2018 NBA Draft Lottery thread - 4:30pm MST / 7:30pm EDT

[Stix]

Went to the draft party at TSA, just got back. I was expecting more gifs!







I was definitely expecting the #4, and then #3 when they announced top 3.

[bwgood77]

I'm getting more convinced as time goes by that Doncic will be the pick for you guys. What a draft to be top three. I feel as if you can't go wrong. Congrats.

Thanks my man DoM. I hope it's Doncic, but am glad if it's not it's almost certainly Ayton, being an AZ fan and all.

[MathiasPW]

Ok, I think we are the new OKC of the league. Bare with me here for a minute.

So we have our 7 Ft playmaker and SCORER version of Durant in Bender. Then we have our improved Westbrook version in Isaac Canaan. We have our Adams enforcer in Jared Dudley, and our Andre Robertson version in Josh Jackson. We have our wise Nick Collison who barely plays version in Chandler. Now, we add our Harden in Doncic, and BOOM, we are taking GSW to game 7 in next season conference finals.

I am sure I might be forgetting someone who could add something to the team, but he should be irrelevant when compared to the list above.

This is it, boys.

I might be m

[Preacherpj]

JUST SO HAPPY WE GOT A TOP TWO PICK.

Being a Suns fan I was convinced we would pop at #3.

[phx#7]

You keep #1 and trade the plethora of picks and young assets for him instead.

That asset would be Jackson then. They won't deal their star for nothing less than one of Jackson or the pick IMO.

Which is fine. Look, Jackson is not more valuable than this pick. The 1st pick becomes our 2nd best asset to Booker only.

Jackson has landed the Suns the #1 pick every year he's attended the lottery, he's more valuable than any 2 players combined!

[Preacherpj]

I think I'm Doncic > Ayton; mostly because I think he has the height and IQ to be a dynamic playmaker.

But really....... I don't care right now, we get either Ayton or Doncic!!!!! No worrying about JJJ/Bamba/Young/Bagley/Porter.

[Puff]

While they might not be as good as Ayton, we have potential bigs on the current roster. Bender and Chriss are still very young but have a lot of talent. We have no legit playmaker on this team. We have a couple of guys that are willing passers and team players in Booker and Jackson. We need a playmaker/leader in the worst way. Doncic really has to be the choice if he comes as advertised. I see no other playmaker later in the draft, maybe Young, that we will be able to get our hands on. I see no playmakers on the free agent market we can get.

There are a few bigs that should be available at 16 and some in free agency. We might even be able to swing a deal for DeAndre to man the Center position or get our hands on Capela.

I am less worried about manning the 5 than I am getting the right playmaker going forward. The right playmaker can create the way we play for the next 10 years, similar to the Nash era.

Draft Doncic - but I will not be horribly upset if we daft Ayton - I see both sides of the argument.

Nice day to be a Suns fan - let's hope it continues.

[JDJ26]

I hope the Suns take Ayton. The team has never had a good center and now one has basically fallen into our lap. Plus he likes it in Arizona and wants to play with Booker.

[JMac1]

I’m just so happy for this board. We all deserve it....die hards!!

[Fo-Real]

Can't see passing on Anthony Davis..... oop I mean Ayton!

[Dr Manute]

Luka is still the best basketball player in the draft, and the offensive firepower would be ridiculous. Score Clint Capela or DCuz in the free agency and you have one heck of a squad.
Also notable would be the size of this lineup, with a perimeter of 6'8, 67', and 6'8. If JJ can guard the 1, Luka can slide down to take the 3, where he fares far better on defense.

Not saying I don't fully understand the appeal of Ayton. He has the perfect NBA body and a shooting stroke to boot. Ayton can become a premiere offensive threat inside and out, and will likely be a great rebounder, but I question his motor and performance on defense. ...And if we aren't getting a defensive stalwart shouldn't we at least get a facilitator?
I'm very much torn here, and while my head goes with Ayton, my heart is definitely hoping for Luka to be our guy.

I think Doncic would make a lot bigger impact immediately and make things much easier and fun for everyone else. With a guy like Ayton it will take more time. I'm not sure what we would do at PG then but I hope it wouldn't come down to desperation. But our offense and spacing would still be bad and I think it would be much harder for our team to improve quickly due to continued spacing issues and not great play making.

But I think he probably will be able to play stretch 5. I do think with Ayton though we could probably add another high pick or two in the next year or two so that could help, but I think it will take patience and we'd have to hope we could find some floor spreaders and initiators. He has the tools to play great D but of course we'd have to wait and see if and when that ever happened.

Who's the last rookie PG to come in and make an immediate impact? John Wall? If Doncic is not a PG, why would we add another wing with no on-ball defense ability? There are facilitators to be had at #16 and #31.

Luka is 6'8" - he plays multiple positions. He is considered the best foreign prospect ever. He is a winner and is proven in the 2nd best league in the world. As for defense, I saw a highlight of him guarding Westbrook. Luka was guarding him one-on-one and cut off his drive and Westbrook ended up taking a contested jump shot. This is when Luka was 17 or 18 years old. The dude is not a bad defender. He is smart and also knows how to play team defense like Nash did. Tomorrow I will post a video showing Ayton's defensive instincts - very troubling. There is a reason that websites like the Stepien have Ayton as a 3rd tier player.

[Sunsss]

We were due. Now on to picking the right guy.

[Fo-Real]

#1

[Stix]

I have come to taking a liking to Doncic and wouldn't mind us drafting him, but I think it's best to stick with Ayton. I wouldn't mind trading our Miami pick down some to get Jalen Brunson.

[grumpysaddle]

With the number 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns select Anthony Bennett.



Is hopefully not a situation we find ourselves in come June.

[TheLogician]

I think Doncic would make a lot bigger impact immediately and make things much easier and fun for everyone else. With a guy like Ayton it will take more time. I'm not sure what we would do at PG then but I hope it wouldn't come down to desperation. But our offense and spacing would still be bad and I think it would be much harder for our team to improve quickly due to continued spacing issues and not great play making.

But I think he probably will be able to play stretch 5. I do think with Ayton though we could probably add another high pick or two in the next year or two so that could help, but I think it will take patience and we'd have to hope we could find some floor spreaders and initiators. He has the tools to play great D but of course we'd have to wait and see if and when that ever happened.

Who's the last rookie PG to come in and make an immediate impact? John Wall? If Doncic is not a PG, why would we add another wing with no on-ball defense ability? There are facilitators to be had at #16 and #31.

The guy I think he compares best to, although I think he is probably a better version because he can shoot. Ben Simmons. So you only have to go back 1 year. What big has made an immediate impact as a rookie? Particularly a one and done big? Most of the best bigs stay in the lottery most years and for several years.

Simmons got eaten alive on defense and he's longer and faster. If we're just looking for someone who can shoot and pass, there are plenty of options lower in the draft.

[Edward_Carnby]

Even the legendary broken table joins the party.



I'm from Spain and, for now, my hometown team is going to play against Real Madrid in the ACB Playoffs. So i'm going to look at Doncic with X-Ray eyes. Seeds can change, but i hope not.

[bwgood77]

Who's the last rookie PG to come in and make an immediate impact? John Wall? If Doncic is not a PG, why would we add another wing with no on-ball defense ability. There are facilitators to be had at #16 and #31.

The guy I think he compares best to, although I think he is probably a better version because he can shoot. Ben Simmons. So you only have to go back 1 year. What big has made an immediate impact as a rookie? Particularly a one and done big? Most of the best bigs stay in the lottery most years and for several years.

Simmons got eaten alive on defense and he's longer and faster. If we're just looking for someone who can shoot and pass, there are plenty of options lower in the draft.

Simmons was the best rookie in years. Ayton got eaten alive on D by the University of Buffalo. I mean I like Ayton but you're reaching with Simmons who was a solid defender. You're talking a rookie PG who was somewhat close to averaging a triple double (15/8/8) who had the 8th best PG DRPM and saying he can be easily replicated later in draft and was bad defensively?

http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/sort/DRPM/position/1

[bwgood77]

Even the legendary broken table joins the party.



I'm from Spain and, for now, my hometown team is going to play against Real Madrid in the ACB Playoffs. So i'm going to look at Doncic with X-Ray eyes. Seeds can change, but i hope not.

What makes you a Suns fan being from Spain?

[TheLogician]

I think Doncic would make a lot bigger impact immediately and make things much easier and fun for everyone else. With a guy like Ayton it will take more time. I'm not sure what we would do at PG then but I hope it wouldn't come down to desperation. But our offense and spacing would still be bad and I think it would be much harder for our team to improve quickly due to continued spacing issues and not great play making.

But I think he probably will be able to play stretch 5. I do think with Ayton though we could probably add another high pick or two in the next year or two so that could help, but I think it will take patience and we'd have to hope we could find some floor spreaders and initiators. He has the tools to play great D but of course we'd have to wait and see if and when that ever happened.

Who's the last rookie PG to come in and make an immediate impact? John Wall? If Doncic is not a PG, why would we add another wing with no on-ball defense ability? There are facilitators to be had at #16 and #31.

Luka is 6'8" - he plays multiple positions. He is considered the best foreign prospect ever. He is a winner and is proven in the 2nd best league in the world. As for defense, I saw a highlight of him guarding Westbrook. Luka was guarding him one-on-one and cut off his drive and Westbrook ended up taking a contested jump shot. This is when Luka was 17 or 18 years old. The dude is not a bad defender. He is smart and also knows how to play team defense like Nash did. Tomorrow I will post a video showing Ayton's defensive instincts - very troubling. There is a reason that websites like the Stepien have Ayton as a 3rd tier player.

That was an exhibition game. I think the score was like 136-132. I've watched Ayton since high school and he has grown a lot in just a couple years. There's no doubt he has NBA talent. He'll be even better outside Sean Miller's system.