SuperSunsFan wrote:lilfishi22 wrote:SuperSunsFan wrote:still think drafting Ayton was the right decision. Why? Look at the Suns, we have amassed 6 high level wings (Booker, Warren, TJ, JJ, Oubre and Mikal) without much effort, they might not be as good as Doncic but 3 of them are real close if not already better. two of them (JJ and Booker) are not as great playmakers but close. wings are easier to get, the mavs are playing him as 4 and we would be still missing a point even if we have drafted Doncic, and have a big hole at center. When two players are similar in potential you choose the one who plays a position that is harder to fill.
To be fair though, Booker was the only player you have to question whether there was a fit there. I personally felt like there was but I could see why they may have considered not drafting Doncic because they saw Booker as "the man". TJ was seen as a 6th man type because he didn't have a 3PT shot and JJ just came off a wildly inefficient rookie season. There were only 3 wing types on this team when we were drafting #1.
I think you're looking at it way too simplistically. Luka is a wing but his type of wing are ridiculously rare. High level playmaking wings with an established 3pt shot and the potential to be the primary offensive initiator is not something you can easily get. Also I think it was the wrong decision, if the thought is choose the one who plays a position that is harder to fill rather than choosing the one who plays a position of higher importance
What if Luka has peaked and this is already the final form and he won't be improving much from now on? There is a real concern that Luka has peaked even among the experts who love him and this might be the best Luka could ever be. Luka is a great rookie but he is not even top 30 right now, he could end up being an improved hedo turkoglu and that is it. Don't want to sound like a sore loser eventhough i know i'm getting close, but its too early to tell, you also can't deny that being a professional for many years playing among adults for the best pro team in europe is an advantage that could tremendously ease the transitioning from amateur to pro that other rookies don't have.
I don't think that was a legitimate concern. It sounds like those very very very small minority of experts who had noted that were grasping at straws as if they couldn't come up with anything else they could scrutinize (similar to Gambo's 'expert' scout who also made up crap). He's 19 and if anyone thinks a 19yo shouldn't be drafted because he's peaked, they probably shouldn't have a job.
What do you mean by he's not in the top 30? Top 30 player in the NBA? As a rookie? The fact that this is somehow legit scrutiny (that he's not already in the top 30 of NBA players, as a rookie) just shows how good of a rookie season Luka is having. He could end up Hedo Turkoglu but is that a legit concern? Like are we really pulling a name out of hat and say, Luka could end up being like underwhelming player X that peaked as an NBA All-Star? If that is a concern then you could say that about virtually *any* NBA prospect.
Regarding the last point about Europeans transitioning to the NBA, that is just untrue as far as the narrative goes. It's a fact that for the longest time, European rookies have had a strike against their prospect profile because the vast majority of scouts/experts had serious concerns because of the difference in athletes, speed of the game and the game itself. Part of that narrative is because it's been proven true more times than not with a lot more European players have trouble transitioning to the NBA game than those who have have successfully made that jump. On the other hand, the NCAA, where NBA prospects have historically hailed from are a known quantity and it's a lot easier to judge and evaluate. If Luka had the same impact, production and achievements in the NCAA, he would've been the consensus #1 pick.
If you followed the 2018 pre-draft discussion, there were far more concerns about a European player (like Luka) playing against non-NBA level athletes and transitioning to the NBA than college players making the jump. This narrative that European players having an easier transition because they have played against adults since they were young has never been given any sort of credence until Luka came along. Even then, I still don't think just any European player making the jump to the NBA will have as easy a time as Luka because Luka is a legitimately and already historically great NBA prospect/rookie.
