The Draft Thread: Ayton Vs Doncic 1

[WeekapaugGroove]

At the age 19, Ayton is better than both Hakeem and Patrick Ewing (when they were 19). As a GM, with the number one pick, you don't pass on that potential!

I kind of hate his argument because frankly you could say this about a lot of bigs because neither Hakeem or Ewing were super developed at that age. Plus Ayton is just a different player than these two who were great defenders very early in their careers.


I'm personally team Doncic. But I think the Suns will take Ayton and I'm fine with that; he's undeniably a rare physical specimen and his upside is crazy. I love that he has good shooting form and I think he projects pretty well there, I also think he will be a dominant rebounder from day one. That's actually the skill I'm most confident with Ayton.

Last note anyone who thinks its a no brainer either way for Ayton or Doncic is being obtuse. They are both very good but very different prospects.

[BobbieL]

At the age 19, Ayton is better than both Hakeem and Patrick Ewing (when they were 19). As a GM, with the number one pick, you don't pass on that potential!

I kind of hate his argument because frankly you could say this about a lot of bigs because neither Hakeem or Ewing were super developed at that age. Plus Ayton is just a different player than these two who were great defenders very early in their careers.


I'm personally team Doncic. But I think the Suns will take Ayton and I'm fine with that; he's undeniably a rare physical specimen and his upside is crazy. I love that he has good shooting form and I think he projects pretty well there, I also think he will be a dominant rebounder from day one. That's actually the skill I'm most confident with Ayton.

Last note anyone who thinks its a no brainer either way for Ayton or Doncic is being obtuse. They are both very good but very different prospects.

The reason i think the pick is Ayton is the same reason you are worried Ryan will make a dumb trade - he is trying to save his job. The easy pick is Ayton. And its not only an easy pick but a very good pick. Like you - I would not be disappointed inAyton as right now his offense and rebounder a solid

But i too am Doncic today. I just think the style of basketball I have read and the clips make him somebody that I think with Booker and Jackson would be a solid core to start with. I think the opportunity to play a beautiful brand of basketball will be something missing for the last few years. Granted, I am sure Igor could get Ayton and still play a beautiful game

If Ryan picks Doncic - he has some "onions".

[TheLogician]

Well some think it's in the realm of possibility we end up both, and I think the only way that happens is if we become KingSuns, so we may as well just go with that.

Our board was high on both most of the year (not all were high on both) but it was pretty evenly split for who liked who. Doncic won early polls with more options, then with only them two as options, they tied, then later Doncic won, and now after getting the #1 pick, Ayton is winning, though it includes more votes, some assuredly from other fanbases. It does seem some people who were previously leaning Doncic have switched to Ayton and less so the other way around.

But for some of us it's very close. Personally I was kind of hoping we got two (and that our GM had these guys 1/2 for sure) so we could just pick who was left.

I most def did. I was on the Doncic wagon for months. I don't think I ever truly believed we would land the top pick. The moment we did, I had a change of heart. Part of it, which I know is the worst way of thinking, is that I worry if we don't take the consensus best player (that experts believe at least) that we could go years or decades of hearing "what could have been?"

If we take Ayton, nobody will ever bat an eye if he busts and Doncic rules the NBA for 10 years.
But if we take Doncic, and Ayton becomes a generational player, it would be a massive hard pill to swallow.
I hold out hope that Ayton can fix his defensive flaws when paired with a great player developer in Igor and a vet like Chandler.

It would be nice to have him work with KG for defense and Hakeem to fine tune his offense. At his age, he's still able to be molded.

So if you were on the Doncic wagon for months, and then suddenly you change your mind after getting the pick to go against your personal views to follow consensus, and the consensus player busts and the guy who's wagon you were on for months ruled the NBA for the next 10 years, nobody bats an eye? That wouldn't be a hard pill for you to swallow?

I don't think either busts, but if I went against my gut to follow a crowd and learn that was the wrong decision and my gut had been right all along to me that would be the bigger killer.

I think we all assumed we'd end up with #2 at best given our history and fell in love with Doncic. When we hired Kokoskov it seemed like a match made in heaven. It still might be but now people are watching more of Ayton and listening to his promoters on this board and at the local and national levels and having a change of heart. Almost everyone agrees both won't be busts so we should rest easy after June 21.

[bwgood77]

What if Atlanta comes with an offer for pick 1. Would anyone listen and at what cost ??


My thoughts. If the price is right I wouldn’t mind sliding back to 3.

Worse case is that the suns end up with Bamba.
Best case Doncic threats force the kIngs to go elsewhere and the Suns end up with Doncic at 3.

So my question is at what price do you gamble ?

For example is the Hawks offer schrador, 3 and 19 for pick 1.

Is Bamba and 2 other assets better than Ayton ?

Yeah, I thought of that..if Doncic slid to 3 if people would trade 1 for Doncic/Collins or something.

[WeekapaugGroove]

At the age 19, Ayton is better than both Hakeem and Patrick Ewing (when they were 19). As a GM, with the number one pick, you don't pass on that potential!

I kind of hate his argument because frankly you could say this about a lot of bigs because neither Hakeem or Ewing were super developed at that age. Plus Ayton is just a different player than these two who were great defenders very early in their careers.


I'm personally team Doncic. But I think the Suns will take Ayton and I'm fine with that; he's undeniably a rare physical specimen and his upside is crazy. I love that he has good shooting form and I think he projects pretty well there, I also think he will be a dominant rebounder from day one. That's actually the skill I'm most confident with Ayton.

Last note anyone who thinks its a no brainer either way for Ayton or Doncic is being obtuse. They are both very good but very different prospects.

The reason i think the pick is Ayton is the same reason you are worried Ryan will make a dumb trade - he is trying to save his job. The easy pick is Ayton. And its not only an easy pick but a very good pick. Like you - I would not be disappointed inAyton as right now his offense and rebounder a solid

But i too am Doncic today. I just think the style of basketball I have read and the clips make him somebody that I think with Booker and Jackson would be a solid core to start with. I think the opportunity to play a beautiful brand of basketball will be something missing for the last few years. Granted, I am sure Igor could get Ayton and still play a beautiful game

If Ryan picks Doncic - he has some "onions".

I agree. If they are trying to get better right away next year the simple path is draft Ayton to take of the C position and then use assets to go get a vet PG who can make everyone in the lineup better. Then fill in with a role player type PF and that's about all they would need to do roster wise. Hell just adding a decent vet PG to last years team would have added like 8-12 wins because they were such a damn disaster at that spot.

[Sreister]

I'm not going to pretend like I've watched video like everyone here seems to have. But my two cents are..

Ayton passes that eye test to me. He's physically intimidating, has touch to shoot in a modern NBA team structure, seems more polished than a lot of C prospects. I have no question he has a very high floor.

Doncic scares me. Has a higher bust potential, but arguments for him are very convincing. When I think of talent like him it can go one of two ways, Rubio or Dragic. Rubio was supposed to be this PG Savant and whereas he isn't a bust, but not what everyone thought. Dragic kind of snuck up on everyone and we all know what he's capable of. Can he get off those step backs like Dragic could? Because I see that A LOT from Doncic and I just don't see his step back working in our NBA. He's bigger, so smaller PGs will have trouble, but will he be stifled by athletic defenders? That's my biggest worry. He does everything so well, but against less than athletic defenders and it worries me.

I think I'm on team Ayton, but love the idea of what Igor could do with Doncic if we can get both. But gun to my head, I pick Ayton. The NBA obviously seems to favor guards and small ball right now, but there's more than one way to skin a cat and I salivate when I watch Ayton, I don't when I watch Doncic (but I do when we talk about him, see the difference?)

[bwgood77]

Doncic.

Overpay for perimeter talent. Go cheap on bigs. Thats formula for success. Do it the other way around (like Pels) and you just make it tough for yourself.

Ayton is a very sexy pick because we associate bigs for franchise players. But bigs aren't valued that much nowadays unlike in the 90s while Ayton has serious red flags on D.

A center who cant play D is like a PG who can't shoot

I think Pelicans just lack shooting around them.


Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaq and Robinson had 2-3 shooters, considered sharp shooters of their era around them at all times.


Pelicans have Mirotic finally and he's the only real sharp shooter around Davis.... Holiday is accurate shooter as well but he is not considered a sharp shooter where he can get 5-6 3s when hot and take over from that range.


Put Klay Thompson and Mirotic around Davis and Cousins and watch them dominate...

They used to have Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson among others.

[kennydorglas]

Ayton is an athletic beast but lack of Defense is a massive problem for a big. That's why you have a big for, without any D he will hinder the team more than help. Yeah he looks good on paper but this guy had all the makings of a good offensive player with no D who cannot measure up to the other bigs.

Doncic is the safer pick, you have to hope Ayton turns into something he currently isn't anywhere near being.

....and we have to hope that Doncic's game translates to the NBA.

Look, Doncic isnt some defensive god either. He is too slow/unathletic to guard guards in the NBA. So that means he will be guarding SF's, and looking around the league, he is going to have his hands full trying. Pro Doncic people like to throw around Aytons defensive limitations, but dont care to speak on Doncic's and act like it isnt just as big of a question mark, which it is.

Yeah, but defense is not that required for a guard. It’s what offense is for centers. The center’s teammates compensates for his lack of offense. The guard’s teammates compensates for his lack of defense.

Easier to hide a guard’s poor D than to hide a center’s poor D. And it’s way much easier to improve a guard’s D. And Doncic can switch unto bigger players where he might be a better post defender than most Pgs.

Guys like Curry and Harden turned into capable to good defenders. Center who cant play D is unplayable in playoffs.

I could be wrong on Ayton. But it’s really a good bet to short on the Ayton’s stock. He has horrible awareness on D. At 1%stl% that’s like being a second or two late on every rotation.

Centers nowadays have a lot of responsabilities on defense.
They need to protect the middle of the court, close out hard on every PNR, switch a lot in mismatches and try to force a bad shot.

I think Ayton can do the switching only, he really has good footspeed... can be coachable to avoid those free layups with better positioning. Not sold at all on the first two tho.

If Ayton can be at least average in all of those areas, he'll be amazing. IF he's not and we're forced to start a Taj Gibson type to cover for him, we're screwed.

Since the decision maybe be already made, we'll just have to wait for the best.
Koko uses a lot of Thibbs coverages and that's what Ayton will have to do here.

[BobbieL]

I kind of hate his argument because frankly you could say this about a lot of bigs because neither Hakeem or Ewing were super developed at that age. Plus Ayton is just a different player than these two who were great defenders very early in their careers.


I'm personally team Doncic. But I think the Suns will take Ayton and I'm fine with that; he's undeniably a rare physical specimen and his upside is crazy. I love that he has good shooting form and I think he projects pretty well there, I also think he will be a dominant rebounder from day one. That's actually the skill I'm most confident with Ayton.

Last note anyone who thinks its a no brainer either way for Ayton or Doncic is being obtuse. They are both very good but very different prospects.

The reason i think the pick is Ayton is the same reason you are worried Ryan will make a dumb trade - he is trying to save his job. The easy pick is Ayton. And its not only an easy pick but a very good pick. Like you - I would not be disappointed inAyton as right now his offense and rebounder a solid

But i too am Doncic today. I just think the style of basketball I have read and the clips make him somebody that I think with Booker and Jackson would be a solid core to start with. I think the opportunity to play a beautiful brand of basketball will be something missing for the last few years. Granted, I am sure Igor could get Ayton and still play a beautiful game

If Ryan picks Doncic - he has some "onions".

I agree. If they are trying to get better right away next year the simple path is draft Ayton to take of the C position and then use assets to go get a vet PG who can make everyone in the lineup better. Then fill in with a role player type PF and that's about all they would need to do roster wise. Hell just adding a decent vet PG to last years team would have added like 8-12 wins because they were such a damn disaster at that spot.

If you pick Ayton - right, find a veteran PG. Rondo is a pure PG. Evans might be more combo. Dinwiddie would be nice. But to your point about the PF - that could be Love. That could be Marvin Williams - I know I am beating a horse with Charlotte but Kupchak is rebuilding that team - my guess is he would love to move one of Williams, MKG, Zeller or Batum to free up some cap space next summer. Its not working now down there. Plus looking at the Capulator - the only way they get cap space is renounding Howard and moving two of those players. Maybe Borrego can turn that team around but I think its a rebuild (if Ayton is the pick: MKG and Williams for Dudley, Chandler, Daniels and a 2020 first round pick).

Under this scenario - if you do find a player for contracts, may not need as much cap space and probably keep Chandler or Williams to have a solid back up CEnter to Ayton.

[WeekapaugGroove]

As far as the 'consensus' number 1 by the media being Ayton I don't really agree with that. In fact when looking at the draft media I respect most of them like Doncic more. Hell some of the biggest team Ayton media members are some of the ones I think are the worst so that kind of scares me.

If they take Ayton and Doncic blows up then they will deserve the criticism they will inevitably get especially since they hired a guy who know how to coach him.

This pick will make or break McD it's that simple. I'm hoping for the best but since I don't have much confidence in McD I have some fear he'll **** this up.

[Moneyballer]

Long time lurker but excited about our long suffering franchise getting the 1st pick!

I just wanted to chime in with my thoughts since I’m leaning towards Ayton. I admit, I’m not as well-versed with both prospects as other posters here, but there have been things that have stood out reading about both prospects. Sorry if most of this has been covered before.

1) Whether or not Ayton will be a better shooter than Doncic, Ayton looks like he could be a better shooter at his position than Doncic will be at his - They both look like they could be great shooters, but I think it’s amazing that Ayton is doing it at his size and his position. It’s great to see a prospect like Ayton be able to hit shots all the way out to the 3pt line and also shoot a good percentage from the FT line. Ayton would be able to stick around late game and not be a liability as a shooter, unlike a lot of defensive centers that are popular right now.

2) Most analysts seem to project Doncic as a 2/3 rather than a 1 - His size and speed seem to project him as a wing with playmaking ability rather than someone that could slot in at the 1. Maybe I’m wrong here? For all the comparisons to Ginobili, Harden, Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, etc., All those guys played with quicker guards that would slot in at pg. I bring this up because I see a lot of posters slotting him in there next to Booker as a pg and I just don’t see him playing there positionally.

3) Ayton seems to fit better in our line-up - Piggybacking off the last point, while I think we should pick the best prospect possible regardless of position, I do find it interesting that posters believe Doncic will fit in so well with Booker and Jackson, along with Warren. You have a bunch of 2/3 with playmaking and somehow the defense and positions will work itself out. We’ve tried all these experimental line-ups that have failed in the past, from 2 pgs to Booker at pg to a Booker/Warren/Jackson line-up. All it did was push posters to want a traditional PG that even Elfrid Payton got people excited.

4) Let’s look at some of the teams with the highest potential in 5 years - Utah with Gobert, Philly with Embiid, Minn with KAT, Denver with Jokic. I’m not ignoring the other players on those teams but it’s hard to deny that they have good/great players at the center position. The league could quickly shift back to centers playing a more important role for their team.

I’m happy that our team has such an active community of posters here. You all make it a treat to read these threads.

[bhawk]

Long time lurker but excited about our long suffering franchise getting the 1st pick!

I just wanted to chime in with my thoughts since I’m leaning towards Ayton. I admit, I’m not as well-versed with both prospects as other posters here, but there have been things that have stood out reading about both prospects. Sorry if most of this has been covered before.

1) Whether or not Ayton will be a better shooter than Doncic, Ayton looks like he could be a better shooter at his position than Doncic will be at his - They both look like they could be great shooters, but I think it’s amazing that Ayton is doing it at his size and his position. It’s great to see a prospect like Ayton be able to hit shots all the way out to the 3pt line and also shoot a good percentage from the FT line. Ayton would be able to stick around late game and not be a liability as a shooter, unlike a lot of defensive centers that are popular right now.

2) Most analysts seem to project Doncic as a 2/3 rather than a 1 - His size and speed seem to project him as a wing with playmaking ability rather than someone that could slot in at the 1. Maybe I’m wrong here? For all the comparisons to Ginobili, Harden, Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, etc., All those guys played with quicker guards that would slot in at pg. I bring this up because I see a lot of posters slotting him in there next to Booker as a pg and I just don’t see him playing there positionally.

3) Ayton seems to fit better in our line-up - Piggybacking off the last point, while I think we should pick the best prospect possible regardless of position, I do find it interesting that posters believe Doncic will fit in so well with Booker and Jackson, along with Warren. You have a bunch of 2/3 with playmaking and somehow the defense and positions will work itself out. We’ve tried all these experimental line-ups that have failed in the past, from 2 pgs to Booker at pg to a Booker/Warren/Jackson line-up. All it did was push posters to want a traditional PG that even Elfrid Payton got people excited.

4) Let’s look at some of the teams with the highest potential in 5 years - Utah with Gobert, Philly with Embiid, Minn with KAT, Denver with Jokic. I’m not ignoring the other players on those teams but it’s hard to deny that they have good/great players at the center position. The league could quickly shift back to centers playing a more important role for their team.

I’m happy that our team has such an active community of posters here. You all make it a treat to read these threads.

Great post! Ayton's shooting touch is what sealed it for me. High release and accurate. Love the FT% too. He is gener-AYTON-al!

[TheLogician]

As far as the 'consensus' number 1 by the media being Ayton I don't really agree with that. In fact when looking at the draft media I respect most of them like Doncic more. Hell some of the biggest team Ayton media members are some of the ones I think are the worst so that kind of scares me.

If they take Ayton and Doncic blows up then they will deserve the criticism they will inevitably get especially since they hired a guy who know how to coach him.

This pick will make or break McD it's that simple. I'm hoping for the best but since I don't have much confidence in McD I have some fear he'll **** this up.

The media (reporters/insiders) get their info from the horse's mouth so there is likely a consensus amongst GMs. The "draft media" are looking at tape and analytics and drawing conclusions like us. I favor the opinions of the front office people via insiders because they are the ones conducting the workouts and interviews.

[Sreister]

I'm not going to pretend like I've watched video like everyone here seems to have. But my two cents are..

Ayton passes that eye test to me. He's physically intimidating, has touch to shoot in a modern NBA team structure, seems more polished than a lot of C prospects. I have no question he has a very high floor.

Doncic scares me. Has a higher bust potential, but arguments for him are very convincing. When I think of talent like him it can go one of two ways, Rubio or Dragic. Rubio was supposed to be this PG Savant and whereas he isn't a bust, but not what everyone thought. Dragic kind of snuck up on everyone and we all know what he's capable of. Can he get off those step backs like Dragic could? Because I see that A LOT from Doncic and I just don't see his step back working in our NBA. He's bigger, so smaller PGs will have trouble, but will he be stifled by athletic defenders? That's my biggest worry. He does everything so well, but against less than athletic defenders and it worries me.

I think I'm on team Ayton, but love the idea of what Igor could do with Doncic if we can get both. But gun to my head, I pick Ayton. The NBA obviously seems to favor guards and small ball right now, but there's more than one way to skin a cat and I salivate when I watch Ayton, I don't when I watch Doncic (but I do when we talk about him, see the difference?)

Replying to myself to add to my thoughts.

We all experienced the three headed monster that was Bled, IT, and Dragic..

Are we trying to talk ourselves into a similar three headed monster with Doncic? It's one thing to play somewhat position less basketball, it's another to just throw 3 wings and say "it'll work".

I don't know if he can truly play PG, I'll trust Igor on that. But coming to the NBA and dealing with THAT level of upgrade is hard enough, it's another if we're trying to make him into something he's currently not. Chalk that up as another thing that scares me.

[Kerrsed]

Poll was just created. You can change your pick at anytime, so we will have a fluid display of where the board stands on the matter.

[bwgood77]

....and we have to hope that Doncic's game translates to the NBA.

Look, Doncic isnt some defensive god either. He is too slow/unathletic to guard guards in the NBA. So that means he will be guarding SF's, and looking around the league, he is going to have his hands full trying. Pro Doncic people like to throw around Aytons defensive limitations, but dont care to speak on Doncic's and act like it isnt just as big of a question mark, which it is.

Yeah, but defense is not that required for a guard. It’s what offense is for centers. The center’s teammates compensates for his lack of offense. The guard’s teammates compensates for his lack of defense.

Easier to hide a guard’s poor D than to hide a center’s poor D. And it’s way much easier to improve a guard’s D. And Doncic can switch unto bigger players where he might be a better post defender than most Pgs.

Guys like Curry and Harden turned into capable to good defenders. Center who cant play D is unplayable in playoffs.

I could be wrong on Ayton. But it’s really a good bet to short on the Ayton’s stock. He has horrible awareness on D. At 1%stl% that’s like being a second or two late on every rotation.

Centers nowadays have a lot of responsabilities on defense.
They need to protect the middle of the court, close out hard on every PNR, switch a lot in mismatches and try to force a bad shot.

I think Ayton can do the switching only, he really has good footspeed... can be coachable to avoid those free layups with better positioning. Not sold at all on the first two tho.

If Ayton can be at least average in all of those areas, he'll be amazing. IF he's not and we're forced to start a Taj Gibson type to cover for him, we're screwed.

Since the decision maybe be already made, we'll just have to wait for the best.
Koko uses a lot of Thibbs coverages and that's what Ayton will have to do here.

I have the same fears having watched UA probably as closely as you. But obviously he is young and can improve. (It sounds like our motto these days "He's young and can improve".) And with Ayton we can add the Chriss thing "He's only been playing basketball for ______"

Hopefully somehow Igor can transform those defensive issues and help him.

[jcsunsfan]

Long time lurker but excited about our long suffering franchise getting the 1st pick!

I just wanted to chime in with my thoughts since I’m leaning towards Ayton. I admit, I’m not as well-versed with both prospects as other posters here, but there have been things that have stood out reading about both prospects. Sorry if most of this has been covered before.

1) Whether or not Ayton will be a better shooter than Doncic, Ayton looks like he could be a better shooter at his position than Doncic will be at his - They both look like they could be great shooters, but I think it’s amazing that Ayton is doing it at his size and his position. It’s great to see a prospect like Ayton be able to hit shots all the way out to the 3pt line and also shoot a good percentage from the FT line. Ayton would be able to stick around late game and not be a liability as a shooter, unlike a lot of defensive centers that are popular right now.

2) Most analysts seem to project Doncic as a 2/3 rather than a 1 - His size and speed seem to project him as a wing with playmaking ability rather than someone that could slot in at the 1. Maybe I’m wrong here? For all the comparisons to Ginobili, Harden, Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, etc., All those guys played with quicker guards that would slot in at pg. I bring this up because I see a lot of posters slotting him in there next to Booker as a pg and I just don’t see him playing there positionally.

3) Ayton seems to fit better in our line-up - Piggybacking off the last point, while I think we should pick the best prospect possible regardless of position, I do find it interesting that posters believe Doncic will fit in so well with Booker and Jackson, along with Warren. You have a bunch of 2/3 with playmaking and somehow the defense and positions will work itself out. We’ve tried all these experimental line-ups that have failed in the past, from 2 pgs to Booker at pg to a Booker/Warren/Jackson line-up. All it did was push posters to want a traditional PG that even Elfrid Payton got people excited.

4) Let’s look at some of the teams with the highest potential in 5 years - Utah with Gobert, Philly with Embiid, Minn with KAT, Denver with Jokic. I’m not ignoring the other players on those teams but it’s hard to deny that they have good/great players at the center position. The league could quickly shift back to centers playing a more important role for their team.

I’m happy that our team has such an active community of posters here. You all make it a treat to read these threads.

I agree with all of this. Positionless basketball is now, not the future. All things flow back and forth. Athletic versatile bigs is the future. Cousins, Porzingis, KAT, AD, etc. That is the future. And we have a chance to get one who could be the best of them all.

[Kerrsed]

By the way, just to let everybody know, CSKA vs Real Madrid will be on NBA TV soon. If you dont have NBA TV, check your favorite streaming sites. Winner of this game goes to the Finals!

[King4Day]

Spoiler:

Well some think it's in the realm of possibility we end up both, and I think the only way that happens is if we become KingSuns, so we may as well just go with that.

Our board was high on both most of the year (not all were high on both) but it was pretty evenly split for who liked who. Doncic won early polls with more options, then with only them two as options, they tied, then later Doncic won, and now after getting the #1 pick, Ayton is winning, though it includes more votes, some assuredly from other fanbases. It does seem some people who were previously leaning Doncic have switched to Ayton and less so the other way around.

But for some of us it's very close. Personally I was kind of hoping we got two (and that our GM had these guys 1/2 for sure) so we could just pick who was left.

I most def did. I was on the Doncic wagon for months. I don't think I ever truly believed we would land the top pick. The moment we did, I had a change of heart. Part of it, which I know is the worst way of thinking, is that I worry if we don't take the consensus best player (that experts believe at least) that we could go years or decades of hearing "what could have been?"

If we take Ayton, nobody will ever bat an eye if he busts and Doncic rules the NBA for 10 years.
But if we take Doncic, and Ayton becomes a generational player, it would be a massive hard pill to swallow.
I hold out hope that Ayton can fix his defensive flaws when paired with a great player developer in Igor and a vet like Chandler.

It would be nice to have him work with KG for defense and Hakeem to fine tune his offense. At his age, he's still able to be molded.

So if you were on the Doncic wagon for months, and then suddenly you change your mind after getting the pick to go against your personal views to follow consensus, and the consensus player busts and the guy who's wagon you were on for months ruled the NBA for the next 10 years, nobody bats an eye? That wouldn't be a hard pill for you to swallow?

I don't think either busts, but if I went against my gut to follow a crowd and learn that was the wrong decision and my gut had been right all along to me that would be the bigger killer.

The 'hard pillow to swallow' is in reference to the Blazers passing on MJ and Durant. We're talking 30 years later on MJ and it's still a fresh topic for discussion and almost always will be.
Again, I'm just going by what experts are saying. I don't watch enough of these guys to know the ins and outs of their game completely.
When the majority says Ayton is the right pick, I tend to believe it. Maybe they don't watch Doncic enough or maybe it's because he's Euro but that's just what we're hearing. I haven't seen any expert say 'the Suns should pass on Ayton and here's why'. If there is anyone that does, I'd love to hear it as I would like to see the reasons it would make sense to pass on a big who can do almost everything.

[ATTL]

How do we like the Joe Johnson with better vision comparison for Doncic?