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

[Indy]

No I think we'd all be dissapointed. Drummond with a mid range jumper is his floor.

The more I read, the more I am worried about his shot extending past mid-range.

Nah, his form is fine for extending it past mid-range. He gets nice rotation and arc on the shot too, it would only be a matter of reps. His form is much cleaner than Jackson's.

I have read in several places, and her scouts say his shot is flat (especially as he gets further from the hoop). But they do mention he has good form.

[Cap]

No I think we'd all be dissapointed. Drummond with a mid range jumper is his floor.

The more I read, the more I am worried about his shot extending past mid-range.

Nah, his form is fine for extending it past mid-range. He gets nice rotation and arc on the shot too, it would only be a matter of reps. His form is much cleaner than Jackson's.

I have read in several places, and her scouts say his shot is flat (especially as he gets further from the hoop). But they do mention he has good form.

Putting more arc on your shot is something that can be learned, isn’t it?

[Indy]

It seems as though both sides of this argument are going to continue to try to discredit the other side.

Both Ayton and Doncic are going to turn out to be fantastic players in the NBA, that is a given in my book. It really comes down to which player fits our needs best and who else we think we can add via the draft, trade or free agency that will complete our team. The problem is that each of them bring different things to the party. One has the potential to be a legendary big man and the other a legendary leader (Engine) for our team.
IMO the discussion should revolve around which is needed most for our team and is a better long term fit.

While I am not a fan of Robert Sarver I can understand him leaning toward Doncic. This team has not had a leader since Steve Nash. While Booker is well liked he is not in the same orbit as Steve Nash. If Donic comes as advertised I can see an immediate star. However would that be good or bad for our relationship with Booker & Jackson. He would invade their space. I expect that Booker and Jackson would prefer Ayton, but is that best for the team.

Great discussion - tough decision in June

I get that we all think this, and that is why they are both being discussed as the best prospects in this draft. But how often do the #1 and #2 picks in a draft turn into "fantastic" players? Look at the last 20 years and there are probably 5-8 guys that didn't pan out at all, or are only going to be decent rotation players. And that is at #1. Almost everyone figured they would be really good NBA players. If you move down to #2, and only half the guys turned into really good NBA players, with only two being "fantastic" in my option (Durant and Oladipo, but you could argue LMA or even Tyson were better than 'really good').

My only point is that everyone is always sure that a top pick, or even top 3 pick is going to get you a franchise player, but that happens about as often as winning a coin flip.

[O_Gardino]

No I think we'd all be dissapointed. Drummond with a mid range jumper is his floor.

The more I read, the more I am worried about his shot extending past mid-range.

Nah, his form is fine for extending it past mid-range. He gets nice rotation and arc on the shot too, it would only be a matter of reps. His form is much cleaner than Jackson's.

I have read in several places, and her scouts say his shot is flat (especially as he gets further from the hoop). But they do mention he has good form.

Putting more arc on your shot is something that can be learned, isn’t it?

I see some issues with Ayton's shot, but to me they are very fixable. I'm less worried about his jumper.

[O_Gardino]

It seems as though both sides of this argument are going to continue to try to discredit the other side.

Both Ayton and Doncic are going to turn out to be fantastic players in the NBA, that is a given in my book. It really comes down to which player fits our needs best and who else we think we can add via the draft, trade or free agency that will complete our team. The problem is that each of them bring different things to the party. One has the potential to be a legendary big man and the other a legendary leader (Engine) for our team.
IMO the discussion should revolve around which is needed most for our team and is a better long term fit.

While I am not a fan of Robert Sarver I can understand him leaning toward Doncic. This team has not had a leader since Steve Nash. While Booker is well liked he is not in the same orbit as Steve Nash. If Donic comes as advertised I can see an immediate star. However would that be good or bad for our relationship with Booker & Jackson. He would invade their space. I expect that Booker and Jackson would prefer Ayton, but is that best for the team.

Great discussion - tough decision in June

I get that we all think this, and that is why they are both being discussed as the best prospects in this draft. But how often do the #1 and #2 picks in a draft turn into "fantastic" players? Look at the last 20 years and there are probably 5-8 guys that didn't pan out at all, or are only going to be decent rotation players. And that is at #1. Almost everyone figured they would be really good NBA players. If you move down to #2, and only half the guys turned into really good NBA players, with only two being "fantastic" in my option (Durant and Oladipo, but you could argue LMA or even Tyson were better than 'really good').

My only point is that everyone is always sure that a top pick, or even top 3 pick is going to get you a franchise player, but that happens about as often as winning a coin flip.

Very good point.

[In2ition]

No I think we'd all be dissapointed. Drummond with a mid range jumper is his floor.

The more I read, the more I am worried about his shot extending past mid-range.

Nah, his form is fine for extending it past mid-range. He gets nice rotation and arc on the shot too, it would only be a matter of reps. His form is much cleaner than Jackson's.

I have read in several places, and her scouts say his shot is flat (especially as he gets further from the hoop). But they do mention he has good form.

Putting more arc on your shot is something that can be learned, isn’t it?

Yes, all it takes is reps doing it correctly for a number of days consecutively and your form can be changed, including your arc. Obviously this would help out Bender the most. I could see his % go up by 5+% with that subtle change.

[Superbone]

It seems as though both sides of this argument are going to continue to try to discredit the other side.

Both Ayton and Doncic are going to turn out to be fantastic players in the NBA, that is a given in my book. It really comes down to which player fits our needs best and who else we think we can add via the draft, trade or free agency that will complete our team. The problem is that each of them bring different things to the party. One has the potential to be a legendary big man and the other a legendary leader (Engine) for our team.
IMO the discussion should revolve around which is needed most for our team and is a better long term fit.

While I am not a fan of Robert Sarver I can understand him leaning toward Doncic. This team has not had a leader since Steve Nash. While Booker is well liked he is not in the same orbit as Steve Nash. If Donic comes as advertised I can see an immediate star. However would that be good or bad for our relationship with Booker & Jackson. He would invade their space. I expect that Booker and Jackson would prefer Ayton, but is that best for the team.

Great discussion - tough decision in June

Well said.

[Superbone]

It seems as though both sides of this argument are going to continue to try to discredit the other side.

Both Ayton and Doncic are going to turn out to be fantastic players in the NBA, that is a given in my book. It really comes down to which player fits our needs best and who else we think we can add via the draft, trade or free agency that will complete our team. The problem is that each of them bring different things to the party. One has the potential to be a legendary big man and the other a legendary leader (Engine) for our team.
IMO the discussion should revolve around which is needed most for our team and is a better long term fit.

While I am not a fan of Robert Sarver I can understand him leaning toward Doncic. This team has not had a leader since Steve Nash. While Booker is well liked he is not in the same orbit as Steve Nash. If Donic comes as advertised I can see an immediate star. However would that be good or bad for our relationship with Booker & Jackson. He would invade their space. I expect that Booker and Jackson would prefer Ayton, but is that best for the team.

Great discussion - tough decision in June

I get that we all think this, and that is why they are both being discussed as the best prospects in this draft. But how often do the #1 and #2 picks in a draft turn into "fantastic" players? Look at the last 20 years and there are probably 5-8 guys that didn't pan out at all, or are only going to be decent rotation players. And that is at #1. Almost everyone figured they would be really good NBA players. If you move down to #2, and only half the guys turned into really good NBA players, with only two being "fantastic" in my option (Durant and Oladipo, but you could argue LMA or even Tyson were better than 'really good').

My only point is that everyone is always sure that a top pick, or even top 3 pick is going to get you a franchise player, but that happens about as often as winning a coin flip.

I think this draft is deeper than most making it more likely to be true.

[Mori Chu]

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/05/21/m ... d-aldridge

The Suns, according to a source, interviewed a player who is a projected top five pick—which made sense, considering Phoenix has the top pick in the Draft after winning the Lottery.

The player told the assembled front office and coaches, ”I’d love to play for the Phoenix Suns. I’m not just saying that because you guys have the number one pick—I really feel like I’m the best player in the Draft and the best fit for your roster. I’d be saying that even if you guys didn’t have the number one pick. I don’t care where I get picked—I just want to be in Phoenix.” It was impressive.

After a beat, Suns GM Ryan McDonough answered: ‘Great. We also have the 16th pick. Do you want to try to work something out so we can pick you at 16?’

Player: Silence. Followed by the room breaking up.

This is a pretty cringey/dumb quote. But it does show that our team is willing to pull backdoor shenanigans to get players to drop to where our picks are located. I wonder if it means that Doncic will try to tank his value a bit so that he'd drop to #4/5 and then we would trade for that pick so we could nab him there.

I think you missed that it was a joke, the Suns weren't actually trying to get him at 16.

Ohhh, my bad. I misread that last sentence. I thought it was like, the people in the room broke away and left in disgust. My mistake.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/05/21/m ... d-aldridge

The Suns, according to a source, interviewed a player who is a projected top five pick—which made sense, considering Phoenix has the top pick in the Draft after winning the Lottery.

The player told the assembled front office and coaches, ”I’d love to play for the Phoenix Suns. I’m not just saying that because you guys have the number one pick—I really feel like I’m the best player in the Draft and the best fit for your roster. I’d be saying that even if you guys didn’t have the number one pick. I don’t care where I get picked—I just want to be in Phoenix.” It was impressive.

After a beat, Suns GM Ryan McDonough answered: ‘Great. We also have the 16th pick. Do you want to try to work something out so we can pick you at 16?’

Player: Silence. Followed by the room breaking up.

This is a pretty cringey/dumb quote. But it does show that our team is willing to pull backdoor shenanigans to get players to drop to where our picks are located. I wonder if it means that Doncic will try to tank his value a bit so that he'd drop to #4/5 and then we would trade for that pick so we could nab him there.

It's an standard question to rate a prospect's reaction, both into caught him giving lip service, and to see how he reacts to it. The prospect put himself in that situation, and I absolutely would have done the same, given my experience interviewing people.

I don't think is that easy to slip shennanigans into the table, most likely is done through backdoors (Remember the TWolves' Smith fiasco), so I figure the questions was angled mostly into look the pospect's reaction. He should have gone with something along this lines:

"Of course I want, so you guys better prepare that #1 to call my name, or that #16 to trade up to take me!!!".

Then your agent can a few days later put schedule problems on the table if you want.

[Split T]

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/05/21/m ... d-aldridge

The Suns, according to a source, interviewed a player who is a projected top five pick—which made sense, considering Phoenix has the top pick in the Draft after winning the Lottery.

The player told the assembled front office and coaches, ”I’d love to play for the Phoenix Suns. I’m not just saying that because you guys have the number one pick—I really feel like I’m the best player in the Draft and the best fit for your roster. I’d be saying that even if you guys didn’t have the number one pick. I don’t care where I get picked—I just want to be in Phoenix.” It was impressive.

After a beat, Suns GM Ryan McDonough answered: ‘Great. We also have the 16th pick. Do you want to try to work something out so we can pick you at 16?’

Player: Silence. Followed by the room breaking up.

This is a pretty cringey/dumb quote. But it does show that our team is willing to pull backdoor shenanigans to get players to drop to where our picks are located. I wonder if it means that Doncic will try to tank his value a bit so that he'd drop to #4/5 and then we would trade for that pick so we could nab him there.

I think you missed that it was a joke, the Suns weren't actually trying to get him at 16.

Ohhh, my bad. I misread that last sentence. I thought it was like, the people in the room broke away and left in disgust. My mistake.

Haha, no worries. I was really confused at first too

[Superbone]

Meet Luka Doncic. ESPN feature:

There has never been an NBA draft prospect like Slovenia's Luka Doncic
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2066 ... uka-doncic

[JCSunsfan]

Meet Luka Doncic. ESPN feature:

There has never been an NBA draft prospect like Slovenia's Luka Doncic
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2066 ... uka-doncic

October 4?

[INFORMER]

You guys should have watched the Euroleague final game. Doncic has showed a lot of good things but he is not the total package some people are thinking about...

Yikes, your whole post is based on just one game?

Nah. No way.

Understood. When you started your post with referencing that one game, I thought everything that followed was based on just that one game.

[INFORMER]

I just have to trust McDonough and crew that they come to the best choice possible for the Suns on June 21st.

It's funny because it's true. Hey, even you said you were encouraged by what McD said at the combine. I'll tell you right now that I'm not looking forward to draft day and seeing your big red F.

There is no way I could give the Suns an F this year. Even if they went with my least favorite prospects, like Bagley or Trae Young, at worst I would give that a D.

[Superbone]

Meet Luka Doncic. ESPN feature:

There has never been an NBA draft prospect like Slovenia's Luka Doncic
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2066 ... uka-doncic

October 4?

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

[Superbone]

I just have to trust McDonough and crew that they come to the best choice possible for the Suns on June 21st.

It's funny because it's true. Hey, even you said you were encouraged by what McD said at the combine. I'll tell you right now that I'm not looking forward to draft day and seeing your big red F.

There is no way I could give the Suns an F this year. Even if they went with my least favorite prospects, like Bagley or Trae Young, at worst I would give that a D.

Yeah, it would be pretty tough to totally botch the #1 pick in the draft. I guess even if he traded away all of our other picks it would still be tough to give him an F.

[JCSunsfan]

Meet Luka Doncic. ESPN feature:

There has never been an NBA draft prospect like Slovenia's Luka Doncic
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2066 ... uka-doncic

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?

[Superbone]

Meet Luka Doncic. ESPN feature:

There has never been an NBA draft prospect like Slovenia's Luka Doncic
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2066 ... uka-doncic

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?

[JCSunsfan]

Meet Luka Doncic. ESPN feature:

There has never been an NBA draft prospect like Slovenia's Luka Doncic
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2066 ... uka-doncic

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.