Poll: Who should the Suns take at #4?

[Ring_Wanted]

I've already said it but Dunn-Booker could be a great backcourt for the next decade. Again, like with Hield and Murray, you need to get rid of the current guards and there's been absolutely no indication that such strategy is even in the deck.

[carey]

The problem with selecting Dunn is Bledsoe and/or Knight would have to be moved on draft night. You can't go into the season with Bled, Knight, Booker, and Dunn. Everyone would know you need to move someone and the trade offers would be underwhelming at best.

[ShelC]

And potentially Bogdanovic if we bring him over. Even without taking a guard on draft night, someone's gotta go.

[O_Gardino]

Well, we haven't been shy about shuffling guards EVERY SINGLE SEASON.

[Sunsfan4life]

I've already said it but Dunn-Booker could be a great backcourt for the next decade. Again, like with Hield and Murray, you need to get rid of the current guards and there's been absolutely no indication that such strategy is even in the deck.

If they drafted Dunn I'm willing to bet anyone Knight and/or Bledsoe get moved. No way they keep all 3 plus Book. I don't think they'll draft Dunn.

[Superbone]

The problem with selecting Dunn is Bledsoe and/or Knight would have to be moved on draft night. You can't go into the season with Bled, Knight, Booker, and Dunn. Everyone would know you need to move someone and the trade offers would be underwhelming at best.

Plus, it sounds like a country music group.

[Big Jake Little Jake]

I think it has to be Bender.

Here's a very nice write up on him:

https://capstrategist.com/draft/draft-p ... an-bender/

One of my biggest hesitations with this guys are his hands. I think big guys with bad hands are absolutely a death sentence. It limits them so much on offense, to the point where they are a complete liability. I actually think this is one of Len's biggest weaknesses still, and has severely limited his growth and confidence. Not sure it's a skill one can really get much better at.

Besides his athleticism, Amare's greatest gift was his incredible hands. He could catch any pass cleanly and be ready to score with it. Such a big part of the pick and roll game, which is such a big part of the game overall.

Maybe Bender can rely on pick and pops though. Who knows.

[OE32]

I think it has to be Bender.

Here's a very nice write up on him:

https://capstrategist.com/draft/draft-p ... an-bender/

One of my biggest hesitations with this guys are his hands. I think big guys with bad hands are absolutely a death sentence. It limits them so much on offense, to the point where they are a complete liability. I actually think this is one of Len's biggest weaknesses still, and has severely limited his growth and confidence. Not sure it's a skill one can really get much better at.

Besides his athleticism, Amare's greatest gift was his incredible hands. He could catch any pass cleanly and be ready to score with it. Such a big part of the pick and roll game, which is such a big part of the game overall.

Maybe Bender can rely on pick and pops though. Who knows.

This is Chriss's biggest draw actually. Tremendous hands. Sabonis has great hands, too.

[Cap]

I think it has to be Bender.

Here's a very nice write up on him:

https://capstrategist.com/draft/draft-p ... an-bender/

One of my biggest hesitations with this guys are his hands. I think big guys with bad hands are absolutely a death sentence. It limits them so much on offense, to the point where they are a complete liability. I actually think this is one of Len's biggest weaknesses still, and has severely limited his growth and confidence. Not sure it's a skill one can really get much better at.

Besides his athleticism, Amare's greatest gift was his incredible hands. He could catch any pass cleanly and be ready to score with it. Such a big part of the pick and roll game, which is such a big part of the game overall.

Maybe Bender can rely on pick and pops though. Who knows.

Don't expect Bender to be Amare. That's not fair. He's probably not going to be a dominant individual player the way Amare was.

What I'm seeing is a high IQ big man with the versatility to play a perimeter role on either end of the floor. Even if he never becomes extraordinary at any particular skill, that's still an ideal #4 or #5 guy on a championship team.

I look at Booker and Bender as 2/5 of a future championship starting five. Maybe we still need to find three more starters and a bench, but their youth and contract situation give us a long time to figure out how to do that.

[Sunsfan4life]

I think it has to be Bender.

Here's a very nice write up on him:

https://capstrategist.com/draft/draft-p ... an-bender/

One of my biggest hesitations with this guys are his hands. I think big guys with bad hands are absolutely a death sentence. It limits them so much on offense, to the point where they are a complete liability. I actually think this is one of Len's biggest weaknesses still, and has severely limited his growth and confidence. Not sure it's a skill one can really get much better at.

Besides his athleticism, Amare's greatest gift was his incredible hands. He could catch any pass cleanly and be ready to score with it. Such a big part of the pick and roll game, which is such a big part of the game overall.

Maybe Bender can rely on pick and pops though. Who knows.

It's going to take time thats for sure. He isn't going to by Portzingas from the get go. That will give fans who have no patience a chance to bury him next yr, but I don't expect a huge impact right away. Bender is far from a sure thing though, Would be ecstatic with a Bender/Sabonis combo in the lottery. Wouldn't be surprised if we tried to move up a few spots to nab Sabonis.

[Big Jake Little Jake]

I wasn't trying to compare Bender to Amare, just bringing up a flaw in his game that may limit his use in offensive sets. He could still be extremely valuable to any good team. I don't think they're remotely similar or expect him to be anything like Amare.

I watched some full games from the realgm board of Chriss and I gotta say, I was low on him before and after watching him play long stretches...I'm even less impressed. If we draft him, we are entirely praying he does a complete 180 on bball iq, overall skill, motor, etc. From what I saw, he seems so confused and lackadaisical out there that it just scares the crap at me. I think it's just asking too much of him. I understand the desire to get a guy with his physical traits at PF (especially after watching the playoffs this year, where PFs are switching constantly onto quicker guys) and his decent stroke, but I'm just way too concerned about the other stuff. I do like his hands and the way he attacks the basket however. So there's definitely stuff to work with.

Are there any past players any of you guys can think of with all the red flags of Chriss that turned it around and became a starter-level NBA player?

[OE32]

Are there any past players any of you guys can think of with all the red flags of Chriss that turned it around and became a starter-level NBA player?

Great question. Hoping there's a better answer than - at the top of the draft, I can't recall anyone. But essentially ever star picked outside the lotto meets the definition, no?

[Indy]

Are there any past players any of you guys can think of with all the red flags of Chriss that turned it around and became a starter-level NBA player?

Great question. Hoping there's a better answer than - at the top of the draft, I can't recall anyone. But essentially ever star picked outside the lotto meets the definition, no?

I would say no (and not just because I am a contrarian). Many/most guys are outside of the top talent/lotto because they don't have any great skill, not because they are particularly bad at some things (rebounding, decision making, defense).

[Split T]

Are there any past players any of you guys can think of with all the red flags of Chriss that turned it around and became a starter-level NBA player?

Great question. Hoping there's a better answer than - at the top of the draft, I can't recall anyone. But essentially ever star picked outside the lotto meets the definition, no?

Which red flags are we talking about? Just red
flags in general or the lack of rebounding? The only red flag I see with Chriss is his terrible rebounding.

Players in the last 10 years that had possible red flags that were drafted in the top 10 and turned into at least starter level nba players

Rudy Gay - Lack of fire, desire
Russell Westbrook - A bit of a stretch, but people didn't know if he had a position in the nba
Ricky Rubio - Couldn't shoot, still can't.
Tristan Thompson - No offensive game really at all, still mostly true
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - Terrible shooter, still true
Andre Drummond - No offensive skills, lack of motivation, very underwhelming college performance

So I don't have an example of a poor rebounder in college turning into a good one in the nba, but prospects aren't perfect and it doesn't mean they can't be a good player.

[Superbone]

I remember Karl Malone falling I think for self-motivation reasons if I remember right.

[Split T]

https://theringer.com/marquese-chriss-n ... .2u03m79py

Interesting read on Chriss

Highlights:

The big selling point is his athleticism. At 6-foot-10, 233 pounds, with a 7-foot wingspan, Chriss is a big man who moves like a guard. He gets off the ground quickly and he plays way above the rim. He’s like a video game character whose turbo button is jammed. He just moved faster than anyone he faced this season; there aren’t many guys who can win a running-and-jumping contest against him.

The matchup against Sabonis was a disaster for Chriss. To be fair, he was playing in only his fourth NCAA game in a converted hotel ballroom in the Bahamas, a little over a week after a game in China. Sabonis was a killer in his matchups with NBA prospects this season — see his dismantling of Jakob Poeltl in the NCAA tournament — and he made very short work of Chriss. Sabonis pushed Chriss around the floor and fouled him out in less than 15 minutes, finishing with 17 points, on 5-for-8 shooting, and 9 rebounds. The video shows an overmatched freshman unprepared for the size and intensity of the NCAA game.

There is also no sugarcoating his rebounding numbers. They are terrible. He is dead last for big men in this year’s draft in terms of pace-adjusted numbers for total rebounding and defensive rebounding percentage. That’s partly the result of playing so much on the perimeter on both sides of the ball, but he still barely managed to average more rebounds on a per-minute basis than fellow one-and-done teammate Dejounte Murray, a 6-foot-5 guard. He lacks the understanding of how to establish good rebounding position, something which, should he receive immediate playing time, will get him sent back to the bench often next season.

Chriss is the better shot blocker and Williams is the better shooter, but the ideal role for Chriss is similar to the one Williams has carved out for himself with the Charlotte Hornets. Williams was a tweener forward who wasn’t big enough to be a 4 or perimeter-oriented enough to be a 3. Being the second overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft was a curse for much of his career, but the shifting tides of the league have created a niche for him; these days, Williams is a prototypical small-ball 4.

The talent is there. The two most important skills in the modern NBA are the ability to stretch the floor and switch screens, and no one in this draft — not even Simmons or Ingram — has a better combination of those skills than Chriss. If you close your eyes, you can envision Chriss as the centerpiece of a proto–Lineup of Death in five years, when he would be the same age as some of the seniors in this year’s draft. He has the potential to do five things at a high level — block shots, switch screens, shoot 3s, roll to the rim, and post up.

“He’s the best athlete in this draft,” one talent evaluator told me a few weeks ago. “And it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the best player in the draft in five years.”

[Indy]

“He’s the best athlete in this draft,” one talent evaluator told me a few weeks ago. “And it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the best player in the draft in five years.”

Hard spin right there.

[Uncle_Gene]

I voted Bender, but if you can get a player like D'Angelo Russel for the pick, I think you have to do it.

Dude, I'm in L.A., D'Angelo Russell ain't all that.

[Shabazz]

I voted Bender, but if you can get a player like D'Angelo Russel for the pick, I think you have to do it.

Dude, I'm in L.A., D'Angelo Russell ain't all that.

I'm also in LA and I think he's definitely a better prospect than Marquese Chris.

[INFORMER]

We need high IQ basketball players on this team

Then we should pass on Dunn.