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

[ShelC]

Even teams that have very good bigmen are still limited - think Denver with Jokic but no great guard to put it all together. Memphis with Gasol and no Conley. The Knicks with Porzingis and guys like Sessions and Jack running point. Detroit with Drummond, Harris, then Blake with Reggie Jackson (injured/inconsistent and Ish Smith).

You need a facilitator and someone to make others better. Whether Doncic is that or not I don't know. There's a good chance he is. But I know that if we take Ayton, we'll still be searching for that engine. Unless the "braintrust" thinks it's Payton.

[O_Gardino]

1. An engine - a facilitator/playmaker
2. Defense - mostly on the interior
3. 3-point shooting

These are not the only things we need. The team still lacks another player who can impose his will offensively to free Booker as Warren is an oportunistic 20ppg player and Jackson is a work in progress. Rebounding is also a concern. If you draft Ayton, you get that presence while not creating any roster inbalance, and you still have flexibility to fix the other needs. And to be honest, I am comfortable putting the ball on Booker's hands (and Jackson's) going forward, given how he improved this season in the playmaking area.

Btw, JJJ ticks a lot of boxes, but after getting the #1 pick, it would leave a bittersweet taste if he ends up just a role player in the mold of Ibaka. Man the top 5-6 is truly loaded.

This is why I have Ayton #2, even though I like a couple of players better. He really will help us with scoring and rebounding, and makes it easier to trade Warren while his value is peaked.

[O_Gardino]

Even teams that have very good bigmen are still limited - think Denver with Jokic but no great guard to put it all together. Memphis with Gasol and no Conley. The Knicks with Porzingis and guys like Sessions and Jack running point. Detroit with Drummond, Harris, then Blake with Reggie Jackson (injured/inconsistent and Ish Smith).

You need a facilitator and someone to make others better. Whether Doncic is that or not I don't know. There's a good chance he is. But I know that if we take Ayton, we'll still be searching for that engine. Unless the "braintrust" thinks it's Payton.

Great examples. How about Memphis making it to the playoffs when Gasol was injured, then falling to nearly the bottom of the standings when Conley was out.

If you get Ayton, you've got to have a plan to get him the perimeter players he will need.

[SDC]

unlike luka, i havent seen a lot of ayton games. i know he is offensively skilled, but how athletic is this guy? can he be as good or better than amare? if so, then he should be #1. young amare, even with poor defense, would be perfect in pace and space era.

[Mori Chu]

unlike luka, i havent seen a lot of ayton games. i know he is offensively skilled, but how athletic is this guy? can he be as good or better than amare? if so, then he should be #1. young amare, even with poor defense, would be perfect in pace and space era.

Would he, though? A big who relies on his athleticism and isn't a good defender? How many minus defenders can you have in your starting 5? (Booker is one, sadly.)

[SDC]

unlike luka, i havent seen a lot of ayton games. i know he is offensively skilled, but how athletic is this guy? can he be as good or better than amare? if so, then he should be #1. young amare, even with poor defense, would be perfect in pace and space era.

Would he, though? A big who relies on his athleticism and isn't a good defender? How many minus defenders can you have in your starting 5? (Booker is one, sadly.)

wouldnt houston be a better team if you replace capela with amare? at least hed be playing in the 4th qtr. paul harden tucker ariza stat. you can hide amare on draymond green.

[ShelC]

Amar'e was a midrange shooter who really wasn't a high IQ guy. Boris was great but wasn't a huge threat from 3. We played thru him a lot in the post. Tim Thomas was a great fit and had the skillset, just not the motor. Not re-signing him was one of the better moves we actually made during that stretch.

[SDC]

Amar'e was a midrange shooter who really wasn't a high IQ guy. Boris was great but wasn't a huge threat from 3. We played thru him a lot in the post. Tim Thomas was a great fit and had the skillset, just not the motor. Not re-signing him was one of the better moves we actually made during that stretch.

boris kept passing up easy baskets. tim thomas saved the suns from humiliation vs the lakers.

[Mori Chu]

wouldnt houston be a better team if you replace capela with amare? at least hed be playing in the 4th qtr. paul harden tucker ariza stat. you can hide amare on draymond green.

I'm not sure they would be better with Amare. They already have Harden and Paul to take all their shots. They need an interior defender. Capela helped them get that #1 record in the West and has helped them a lot in the playoffs, too. Amare might be helpful for the Rockets in this particular series since the Warriors are going so small and aren't taking the ball inside very much.

[Mori Chu]

Ooh, SDC, you may get your wish! "Amar'e Stoudemire eyes NBA comeback at 35, two years after retirement"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 643830002/

[O_Gardino]

Ooh, SDC, you may get your wish! "Amar'e Stoudemire eyes NBA comeback at 35, two years after retirement"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 643830002/

And 7 years after his last healthy season.

[Cap]

Ooh, SDC, you may get your wish! "Amar'e Stoudemire eyes NBA comeback at 35, two years after retirement"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 643830002/

I don't know how he's doing these days, but even if he's on crutches he'd probably be an upgrade from Chriss.

[carey]

I don't know how he's doing these days, but even if he's on crutches he'd probably be an upgrade from Chriss.

lol.

[JustWinBaby]

wouldnt houston be a better team if you replace capela with amare? at least hed be playing in the 4th qtr. paul harden tucker ariza stat. you can hide amare on draymond green.

I'm not sure they would be better with Amare. They already have Harden and Paul to take all their shots. They need an interior defender. Capela helped them get that #1 record in the West and has helped them a lot in the playoffs, too. Amare might be helpful for the Rockets in this particular series since the Warriors are going so small and aren't taking the ball inside very much.

Even though I am a complete Amare lover, they are better off with Capela. In the day I wish we would have had a Capela along with Amare.

What is amazing about this Rocket / Warrior series is Harden has missed his last 20, 3-point shots and they have won two games in a row. If he would have hit just a normal percentage of those shots in the last two games, they would have been blow outs. Harden's 3 point shot sets up his drives to the hoop. When it is going he is impossible to guard. He is not only a great threat from 3 point range he also scores a lot of their points in the paint. That has always been the beauty of the MDA offense. I just can't get used to watching Harden and Paul dribble the ball for most of the shot clock. However it seems to be working.

I still think the Warrior are going to end up winning this series. They just have too much talent.

[AmareIsGod]

Amare sucks. Always has been terrible.

[JustWinBaby]

Amare sucks. Always has been terrible.

He cannot we worse than Jared Dudey, can he?

Well I guess he can at this stage in his life.

[O_Gardino]

Amare sucks. Always has been terrible.

I see you've become an atheist.

[Wally_West]

Amare sucks. Always has been terrible.

I see you've become an atheist.

LOL!

[O_Gardino]

My point is he couldn't dominate defensively in the Pac-12, which is one of the worst NCAA conferences. So why do we think, even with time, he will show DPOY-type skills at the highest level on the planet?

After how many college basketball games and bad coaching? And I answered your question above.

Maybe that’s a legitimate excuse, and his college performance doesn’t mean he can’t be a great NBA defender. But it certainly doesn’t mean he can. He has never shown that skill. He has the size, athleticism and work ethic, so maybe it’s possible, but he certainly hasn’t proven that he can master the skill. Any talk of him becoming a DPOY-level defender is wildly speculative at best.

And BTW, I still thInk his size is a little overrated. Standing reach and wingspan are more relevant measures of size than height and weight. By those measures, he’s considerably smaller than guys like Gobert and Bamba.

Check out the Sean Miller interview on the new Suns app podcast, The Outlet when you get a chance (near the end). He was asked about Ayton's defensive capabilities.

care to give a recap for those of us who don't want the app?

It's up on the site now.

http://www.nba.com/suns/video/outlet-episode-one


Tech rant: They are going to have a heck of a time keeping organized on the backend if they are spelling out numbers.

[Cap]

After how many college basketball games and bad coaching? And I answered your question above.

Maybe that’s a legitimate excuse, and his college performance doesn’t mean he can’t be a great NBA defender. But it certainly doesn’t mean he can. He has never shown that skill. He has the size, athleticism and work ethic, so maybe it’s possible, but he certainly hasn’t proven that he can master the skill. Any talk of him becoming a DPOY-level defender is wildly speculative at best.

And BTW, I still thInk his size is a little overrated. Standing reach and wingspan are more relevant measures of size than height and weight. By those measures, he’s considerably smaller than guys like Gobert and Bamba.

Check out the Sean Miller interview on the new Suns app podcast, The Outlet when you get a chance (near the end). He was asked about Ayton's defensive capabilities.

care to give a recap for those of us who don't want the app?

It's up on the site now.

http://www.nba.com/suns/video/outlet-episode-one


Tech rant: They are going to have a heck of a time keeping organized on the backend if they are spelling out numbers.

You could represent them internally as ep001.mp3 or whatever and then just translate to "one" for the URL.