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

[ShelC]

MPJ, if healthy, could be the star/transcendent player of the draft. He's a major darkhorse for me and could be a gamechanger.

[Indy]

MPJ, if healthy, could be the star/transcendent player of the draft. He's a major darkhorse for me and could be a gamechanger.

Enough where you take him #1?

[O_Gardino]

MPJ, if healthy, could be the star/transcendent player of the draft. He's a major darkhorse for me and could be a gamechanger.

+1

[In2ition]

Do we have any information on the Suns attending his workout? I'm surprised that they didn't bring him in to talk to him, although I'm sure they probably talked to him at the Combine.

Also, what assets does Memphis have to trade to get up to #1 from 4? For some reason I thought that some of their picks in the future have been traded away, but I could be wrong.

[O_Gardino]

MPJ, if healthy, could be the star/transcendent player of the draft. He's a major darkhorse for me and could be a gamechanger.

Enough where you take him #1?

Depends on the workout and reports from my scouts. Us fans just don't have any info on MPJ. But I would ask for his medicals and ask to have my medical staff check him out. I would take him #1 if his back checks out and if he is as mobile as he used to be.

[ShelC]

MPJ, if healthy, could be the star/transcendent player of the draft. He's a major darkhorse for me and could be a gamechanger.

Enough where you take him #1?

I'd seriously consider it if the medicals checked out and he's been able to work on his shot. Then I'd maybe look to trade TJ and the Miami pick for another pick to maybe take Bamba or Carter as our big. I'd only consider trading JJ as a last resort if we could snag Bamba at 5 or 6.

[Cap]

Best draft since James-Melo-Bosh-Wade, the key difference being that the European in the mix this time isn’t Darko.

[JCSunsfan]

I have a hunch the Suns med staff already knows about the procedure he had and its potential for long term issues. They are not willing to take that risk with the #1 pick. The worst busts with the #1 pick are when teams ignore injury history.

[Indy]

I have a hunch the Suns med staff already knows about the procedure he had and its potential for long term issues. They are not willing to take that risk with the #1 pick. The worst busts with the #1 pick are when teams ignore injury history.

When is that? It sounded right, then I started looking at the last 40 years of NBA #1 picks, and was struggling to find busts that had previous injury history before the NBA.

[francosy]

I have a hunch the Suns med staff already knows about the procedure he had and its potential for long term issues. They are not willing to take that risk with the #1 pick. The worst busts with the #1 pick are when teams ignore injury history.

When is that? It sounded right, then I started looking at the last 40 years of NBA #1 picks, and was struggling to find busts that had previous injury history before the NBA.

Greg Oden. He had injuries even in his college years. We know his story.

You simply cannot take such player as #1, period. You can be lucky, as Philly with Ben (with later injury, but it doesn't make any change), but when you have healthy players like Ayton, Doncic or Jackson available, you shouldn't take that risk.

[The Bobster]

Oden had a broken wrist in college and played in 32 of their 39 games that year.

A better example is Bill Walton, who already started experiencing leg problems in college. It was his foot injuries and medical care at Portland which really come into question though.

[Indy]

Oden had a broken wrist in college and played in 32 of their 39 games that year.

A better example is Bill Walton, who already started experiencing leg problems in college. It was his foot injuries and medical care at Portland which really come into question though.

So you have to go back 45 years to find an example where a #1 pick was chosen despite injury history and it affected his career?

[djy2j]

Not sure how much weight any given mock draft holds, but NBAdraft.net current has Doncic slipping to 6th:

http://www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft

nbadraft.net holds the least weight of any draft site. They are terrible.

Kevin Huerter from Maryland going 18th? What? Who? I watch a lot of Big 10 and have barely ever heard of this guy. Do Kevin Huerter's parents run this website? He was an HONORABLE MENTION to the All Big Ten teams. Couldn't even crack 3rd Team. Jaren Jackson Jr was on the 3rd team BTW.

[The Bobster]

Most of the #1 picks who encounter injury problems that shorten their careers (Ralph Sampson, Brad Daugherty, Pervis Ellison, Yao Ming, Greg Oden, Doug Collins, even Bill Walton) encountered their debilitating injuries after turning professional, with Walton being the only one who had injury issues in college (and not the same type he had in Portland - his most serious injury in college was a back injury).

[Flagrant Fowl]

Best draft since James-Melo-Bosh-Wade, the key difference being that the European in the mix this time isn’t Darko.

Another major difference is the guy going #1 is a lock for the Hall of Fame. LeBron was an absolute consensus can't-miss from the time he was 16.

As good as these guys are, none of them are a guarantee like LeBron was.

[O_Gardino]

Best draft since James-Melo-Bosh-Wade, the key difference being that the European in the mix this time isn’t Darko.

Here's what people were saying about Darko:

https://www.detroitbadboys.com/2014/9/2 ... -nba-draft

But what really excites them is his mature low-post play. "More than Nowitzki, Gasol or even Divac, Darko has a nasty streak in him that will help him succeed in the post," a league executive said. "... He'll be a true low-post player... He already has moves that remind me of (Hakeem) Olajuwon in the post.

When you have a 7-1 kid, who is 17 years old, doing the things he was doing, it was a "wow" moment, especially for a team that needed a big man. There was just a buzz afterward.

Tony Ronzone (Pistons executive, 2001-10): Our guys were like, "Oh my God, look at this guy." One dribble from the foul line, dunk. Lefty hook. Quick feet. He had great lateral quickness for a big. He had spin moves. It was unbelievable. He was a freak athlete at 17. He runs like a deer. He jumps. You were saying "wow." You could check off everything on the list.

[...] Cornstein: The Pistons walked away impressed but depressed. They thought when everyone else eventually saw him there would be no way they'd be able to draft Darko.

He’s going to own the game. Own the game. We’re going to have to build a new arena.

Darko reminds me of a young Wilt Chamberlain

You can’t teach Darko’s lateral quickness or explosiveness

what sets Darko apart is his toughness in the post. You have to love a guy who has the footwork to spin by an opponent but still prefers to lower a shoulder and bang. Fact is, Milicic plays in attack-mode at both ends of the floor. The more you push, the more he pushes back. While he won't be asked to carry the Pistons, he's capable of doing this earlier than you think.

[Cap]

Here's what people were saying about Darko:

No matter what people we’re saying no about him, the fact is he had never accomplished anything on a basketball court outside the U16 league. And he’d been out of the U16 league for two years.

[The Bobster]

Darko, Anthony Bennett and Larue Martin are probably the biggest swing-and-misses in NBA Draft history based on the expectations for them entering the league.

[TOO]

Darko, Anthony Bennett and Larue Martin are probably the biggest swing-and-misses in NBA Draft history based on the expectations for them entering the league.

Still unsure why Bennett went 1st overall. What a reach.

[Superbone]

Darko, Anthony Bennett and Larue Martin are probably the biggest swing-and-misses in NBA Draft history based on the expectations for them entering the league.

Still unsure why Bennett went 1st overall. What a reach.

If I remember it right, there was no consensus #1 pick in that draft and Bennett was a surprise pick at the top of that draft.