realEAST wrote:SportsGuy8 wrote:realEAST wrote:I've been thinking about it a bit, and since my Bulls seem to be out of position to get Doncic, I'd like to see him go to Memphis the most.
No. 1, it is small market carrying less pressure, but one where he would be seen as clear franchise centerpiece for future, and important player right away imo.
He'd benefit from playing along a PG like Conley who imo is perfect guard along Doncic, especially as he matures, both as type of player (defense, floor general, shooter) and mentor. Also there is Gasol there who should make aclimatisation at least a bit easier. Also, Doncic imo works better with this type of C than strictly athletic beasts with little offensive game, as seen with Reyes this year. Also, having Green and Brooks as players who fit 3&D profile around him, along very good defenders in Conley and Gasol, should make it easier on defense initially as wing, SF.
Also, fact they'd look to be competitive would work as positive for him given his competitive spirit and fact that he has so far played his best in important games; but also fact he wouldn't be the primary focus of opp defenses, and would have room to play and improve (having ball in his hands with 2nd unit).
Lineup of Conley-Brooks-Doncic-Green-Gasol would be pretty interesting as a team, and good for Doncic development imo since it would offer a chance of competitive basketball, as well enough room and lack of pressure so he could develop. Amd he offers Grizzlies just what they lack, now and in the future.
There's a long-term problem with Memphis in that they would simply immediately be at least a borderline playoff team with that lineup, but obviously nowhere near good enough to be contenders. And if Doncic does end up becoming a real star, he could end up being on a pretender/treadmill team for his whole career, even after Gasol gets too old, with draft picks in the 15-20 range. Even if a team is very smart, picking in that range is still a crapshoot. And you can forget about good FA signings in Memphis.
I think they'd have two good seasons befor Gasol expires and Conley enters last year being 32/33, and with Doncic being only 21/22 at that point, and imo not yet developed enough to single handedly lead the team to PO, next two season could be ones to add talent through draft. And if he really is good enough to make a bad team fringe playoff at the age of 22, then there could be at least some second tier star interested in going there.
The problem is that both Gasol and Conley aren't just going to fall off the cliff. If they draft Doncic and he ends up being good, they're going to resign and then they're SLOWLY going to get worse, while Doncic is slowly going to improve during that same time, leading to a typical treadmill team, or pretender at best (and hope to win the jackpot with mid-1st round picks).
