Tank Watch

[PackSuns]

If we tank next year and get Michael Porter Jr.... That kid is special.

[Christine-In-AZ]

If we tank next year and get Michael Porter Jr.... That kid is special.

If we tank again next year, me and Devin and TJ and Tyson and Duds and Earl are like...

There's "special kids" in every draft

[Blackification]

Nah no tanking next year, we have 4 rookies on this team and Booker and Warren as it is, who knows how many rookies we add this off season. Its time to play to win and develop these guys into winners. This draft seems special which is why it would've been stupid not to tank.

[PackSuns]

If we tank next year and get Michael Porter Jr.... That kid is special.

If we tank again next year, me and Devin and TJ and Tyson and Duds and Earl are like...

There's "special kids" in every draft

I know. I'm playing but I do think Porter is a better prospect than anyone in this draft and I have seen this class a LOT. AAU,Camps etc. I venture to say that I have seen this class more than 99% of folks. I was on most of them for 3-4 yrs now. I saw Porter hold his own with pros and lotto picks at a camp last summer. Mostly guards and he was exceptional.

[bhawk]

http://www.espn.com/nba/lottery2017/mockdraft

Suns have great odds this year! I keep getting them with the #1 pick and Lonzo Ball.

[ATTL]

If we tank next year and get Michael Porter Jr.... That kid is special.

If we tank again next year, me and Devin and TJ and Tyson and Duds and Earl are like...

There's "special kids" in every draft

I know. I'm playing but I do think Porter is a better prospect than anyone in this draft and I have seen this class a LOT. AAU,Camps etc. I venture to say that I have seen this class more than 99% of folks. I was on most of them for 3-4 yrs now. I saw Porter hold his own with pros and lotto picks at a camp last summer. Mostly guards and he was exceptional.

Porter is turning 19 soon, will be 20 when he's drafted. I'm sure he's going to be very good but I'd still rather have bamba or ayton for our team. Porter is the same age as Fultz.

Watch on YouTube

I dont think we need to rush next year or expect too much next year. Our kids are still young and there's alot of competition in our conference.

[Christine-In-AZ]

Porter is turning 19 soon, will be 20 when he's drafted. I'm sure he's going to be very good but I'd still rather have bamba or ayton for our team. Porter is the same age as Fultz.

Is the fact one player will be 20 when drafted vs. another at 19 years old really even worth mentioning? Further, to be framed as a negative...wow how times have changed. Explain the 19 y.o. draftee's advantage to me.

I'd like the Suns to draft Anunoby somehow, and part of my want is that he is a little older.

Isn't the latest NBA overblown school of thought to have as many players as you can maturing "on the same wave"...roughly the same age. Oh my! If the Suns draft a 19 year old in 2018 he'll be a child trying to play along side old guy 25 year old Warren! Tsk..tsk!

[ATTL]

Porter is turning 19 soon, will be 20 when he's drafted. I'm sure he's going to be very good but I'd still rather have bamba or ayton for our team. Porter is the same age as Fultz.

Is the fact one player will be 20 when drafted vs. another at 19 years old really even worth mentioning? Further, to be framed as a negative...wow how times have changed. Explain the 19 y.o. draftee's advantage to me.

I'd like the Suns to draft Anunoby somehow, and part of my want is that he is a little older.

Isn't the latest NBA overblown school of thought to have as many players as you can maturing "on the same wave"...roughly the same age. Oh my! If the Suns draft a 19 year old in 2018 he'll be a child trying to play along side old guy 25 year old Warren! Tsk..tsk!

It's that he's a year older than the competiton he's currently being compared to. I realized upon further research, ayton and bamba are both 19 and will be 20 when drafted too so it's not as big a deal.

The age thing is simply that they're further in their development than the other high schoolers. Josh Jackson is in a similar position.

For the Suns id rather have bamba and ayton for their defensi potential on this team.

[Zelaznyrules]

Porter is turning 19 soon, will be 20 when he's drafted. I'm sure he's going to be very good but I'd still rather have bamba or ayton for our team. Porter is the same age as Fultz.

Is the fact one player will be 20 when drafted vs. another at 19 years old really even worth mentioning? Further, to be framed as a negative...wow how times have changed. Explain the 19 y.o. draftee's advantage to me.

I'd like the Suns to draft Anunoby somehow, and part of my want is that he is a little older.

Isn't the latest NBA overblown school of thought to have as many players as you can maturing "on the same wave"...roughly the same age. Oh my! If the Suns draft a 19 year old in 2018 he'll be a child trying to play along side old guy 25 year old Warren! Tsk..tsk!

Not in and of itself. I think it's worth mentioning when you've got a 20 year old who is fully mature physically and appears to be at or near his peak. But I'd say the same thing about an 18 year old if he was dominating physically and not likely to have that kind of advantage at the next level.

I always think of Oddibe McDowell when someone talks about this subject. Oddibe was a great college baseball player and went on to have a decent but highly unspectacular MLB career. He won the Golden Spikes award in 84 at ASU, an award given to the best amateur baseball player. His teammate that season, Barry Bonds, would go on to be a much better player (even before the steroids). Bonds was a month older than McDowell but just looking at them you could tell that Oddibe was much closer to being a full grown man whereas Bonds was still a few years away from filling out.

So, if you're looking at a young player and seeing Oddibe McDowell, sure, talking about the fact he's a year older is very relevant. But if he's a 19 year old that still looks like his MAN body is a few years down the road, it's mostly a non-issue IMO. And I think it's mostly a non-issue with Michael Porter JR. Somebody might pass him by but he looks legit to me, not the result of a maturity advantage at all.

[MrMiyagi]

Porter is turning 19 soon, will be 20 when he's drafted. I'm sure he's going to be very good but I'd still rather have bamba or ayton for our team. Porter is the same age as Fultz.

Is the fact one player will be 20 when drafted vs. another at 19 years old really even worth mentioning? Further, to be framed as a negative...wow how times have changed. Explain the 19 y.o. draftee's advantage to me.

I'd like the Suns to draft Anunoby somehow, and part of my want is that he is a little older.

Isn't the latest NBA overblown school of thought to have as many players as you can maturing "on the same wave"...roughly the same age. Oh my! If the Suns draft a 19 year old in 2018 he'll be a child trying to play along side old guy 25 year old Warren! Tsk..tsk!

Not in and of itself. I think it's worth mentioning when you've got a 20 year old who is fully mature physically and appears to be at or near his peak. But I'd say the same thing about an 18 year old if he was dominating physically and not likely to have that kind of advantage at the next level.

I always think of Oddibe McDowell when someone talks about this subject. Oddibe was a great college baseball player and went on to have a decent but highly unspectacular MLB career. He won the Golden Spikes award in 84 at ASU, an award given to the best amateur baseball player. His teammate that season, Barry Bonds, would go on to be a much better player (even before the steroids). Bonds was a month older than McDowell but just looking at them you could tell that Oddibe was much closer to being a full grown man whereas Bonds was still a few years away from filling out.

So, if you're looking at a young player and seeing Oddibe McDowell, sure, talking about the fact he's a year older is very relevant. But if he's a 19 year old that still looks like his MAN body is a few years down the road, it's mostly a non-issue IMO. And I think it's mostly a non-issue with Michael Porter JR. Somebody might pass him by but he looks legit to me, not the result of a maturity advantage at all.

Honestly, though, how many players come in 18 really transform physically? I don't think that many really do. Sure they gain muscle, but most players who enter the NBA do.

Kobe Bryant Rookie vs Prime

Spoiler:

Michael Jordan Rookie vs Prime

Spoiler:

Jordan came out as a Junior, Kobe straight from High School. Is there really that big of a difference between the two's physical development?

[Mulhollanddrive]

I've read some people on a couple of forums get unhappy with the suggestion of future tanking or bringing up names from next year's draft.

We weren't tanking until we were 7 games out of playoffs and I would say at that point the only positive of that is the possibility of getting a top 5 pick.

So if that situation happens again next year (starting 3-4 rookies that get you to a 17-35 type record), I think you have to make the right play from there, not make the wrong play just because you did it once already.