Suns 2014: NBA Draft

[Sunsfan4life]

I'd prefer a draft and stash to trading for a future 1st, ESPECIALLY if that future 1st comes with protection. Gross.

So if they were not enamored with one of the euros and thought a pick could give them some added flexibility in a trade in the future or be an asset in another draft, you rather them just pick a euro and leave him over there? It doesn't make any sense. Don't trade the pick just to trade it...but don't pick someone you don't just because you have the pick if there are other trade options.

[Danimal]

Suns GM Ryan McDonough tells Suns.com that Phoenix won’t draft a player based solely on his ability to contribute immediately. “Just because we were close to the playoffs, we’re not going to draft a guy just because he’s able to play right away,” McDonough said. “I think that’s where a lot of mistakes get made.”

Love this quote by Ryan. He's absolutely right.

Its good GM speak, but as long as we can find a way to develop them and coach and GM are on the same page with that. Hopefully our new d league setup allows us to do this and still get minutes of some variety in any rough diamonds we pick

[Gladiator]

I'm just going to judge McDonough by what he does instead of what he says. I loved what he did last year and I have no reason to get worked up over a few soundbites.

Agreed. Most sensible thing said in this thread.

I agree with the agreeing.

[Gladiator]

That screams Zach Lavine.

That's exactly who I thought of with that quote as well

[INFORMER]

I'm just going to judge McDonough by what he does instead of what he says. I loved what he did last year

I'm not sure how you can love the Len pick but ok.

[INFORMER]

That screams Zach Lavine.

That's exactly who I thought of with that quote as well

I'll believe when I see it. It's probably James Young and Jerami Grant.

[Shabazz]

I'm just going to judge McDonough by what he does instead of what he says. I loved what he did last year

I'm not sure how you can love the Len pick but ok.

I'm looking at it long-term. I still think he has a lot of potential and other than Giannis (which is pure hindsight), I don't see anyone picked after him that I would much rather have going forward. Including Olynyk. That draft was a train-wreck.

[INFORMER]

I'd prefer a draft and stash to trading for a future 1st, ESPECIALLY if that future 1st comes with protection. Gross.

So if they were not enamored with one of the euros and thought a pick could give them some added flexibility in a trade in the future or be an asset in another draft, you rather them just pick a euro and leave him over there? It doesn't make any sense. Don't trade the pick just to trade it...but don't pick someone you don't just because you have the pick if there are other trade options.

If they can't find a prospect that they like at 27 in this draft, then I question their ability to evaluate talent.

What's silly about trading for a future first is that not all drafts are created equal. This is an unusually good draft, so much so that having a higher pick in next year's draft probably will still yield a lesser prospect.

But I'm just talking into the wind. Looks like Ryan's mind has been made.

[INFORMER]

I'm just going to judge McDonough by what he does instead of what he says. I loved what he did last year

I'm not sure how you can love the Len pick but ok.

I don't see anyone picked after him that I would much rather have going forward. Including Olynyk.

Let me know how that works out for you.

[INFORMER]

That draft was a train-wreck.

When it's all said and done, C.J. McCollum, Michael Carter-Williams, Seteven Adams, Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Mason Plumlee, Rudy Gobert, The 29-poiinter, Dennis Schroeder, Sergey Karasev, Mike Muscala, and James Ennis will likely all be significant NBA contributors. I wouldn't rule out the other Shabazz either. That's not a train wreck.

You're echoing the opinion of media hacks. That's very surprising coming from you.

If you're looking for instant gratification or solely for superstars, then sure, the 2013 draft isn't for you. But let's not forget the draft that proceeded the lockout was considered garbage aside from Kyrie Irving by the mainstream media. Well the #15 pick from that draft just won Finals MVP.

[EDC]

Sounds like a lot of hedging. I'm assuming you don't think he is a bust. I could be wrong about that though.

The upside of Len is pretty big. That is hard not to be excited about. Will he make it to that point remains to be seen. I don't think anything that happened last season diminishes that possible upside at all.

[INFORMER]

Sounds like a lot of hedging. I'm assuming you don't think he is a bust.

No I don't think he's a bust. But what sounds like hedging?

[Ring_Wanted]

Woah. Your passion for the draft is understandable, but using Kawhi here is like pointing at Manu Ginobili to support the chances of second rounders to become HOFers.

[EDC]

Just the whole can't see how you could love the Len pick thing.

You need to get more excited about Len.

[INFORMER]

Lol, I'll work on that, EDC.

[INFORMER]

Woah. Your passion for the draft is understandable, but using Kawhi here is like pointing at Manu Ginobili to support the chances of second rounders to become HOFers.

Finding a high level-complementary player like Leonard in the middle of the first is far from unlikely, and certainly the chances of it are not nearly as remote as finding a hall of famer in the 2nd round. I don't get your point at all.

[Ring_Wanted]

Finding a high level-complementary player like Leonard in the middle of the first is far from unlikely, and certainly the chances of it are not nearly as remote as finding a hall of famer in the 2nd round. I don't get your point at all.

You don't? You don't regularly find finals MVPs in the middle of the first round. Ginobili in the second round is the same principle. The point is that you can't use those picks as examples of anything regular, probable, recurrent, etc, and certainly is not an indicative of the quality of a draft class as it is an instance of extreme variance by definition.

[INFORMER]

The point is that you can't use those picks as examples of anything regular, probable, recurrent, etc, and certainly is not an indicative of the quality of a draft class as it is an instance of extreme variance by definition.

That's not what I was doing. I was point to the fact the media poo-pooed that yet it yielded that result. I'm not saying it is an occurrence that will repeat itself. I'm merely saying it happened, despite the negative forecasts about the talent level of that draft. I'm not saying you can always get a Finals MVP in the mid-first round; I'm saying people often miscalculate value in the draft. But if that example is too astronomical, how about we look at some other players from that draft:

Reggie Jackson, Isaiah Thomas, Chandler Parsons, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Alec Burks, Nikola Mirotic, Bojan Bogdanovic, Kemba Walker, THE GREAT AND MIGHTY SIXTH MAN AND MOST IMPROVED CANDIDATE Markieff Morris, Jonas Valunciunas, and Nikola Vucevic. Not exactly scrubs, are they? Or are we going to invent reasons to not count them as well?

And one more thing about Leonard: him being a Finals MVP speaks to his talent but moreso is a byproduct of him being on the Spurs. Despite being Finals MVP, we're not talking about a superstar here. So I would contest the point that he is somehow a once in a blue moon draft pick.

[Ring_Wanted]

"If you're looking for instant gratification or solely for superstars, then sure, the 2013 draft isn't for you. But let's not forget the draft that proceeded the lockout was considered garbage aside from Kyrie Irving by the mainstream media. Well the #15 pick from that draft just won Finals MVP."

I am not the one making claims about the overall quality of drafts, and I am not disputing the fact that 2011 produced a number of relevant players.

My point was about the use of Leonard as an example, especially in the wake of his MPV award. I found it as much of a stretch as saying that you can find top talent in the second round. It's still true, but it is so uncommon that I wouldn't use it to support this particular argument. Nothing more, nothing less. And I am sure that you got it.

[INFORMER]

And I am sure that you got it.

Uh, no, I didn't get it.

Because again, like I said, I wasn't making a point about being able to find a Kawhi Leonard in every draft. So regardless of him being uncommon, the fact still remains that draft produced a Finals MVP after being written off in the first place. I don't see a problem with using Leonard as an example in that context. But to show that I wasn't resting my entire point on that one example that apparently is so problematic for you, I provided further examples.