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

[specialsauce]

Y’all need some Prozac

[O_Gardino]

So it was sarcasm about multiple personality disorder earlier UglyTruth, followed by reading way too much into someone's personality afterwards and raising a plethora of red flags. What is it? Either sarcasm or really just sarcasm masking thin veiled stabs at his quotes and feelings indicating an immature 19 year old that isn't focused on basketball. You can't have a personality and play basketball, God forbid. If you don't like Ayton, you and others around here, you'll find any and every opportunity to discredit and discount him before he steps foot on an NBA court.

Meanwhile, the entire lot of you will sing his praises if he becomes the next big thing.

Of course we will. But if you think we can't sing his basketball praises while still bashing his personality, then you don't remember what it was like around here when Amare was in his prime.

[Bruiser]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

I'm 100% with you on this, but it'll be OK if he can play. Shaq is another guy with a brand, but he made it happen on the court.

I think that is another aspect of the game that is changing. People talk mostly about the three point shooting and switching but I would argue that not only in basketball but in many other sports for that matter chemistry, playing the right way or whatever you want to call it, is - even though it is tough to measure - becoming increasingly important.

[The Bobster]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

I am afraid I have to agree with that. It really makes me wonder why character evaluation is not super important to GMs. Not only in terms of fit but also player development in general. I would think that it can make a huge difference if a player is a humble leader with a fantastic work ethic or not. As I see it that could be the key differentiator between a talent with potential and a superstar.

Maybe I am wrong but I tend to believe that some of the most successful players are high character team players. Even though I do, of course, know about the great many exceptions to this notion, it still makes me wonder. I guess that is why I would hate to have Russel Westbrook on this team. Just MHO.

Also Bolt is a runner and Basketball is still a team sport - even though an individual player can have a significant impact on a team's success of course.

That Michael Jordan guy would have been really good if he hadn't been focused on his brand so much. LeBron too. And Magic. When will these guys ever learn?

[Charlie Smithy!]

NBA draft trades we'd like to see: Suns swap Devin Booker for No. 2 pick https://es.pn/2I2iSIR

[The Bobster]

NBA draft trades we'd like to see: Suns swap Devin Booker for No. 2 pick https://es.pn/2I2iSIR

Again, people over-value draft choices.

There will probably be a couple of players in this draft who end up being better that Booker, but I am I willing to trade him for a pick in order to guess which one might be? No.

[Superbone]

Ayton does seem to be a unique guy:

https://deadspin.com/my-weird-son-deand ... 1826953847

My excitement about him as a pick seems to drop as time goes on. Ill be excited either way, but this is starting to feel like a missed opportunity.

He seems to suffer from MPD. Should be a “red flag”.

I just hope they're all good at basketball. I also hope at least one of them is good at defensive positioning.

[Superbone]

Yes, you are crazy. Sorry Split, don’t shoot the messenger!

Haha, I thought it was a little crazy myself...it's really risky. Fultz has to pan out and you have to be able to move back up...if Fultz never finds his jumpshot and you end up drafting Robert Williams and Mikal Bridges at 10/16 then it's a terrible move.

Fultz appears to have some serious mental issues. I'm staying far away.

[Superbone]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

He also said something about how he hates America and how basketball felt like a job for him later on.

Does he realize that basketball is supposed to be a job? He’s getting paid millions to do that job.

It certainly feels like he’s a 14 year old in the body of a 7 footer.

I'd love to see these quotes you're talking about. I have not seen them.

[Superbone]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

I'm 100% with you on this, but it'll be OK if he can play. Shaq is another guy with a brand, but he made it happen on the court.

That's who I'd compare him to. A fun loving guy like Shaq. Doesn't mean you can't be a great basketball player and mean business on the court.

[Bruiser]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

I am afraid I have to agree with that. It really makes me wonder why character evaluation is not super important to GMs. Not only in terms of fit but also player development in general. I would think that it can make a huge difference if a player is a humble leader with a fantastic work ethic or not. As I see it that could be the key differentiator between a talent with potential and a superstar.

Maybe I am wrong but I tend to believe that some of the most successful players are high character team players. Even though I do, of course, know about the great many exceptions to this notion, it still makes me wonder. I guess that is why I would hate to have Russel Westbrook on this team. Just MHO.

Also Bolt is a runner and Basketball is still a team sport - even though an individual player can have a significant impact on a team's success of course.

That Michael Jordan guy would have been really good if he hadn't been focused on his brand so much. LeBron too. And Magic. When will these guys ever learn?

https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/too ... o-Extremes

[ShelC]

Again, I referenced Harrison Barnes, Amar'e and DHow. I'd love for him to Shaq or Embiid.

Here's the article about Ayton calling AAU basketball a job

http://defpen.com/deandre-ayton-basketball-job/

[Bruiser]

NBA draft trades we'd like to see: Suns swap Devin Booker for No. 2 pick https://es.pn/2I2iSIR

Again, people over-value draft choices.

There will probably be a couple of players in this draft who end up being better that Booker, but I am I willing to trade him for a pick in order to guess which one might be? No.

Agreed. In addition to that it is not only about making the right choice but also about the team's ability to turn that potential into something of value. Booker already has lots of value right now.

[AmareIsGod]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

He also said something about how he hates America and how basketball felt like a job for him later on.

Does he realize that basketball is supposed to be a job? He’s getting paid millions to do that job.

It certainly feels like he’s a 14 year old in the body of a 7 footer.

I'd love to see these quotes you're talking about. I have not seen them.

Nor have I. It was probably something like "when I came to America when I was 13 to play basketball and didn't have a traditional youth at that time, playing AAU ball at that age and moving to a new country, I didn't want to be here. I was a kid and missed home." Suddenly he hates America.

[TOO]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

He also said something about how he hates America and how basketball felt like a job for him later on.

Does he realize that basketball is supposed to be a job? He’s getting paid millions to do that job.

It certainly feels like he’s a 14 year old in the body of a 7 footer.

I'd love to see these quotes you're talking about. I have not seen them.

He never said that.

[AmareIsGod]

Again, I referenced Harrison Barnes, Amar'e and DHow. I'd love for him to Shaq or Embiid.

Here's the article about Ayton calling AAU basketball a job

http://defpen.com/deandre-ayton-basketball-job/

Deandre Ayton is originally from the Bahamas but moved to the United States when he was just 12 years old.

It was around this time that Ayton began to feel like basketball was a job. Ayton came to realize that he never had the childhood that many of the kids he grew with. “I grew up and realized I never really had a childhood. It was just basketball and business. Never went to Disneyland or any of that. Kids used to tell me about it, and I’d have to lie and say, ‘Yeah, I went.’ But I never knew any of that,” Ayton said. He also added “Sometimes I’d go a month without talking to my mother. You’re [in the gym] going 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was like a job.”

What a loser 12 year old kid. Terrible work ethic as a 12-year old kid. Super weak that he missed his mother after not talking to her for a month as a 12 year old kid. Nothing but red flags with the America hating 19 year old that likes to joke with his teammates and use a few different character voices. Personalities are forbidden on the Suns and Ayton just screams attention and brand with basketball being secondary.

[AmareIsGod]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

I'm 100% with you on this, but it'll be OK if he can play. Shaq is another guy with a brand, but he made it happen on the court.

That's who I'd compare him to. A fun loving guy like Shaq. Doesn't mean you can't be a great basketball player and mean business on the court.

Sorry Bone. A #1 pick should only be for guys with basketball in their blood, devoid of personality with an undying and insatiable love for 'Merica!

[Bruiser]

Again, I referenced Harrison Barnes, Amar'e and DHow. I'd love for him to Shaq or Embiid.

Here's the article about Ayton calling AAU basketball a job

http://defpen.com/deandre-ayton-basketball-job/

Deandre Ayton is originally from the Bahamas but moved to the United States when he was just 12 years old.

It was around this time that Ayton began to feel like basketball was a job. Ayton came to realize that he never had the childhood that many of the kids he grew with. “I grew up and realized I never really had a childhood. It was just basketball and business. Never went to Disneyland or any of that. Kids used to tell me about it, and I’d have to lie and say, ‘Yeah, I went.’ But I never knew any of that,” Ayton said. He also added “Sometimes I’d go a month without talking to my mother. You’re [in the gym] going 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was like a job.”

What a loser 12 year old kid.

If these quotes are the reason for the criticism I would like to apologize and take back the hastily and premature condemnation. Have to admit though that I wasn't too exited about the vibe that I got from his interviews. To me he just seems to be a little bit to enamoured with / focused on himself for my taste but I do of course hope I am wrong, again. If he is our choice I will embrace and love him like a son/sun - even though I am leaning more and more towards drafting Doncic right now.

[UglyTruth]

I want a guy focused on basketball, not his brand. Ayton seems to want to be a personality and called himself an "entertainer" during the Puma signing. I don't want Amar'e or DHow looking to be a fashion star or movie producer. I want a guy with a singular focus on basketball and winning. I remember Harrison Barnes talking about his "brand" during his freshman year at UNC...that's an American/AAU thing. And I know Ayton is from the Bahamas and wants to follow a guy like Bolt. But Bolt wasn't Bolt until he was the best in the world. Embiid is funny and has a personality but backs it up. The more I see quotes from Ayton, the less I like him. I'm pretty sure we'll take him and will hope he's the gamechanger we need. Just don't like the chatter right now.

I'm 100% with you on this, but it'll be OK if he can play. Shaq is another guy with a brand, but he made it happen on the court.

That's who I'd compare him to. A fun loving guy like Shaq. Doesn't mean you can't be a great basketball player and mean business on the court.

Sorry Bone. A #1 pick should only be for guys with basketball in their blood, devoid of personality with an undying and insatiable love for 'Merica!

Yeah #1 picks should never be guys like Tim Duncan who work and focus on basketball and should instead be entertainers and comedians like Ayton!

Duncan = busy
Ayton = HOF!

Am I doing this right? I can play this game with you if you’re up for it!

[UglyTruth]

I think Philly will stay out at #10 take one of the Bridges.