College basketball and 2017 draft - One more poll after last game

[Qwigglez]

http://www.thasportsjunkies101.com/lonzo-ball-top-pick/

Interesting for all you numbers geeks. They say Ball is significantly better than Fultz on both offense and defense and back it up with stats. Not sure what to make of it

This is great news! Hopefully this sways Lakers to pick Ball and the Suns to get either Jackson/Fultz.

[Zelaznyrules]

Yeah, I've never understood the concerns over Ball or the argument for number one. I think he's clearly the easiest call to make as far as on court performance goes. There might be a surprise superstar or two that vault over everyone down the road (such as Giannis or Jokic) but among the known quantities, Ball is superior now and probably in the future. It can be difficult to play at your highest level when there is an air of defeat around the program so perhaps Fultz has another level that's yet to reveal itself but Lonzo has outplayed him by quite a margin IMO.

All that said, I'm not sure I'd take Ball if I were drafting first. I just wouldn't want to deal with the father, our franchise has enough public relations problems already. I've suggested a trade-down many times although it might be hard to find a deal that makes sense to us unless Philly helps push the Lakers out of the top 3. And the situation with Josh Jackson will need to be evaluated closely. He has serious holes in his offensive game and if the background investigation and face to face interviews don't answer enough questions about the holes in his private life, we might have to look past him too (not a prediction, merely a concern). But still, that leaves us what? Tatum?

Yeah, well, I'm sure you know where I stand on that. Our very own Finn, gotta love it. A front-court of Bender, Chriss and Markkanen and you can flip a coin as to who plays which position. I don't know that you could space a court for your point guard much better than putting Booker, Chriss, Markkanen and Bender out there at the same time.

[MrMiyagi]

http://www.thasportsjunkies101.com/lonzo-ball-top-pick/

Interesting for all you numbers geeks. They say Ball is significantly better than Fultz on both offense and defense and back it up with stats. Not sure what to make of it

This is great news! Hopefully this sways Lakers to pick Ball and the Suns to get either Jackson/Fultz.

I think Magic wants Ball, big-time.

[bwgood77]

Yeah, I've never understood the concerns over Ball or the argument for number one. I think he's clearly the easiest call to make as far as on court performance goes. There might be a surprise superstar or two that vault over everyone down the road (such as Giannis or Jokic) but among the known quantities, Ball is superior now and probably in the future. It can be difficult to play at your highest level when there is an air of defeat around the program so perhaps Fultz has another level that's yet to reveal itself but Lonzo has outplayed him by quite a margin IMO.

All that said, I'm not sure I'd take Ball if I were drafting first. I just wouldn't want to deal with the father, our franchise has enough public relations problems already. I've suggested a trade-down many times although it might be hard to find a deal that makes sense to us unless Philly helps push the Lakers out of the top 3. And the situation with Josh Jackson will need to be evaluated closely. He has serious holes in his offensive game and if the background investigation and face to face interviews don't answer enough questions about the holes in his private life, we might have to look past him too (not a prediction, merely a concern). But still, that leaves us what? Tatum?

Yeah, well, I'm sure you know where I stand on that. Our very own Finn, gotta love it. A front-court of Bender, Chriss and Markkanen and you can flip a coin as to who plays which position. I don't know that you could space a court for your point guard much better than putting Booker, Chriss, Markkanen and Bender out there at the same time.

If we take Markkanen I'll be shocked. Are there any non AZ fans who want him? I'm a huge AZ fan and don't really want him. I do like him and think a front court rotation of the three would be good, and limit our chances of one being a long term bust between him and Bender but we really need a PG or defensive wing.

[bwgood77]

http://www.thasportsjunkies101.com/lonzo-ball-top-pick/

Interesting for all you numbers geeks. They say Ball is significantly better than Fultz on both offense and defense and back it up with stats. Not sure what to make of it

This is great news! Hopefully this sways Lakers to pick Ball and the Suns to get either Jackson/Fultz.

Who knows if they will even pick higher than us? I'd prefer one of the other two though.

[bwgood77]

http://www.thasportsjunkies101.com/lonzo-ball-top-pick/

Interesting for all you numbers geeks. They say Ball is significantly better than Fultz on both offense and defense and back it up with stats. Not sure what to make of it

This is great news! Hopefully this sways Lakers to pick Ball and the Suns to get either Jackson/Fultz.

Who knows if they will even pick higher than us? I'd prefer one of the other two though.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I'm not convinced this is such a great draft. I don't understand all the hoopla. I'm under the impression that next year's draft will be better. But I don't watch enough to consider mine an informed opinion, and our FO really seems to believe in the top of this class. We'll see.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Looks like maybe 3 teams with picks will finish under 30 wins, when the historical average is closer to 7.

Cuban said he would have tanked if this draft had a stacked top 5 like 2003 (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Anthony).

[bhawk]

Maybe we trade our 2017 for a 2018 and these guys...

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2017/3/28/15078574/mcdonalds-all-american-game-2017-rosters-scouting-reports-porter-ayton-bamba

[darealjuice]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/jayson-tatum-nba-draft-scouting-report-and-video-analysis-5844/

Jayson Tatum's updated draft profile on DX just got posted, good stuff as usual

[sunsbg]

The draft looks deep and it's not like any(maybe except Fultz) of the top rated players is a superstar in the making. So how about trading a top 3 pick to Sacramento for their two picks ?

[ATTL]

Looks like maybe 3 teams with picks will finish under 30 wins, when the historical average is closer to 7.

Cuban said he would have tanked if this draft had a stacked top 5 like 2003 (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Anthony).

Bosh and Wade weren't considered big prizes that year. James, darko, melo. I dont remember much hype around bosh or wade before the draft.

[Zelaznyrules]

Looks like maybe 3 teams with picks will finish under 30 wins, when the historical average is closer to 7.

Cuban said he would have tanked if this draft had a stacked top 5 like 2003 (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Anthony).

Bosh and Wade weren't considered big prizes that year. James, darko, melo. I dont remember much hype around bosh or wade before the draft.

Wade had opened a lot of eyes with his tournament play but I don't remember whether he climbed near the top of the draft boards though? Still, I'm quite sure that the scouts were enamored of him even if the internet experts somewhat ignored him. Bosh was always fairly well regarded as I recall. But I'd certainly agree that neither was getting quite the buzz that James and Carmelo were getting.

I guess I'm looking at this draft much the same as Cuban is. I thought it was one for the ages but as the season wore on, each star gained a little tarnish. I still think this is an incredibly deep draft with good talent in the top 10, I'm just less confident that any of the predicted superstars will ever reach that level. Part of why I've been pushing for Markkanen has to do with the lack of undisputed greatness at the top. He isn't flashy enough for a top 3 pick but I think he's the safest player in the top 10. I'd probably put Jackson ahead of him in that regard, just based on performance, but I worry about the other issues with him.

[Zelaznyrules]

Yeah, well, I'm sure you know where I stand on that. Our very own Finn, gotta love it. A front-court of Bender, Chriss and Markkanen and you can flip a coin as to who plays which position. I don't know that you could space a court for your point guard much better than putting Booker, Chriss, Markkanen and Bender out there at the same time.

If we take Markkanen I'll be shocked. Are there any non AZ fans who want him? I'm a huge AZ fan and don't really want him. I do like him and think a front court rotation of the three would be good, and limit our chances of one being a long term bust between him and Bender but we really need a PG or defensive wing.

As will I. I think we'll go for the possible home run with Fultz, Ball or Jackson and if they're gone we'll probably look towards Tatum. Right now, I'd prefer Lauri but I have a lot of respect for Ryan's ability to make the right call.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

The draft looks deep and it's not like any(maybe except Fultz) of the top rated players is a superstar in the making. So how about trading a top 3 pick to Sacramento for their two picks ?

We need the best player we can get from this draft. That player should be a 1 or a 2. A center we can grab in 2018.

I wouldn't be shocked to see us throw a Miami pick or one of Bledsoe or Warren into a deal if we think it can move us up a slot or two. I think the FO is in love with one of Ball or Fultz and will do what it takes. Hopefully we just win the lotto outright. It's our time, is it not?

Or is it still Philly's time? Or is it LA's, again?

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Or is it still Philly's time? Or is it LA's, again?

I make this statement in reference to the fact that there's a roughly 20% chance of Philly having two picks in the top 4.

Spoiler:

... Would have been us. Must. Not. Think about it.

[Damkac]

Jackson vs Ball is a tough choice but I finally voted for Lonzo:
- He is getting lots of assists while not holding the ball too long. Suns needs more ball movement. This would especially help Warren and Chriss imo. I could see them being much better scorers with Lonzo.
- Suns also needs defense and while Jackson would be great for that Ball is also good defender, at least the article posted lately says so.
- Lonzo's shot may be ugly but it works. Nobody knows if JJ will improve his shooting and if he won't it will limit him a lot.
- Lonzo has crazy dad but he doesn't seems to have any character issues. Jackson got this car kicking incident.
- I don't think Bledsoe should be Suns long term starting PG. He don't fit the team well and is injury prone. And he will soon be looking for very big contract and the team that will give it to him will regret this quickly. I would prefer keeping Warren as starting SF over keeping Bledsoe as starting PG.

[MrMiyagi]

Or is it still Philly's time? Or is it LA's, again?

I make this statement in reference to the fact that there's a roughly 20% chance of Philly having two picks in the top 4.

Spoiler:

... Would have been us. Must. Not. Think about it.

Spoiler:

[Mulhollanddrive]

My guess at McDonough's top 6: Fultz, Jackson, Ball, Fox, Isaac, Tatum.

[Christine-In-AZ]

Spoiler:

No, you'd be really hard pressed to find anyone that wouldn't take Ball top 10 and this is a very talented top 10. Nobody "hates" him. The argument comes about when he's sometimes described as simply amazing or something to the effect of a "once in a 10 year talent". I have major questions about his game translating into him becoming an NBA star...like top 12-15 star, still I'd be surprised if he doesn't become at a minimum a very solid (unique) NBA player...talkin' like in the top 25 to 50 range. I have him at about #8 on my board right now. If that qualifies as hate, I plead guilty.

Hatin' Dave King from BSotS has him at #5 and here's some of what he wrote yesterday if you missed it-

Lonzo Ball is a unicorn in that people can imagine this incredibly good long-range shooter, Nash-like distributor and stifling defender all in one. Something that just doesn’t exist quite this way in the NBA in its current form. But I honestly don’t see it getting that good for him.

To me, he’s Jason Kidd or Ricky Rubio, but without the defense (doesn’t slide well on D), has zero offensive game besides long threes and layups/dunks. Even and those areas are suspect - some think he’ll have trouble getting the jumper off in the NBA, and in the paint he doesn’t take contact well. This might be harsh, but in my opinion he's more a rich man’s Kendall Marshall.

Fit in Phoenix: Sigh. I think the Suns would be hard-pressed to not take Ball if he’s on the board with their pick, no matter where the pick lands after the lottery. So he might end up next to Booker in one of the most porous back courts in memory.

Like with Fultz, you’d have to trade Eric Bledsoe to fit him in to Phoenix as the starter where he belongs. He’s got star power and the offense would hum. But I personally would pass. I just can’t get on the Ball hype train. His game reminds me way too much of Ricky Rubio, yet Rubio can at least play super defense. I know I’m jaded. I had a bad experience trying to be a fan of Kendall Marshall, who also had supreme confidence in himself, but couldn’t get his shot off in the NBA, couldn’t keep up defensively and had a super-fan dad who didn’t help matters.

Likelihood: I’m going to frustrate some people and say 5% chance, if BSotS has a say in it. I’d only take Ball if Fultz and Josh Jackson are off the board. And I’d take the whole 15 minutes deciding between him, Isaac, Tatum and even D’Aaron Fox.
http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2017/3/22/14676024/top-5-prospects-fit-phoenix-suns-fultz-ball-jackson-tatum-isaac

Sounds like Dave King has been reading gaspar's posts here. I'm pretty sure he compared him to Kendall Marshall weeks ago.

So you're saying you'd be surprised if he didn't become a top 25 or 50 player in the entire NBA but he's #8 on your board? I know this is a strong draft, but wow, you figure 7 other guys will be top 25 players in the league?

I'as sayin' top 25 to 50 NBA ranking ...probably only 5 or 6 of those I have ahead of Ball end up being in the top 50 in the next decade, but I also think Ball and the Suns (Sarver/McDonough) could be a match made in hell from a psychographic POV...boom! He drops 2 spots just in that analysis for me.