2018 NBA Draft Thread

[Cap]

By definition, rebuilding is an exceptional situation

Not with a Sarver-run franchise. Secular suckitude.

[Mori Chu]

I don't mind if Daniels has a great game. I think he's a keeper and should stay on our team for a long time. We need his sharpshooting.

[Split T]

I think Canaan could easily end up our backup PG of the future. I love ulis and hope he develops, but I'm not banking on it and we're talking about a backup PG, not something worth fussing about. As for Daniels, he could just as easy be a sharpshooter off the bench for a long time here.

I'm ok sitting guys like Chandler and Dudley, which we do, because they know what we're doing here, have played their careers, and are choosing to remain here. But benching guys like Troy Daniels and Isaiah Canaan when they're playing well is just not cool. They're in their prime and fighting for their basketball futures, benching them sets a bad precedent and could come back to haunt us with future players.

I was all for the benching of Bledsoe and other vets last year, but looking back I hate it. If another team did what we did and literally threw the 2nd half of the season I would be pissed. The only acceptable move, other than letting him play, would have been trading him. Which is exactly what we should have done. We screwed up any good will we had with Bledsoe which caused him to demand a trade and go public which tanked his value. Brandon Knight also wasn't too thrilled with us and who knows how that relationship will play out.

If we decide Daniels isn't part of our future and we trade him to play Davon Reed, ok I can accept that, but don't bench him for a lesser player. That's just bad karma. And just a bad look for the rest of the league. And for Booker, who wants to win. Piss off Booker and this whole rebuild has to start again.

[In2ition]

You can never have enough shooters.

[Split T]

Marvin Bagley had 32/21 today.
Wendell Carter had 14/16/4 with 4 blocks
Trae Young with 39/14
Mo Bamba had 22/15 with 8 blocks last night.

[carey]

Marvin Bagley had 32/21 today.
Wendell Carter had 14/16/4 with 4 blocks
Trae Young with 39/14
Mo Bamba had 22/15 with 8 blocks last night.

Simmons just called Young the best freshman guard he's ever seen. He made 6 of 14 3's for those 39 points too.

[JCSunsfan]

Marvin Bagley had 32/21 today.
Wendell Carter had 14/16/4 with 4 blocks
Trae Young with 39/14
Mo Bamba had 22/15 with 8 blocks last night.

What a draft is coming. Wow. We will see what Ayton does.

[Shabazz]

Marvin Bagley had 32/21 today.
Wendell Carter had 14/16/4 with 4 blocks
Trae Young with 39/14
Mo Bamba had 22/15 with 8 blocks last night.

I think the top-6 are establishing themselves as a cut above.

Doncic
Ayton
Bagley
Young
Porter
Bamba

I just want a top 5 pick.

[INFORMER]

You think so? We've had a number of guard prospects over the years break out as upperclassmen who have struggled in the NBA (Kris Dunn, buddy hield, jimmer) Was there college success more to do with their advanced age or did they actually improve. Their NBA struggles would lean towards their advanced age being the culprit.

Kris Dunn has been very good this season.

Jimmer didn't have the athleticism to play in the NBA. His ballhandling and playmaking skills also weren't good enough.

Hield started playing well last season as soon as he got to Sacramento. He's been up and down this year but I don't look at his success in college a product of his age. He doesn't have elite physical tools, which is why he hasn't been great in the NBA so far.

[INFORMER]

Any interest in Bridges?

...It's possible Miles Bridges will be BPA at one of our picks.

I really liked him last year, but it feels like he has taken a step back this year, which is a bit disconcerting.

[In2ition]

Any interest in Bridges?

...It's possible Miles Bridges will be BPA at one of our picks.

I really liked him last year, but it feels like he has taken a step back this year, which is a bit disconcerting.

Yeah, I want nothing to do with him in the lottery. Mikal Bridges is a far superior prospect, imo.

[INFORMER]

I agree that the youngs don't look good, and that it is hard to see much progress from them. But this stuff takes time. The young guys are still REALLY young. They should all still be playing in college. Look at Len and how many years he's had, and he's just barely starting to have his act together. I think it'll be a few more years before these guys really start to be who they're going to be.

I, for one, am seeing flashes from Bender that I really like. I love the things he's good at, and I think a lot of the things he's bad at are fixable and will get better as he gets lots of reps and minutes. I think he is good enough to be a rotation NBA player.

Bender and Chriss just aren't that good. There are plenty of rookies this year that have already surpassed them. But the Suns will probably continue to play the age card for the next 2-3 years and we'll continue to waste time on them.

[INFORMER]

Again, winning with the young guys being the focal point is a sign of growth and maybe we don’t need such a high pick.

That is NOT how we are winning. We are NOT Philly. We’re not even LA with Lonzo, Ingram and Kuzma having significant roles on the team.

Solid point.

[INFORMER]

Who is to say that Canaan or Daniels are not part of our future? They are not old. Same with Monroe. Maybe we decide to sign him instead of Len.

Ryan would do something stupid like that.

You want to lose a locker room and create discord? Give players playing time who do not deserve it. Reward bad play and create entitled youngsters who get starting positions and minutes just because they were drafted in a certain spot.

I think that's a little melodramatic when applied to this current Suns roster.

[INFORMER]

Take a look at the +/- from the games I listed. You'll see that the starters (Warren, Jackson, Chriss, Ulis and Chandler/Monroe) did terribly against the other teams' starters. It was the bench what 'saved' us in those very close games; a bench led by Canaan and Daniels, whose playing time was basically equal or bigger than Ulis and Jackson.

With the future in mind, instead of riding the (relatively) hot hand, I cut Canaan and Daniel's playing time some, putting the kids back in. This probably means I lose, but I'll take it. Why? Two reasons (all in theory, of course).

First, it helps the franchise as it puts it in a higer range come draft time. Everybody knows the draft is not an exact science and you can mess up any pick (just like you can stuck gold anywhere), but stats are pretty stubborn and say the higher you pick, the better chance at an allstar.

Second, it helps the prospects. By being tested extensively and failing, the kids can (hopefully) improve for the future. I don't want to see Jackson barely getting 20 minutes, just like I hated Bender's playing time last year (or Warren's rookie season, or Booker's first half of his). They are the supposed building blocks for this rebuilding franchise. By definition, rebuilding is an exceptional situation and it is going to have kids on the floor who don't deserve playing time in a regular team. Does this mean that I am spoiling them? Depends on how I handle this. If I am not making them learn from their mistake, of course they are getting spoiled (see Chriss). But if after they mess up the staff goes on theis asses to review mistakes, explain and drill concepts and point at ways to avoid said mistakes, that 'undeserved' playing time gets a purpose. This is what should be happening with our '17-18 rebuilding Suns.

The bottom line to me is that a handful of wins in december not only don't serve an inmediate purpose when they come on the backs of players like Canaan and Daniels as it doesn't help improving the kids, but actually hurt in the future.

Paradoxically despite the win, to me is a lose-lose situation.

I'm not upset by the wins, but this is a great post.

[INFORMER]

I don't mind if Daniels has a great game. I think he's a keeper and should stay on our team for a long time. We need his sharpshooting.

I would trade Daniels but keep Canaan.

[Cap]

I agree that the youngs don't look good, and that it is hard to see much progress from them. But this stuff takes time. The young guys are still REALLY young. They should all still be playing in college. Look at Len and how many years he's had, and he's just barely starting to have his act together. I think it'll be a few more years before these guys really start to be who they're going to be.

I, for one, am seeing flashes from Bender that I really like. I love the things he's good at, and I think a lot of the things he's bad at are fixable and will get better as he gets lots of reps and minutes. I think he is good enough to be a rotation NBA player.

Bender and Chriss just aren't that good. There are plenty of rookies this year that have already surpassed them. But the Suns will probably continue to play the age card for the next 2-3 years and we'll continue to waste time on them.

Waste time on them? It's not like they're taking minutes from Curry and Durant. They're the young PFs we have for now, so we'll play them and hope they develop into something good, and we'll continue to do so until we have better options at the position.

[INFORMER]

I'm not saying don't play them; I'm saying don't keep them and certainly don't avoid adding more rookies or drafting a PF because they're on the roster.

[Cap]

I'm not saying don't play them; I'm saying don't keep them and certainly don't avoid adding more rookies or drafting a PF because they're on the roster.

We'll keep them until we have better options at the position. I don't think we'll be passing on Bagley because of them.

(Of course, if end up passing on Bagley anyway, it will inevitably be spun as an expression of confidence in Bender and Chriss, but that's just PR.)

[Ring_Wanted]

I'm not upset by the wins, but this is a great post.

Thanks. I am not upset, but all I know is that this team shouldn't be looking at the #10 pick this draft. It is just wrong.