Sothron wrote:dantheman74 wrote:Heard this about Mario Hezonja, who is a bigger, quicker and stronger Euro. Can't waste your lottery picks on longshots like this who haven't proven themselves against similar NBA talent growing up. Any team that thinks they're playoff bound with him running the show are gonna be sad when he can't stay in front of anyone on D or beat anyone off the dribble.
Where is the down vote option? Do you even know anything about the two players you are talking about? Have you even seen Doncic play and the level of competition he's doing it against?
Yes i've seen them both play and i expect i will see plenty more of both of them, i haven't completely written off Hezonja yet as a backup and i know Doncic is an NBA capable talent of the future, but i don't think he's the best prospect in basketball when there is Bagley, Porter, Ayton and Bamba to choose from, plus about half a dozen others i think are going to be great players.
I initially raised Hezonja's name as he was hyped up enough to go top 5 and i didn't think he should of, had similar size, also transitioned from Euroleague, both like to run and attack the hoop yet also aren't scared to shoot from deep at that age. Probably not the fairest comparison, but there's certainly been more than a few Euros not live up to their high lottery expectations.
I hope for all the best for Doncic and i can see him as a solid rotation piece but not a star. Why?, In my view (don't shoot me like many others have for having an opinion on a player) he won't get to handle the ball as a playmaker nearly as much as he does now, and he hasn't shown the speed to stay in front of guards every time i've seen him play, let alone when at NBA level where they are lightning, lets be real the comparison to euroleague is huge, and quite a few guys ex NBA guys have gone there and looked like superstars. No doubt Doncic has good offensive skills and iq for his age in passing and the pick and roll, but he's not gonna get by many NBA players on the break or dribble slowly into the paint like he is currently getting away with.
I just think it's an extremely tough position at his size to become great in the NBA due to the elite athleticism needed at guard/wing, off the top of my head i can think of only five Europeans currently getting major minutes there and they are either great shooters who are also fairly quick, and Giannis, (theres a couple of quick point guards but Doncic isn't built to play that position full time in the NBA), compared to the 6'10+ guys which there are maybe two dozen+ of that are getting major minutes. Sorry that was a long ramble.
