fans. Lots of prospects coming through for workouts though. But yeah, there's going to be a whole lot of speculation up until June 21st.

I'll give you this though, Bamba is definitely #1 on the all-interview team.

[Indy]

Having said that, I've been listening to Ayton's high school coach, his college coach, and James Jones and I am now full on team Ayton for our #1 draft pick. The guy is just too big and strong and skilled and continues to get better at every level as well as doesn't miss a workout. He's my guy. Make it so, McD. I think he may be better than Joel Embiid without the injuries and who wouldn't want that?

Embiid is one of the best defensive centers in the game. What makes you think Ayton can just turn that on at the NBA level when he couldn't at the NCAA level?

Who said he could "just turn it on"? Coaching, practice, and time. He's got the size, athleticism and intelligence to get there.

My point is he couldn't dominate defensively in the Pac-12, which is one of the worst NCAA conferences. So why do we think, even with time, he will show DPOY-type skills at the highest level on the planet?

[Superbone]

Having said that, I've been listening to Ayton's high school coach, his college coach, and James Jones and I am now full on team Ayton for our #1 draft pick. The guy is just too big and strong and skilled and continues to get better at every level as well as doesn't miss a workout. He's my guy. Make it so, McD. I think he may be better than Joel Embiid without the injuries and who wouldn't want that?

Embiid is one of the best defensive centers in the game. What makes you think Ayton can just turn that on at the NBA level when he couldn't at the NCAA level?

Who said he could "just turn it on"? Coaching, practice, and time. He's got the size, athleticism and intelligence to get there.

My point is he couldn't dominate defensively in the Pac-12, which is one of the worst NCAA conferences. So why do we think, even with time, he will show DPOY-type skills at the highest level on the planet?

After how many college basketball games and bad coaching? And I answered your question above.

[Cap]

Having said that, I've been listening to Ayton's high school coach, his college coach, and James Jones and I am now full on team Ayton for our #1 draft pick. The guy is just too big and strong and skilled and continues to get better at every level as well as doesn't miss a workout. He's my guy. Make it so, McD. I think he may be better than Joel Embiid without the injuries and who wouldn't want that?

Embiid is one of the best defensive centers in the game. What makes you think Ayton can just turn that on at the NBA level when he couldn't at the NCAA level?

Who said he could "just turn it on"? Coaching, practice, and time. He's got the size, athleticism and intelligence to get there.

My point is he couldn't dominate defensively in the Pac-12, which is one of the worst NCAA conferences. So why do we think, even with time, he will show DPOY-type skills at the highest level on the planet?

After how many college basketball games and bad coaching? And I answered your question above.

Maybe that’s a legitimate excuse, and his college performance doesn’t mean he can’t be a great NBA defender. But it certainly doesn’t mean he can. He has never shown that skill. He has the size, athleticism and work ethic, so maybe it’s possible, but he certainly hasn’t proven that he can master the skill. Any talk of him becoming a DPOY-level defender is wildly speculative at best.

And BTW, I still thInk his size is a little overrated. Standing reach and wingspan are more relevant measures of size than height and weight. By those measures, he’s considerably smaller than guys like Gobert and Bamba.

[Split T]

You're comparing him to basically the longest individuals the NBA has seen in awhile. 7'1 with a 7'5 wingspan is bigger than 98% of the league.

Tyler Ulis isn't that small when you compare him to Earl Boykins and mugsey bogues

[O_Gardino]

I would LOVE to sit in on the workouts. I think you can see a lot of what a player is capable of by asking him to do something new and seeing how quickly he picks it up.

[Superbone]

Embiid is one of the best defensive centers in the game. What makes you think Ayton can just turn that on at the NBA level when he couldn't at the NCAA level?

Who said he could "just turn it on"? Coaching, practice, and time. He's got the size, athleticism and intelligence to get there.

My point is he couldn't dominate defensively in the Pac-12, which is one of the worst NCAA conferences. So why do we think, even with time, he will show DPOY-type skills at the highest level on the planet?

After how many college basketball games and bad coaching? And I answered your question above.

Maybe that’s a legitimate excuse, and his college performance doesn’t mean he can’t be a great NBA defender. But it certainly doesn’t mean he can. He has never shown that skill. He has the size, athleticism and work ethic, so maybe it’s possible, but he certainly hasn’t proven that he can master the skill. Any talk of him becoming a DPOY-level defender is wildly speculative at best.

And BTW, I still thInk his size is a little overrated. Standing reach and wingspan are more relevant measures of size than height and weight. By those measures, he’s considerably smaller than guys like Gobert and Bamba.

Check out the Sean Miller interview on the new Suns app podcast, The Outlet when you get a chance (near the end). He was asked about Ayton's defensive capabilities.