The Draft Thread: Ayton Vs Doncic 1

[bwgood77]

Spoiler:

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.

Yeah, but MJ wasn't the consensus top prospect either. Multiple people were trying to trade into that second spot to grab a big. KD wasn't either. MJ just went on to become the best player of all time.

Seems like the MJ comparison would almost be more comparable if Doncic went on to become the next big thing and Ayton busted. Same with KD actually. I don't think Ayton is by any means a clear consensus. A lot of analysts and draft sites out there have had Doncic at #1 much or all of the year.

[TheLogician]

Spoiler:

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.

Yeah, but MJ wasn't the consensus top prospect either. Multiple people were trying to trade into that second spot to grab a big. KD wasn't either. MJ just went on to become the best player of all time.

Seems like the MJ comparison would almost be more comparable if Doncic went on to become the next big thing and Ayton busted. Same with KD actually. I don't think Ayton is by any means a clear consensus. A lot of analysts and draft sites out there have had Doncic at #1 much or all of the year.

Most of the mainstream analysts/sites had Bagley #1 during pre-season and non-conference games, Doncic in January, then Ayton from February on. I see more gurus with Doncic back at #1 on their big board now but it's still majority Ayton.

[cursedsportsfan]

I'm reluctant to give an answer. I know whichever play I pick, the other player will go on to have a successful career. This way when our pick busts, I can say I knew they picked the wrong player all along

I went Ayton in the poll =P

[kennydorglas]

Spoiler:

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.

Yeah, but MJ wasn't the consensus top prospect either. Multiple people were trying to trade into that second spot to grab a big. KD wasn't either. MJ just went on to become the best player of all time.

Seems like the MJ comparison would almost be more comparable if Doncic went on to become the next big thing and Ayton busted. Same with KD actually. I don't think Ayton is by any means a clear consensus. A lot of analysts and draft sites out there have had Doncic at #1 much or all of the year.

Durant had a really bad week at the Combine that year.
26" NoStep Vert 12.88 Lane Agility

The only player who managed to be this BAD was Austin Daye.
I still think he did this on purpose.

[Dambo]

Doncic playing now in the Euroleague if anyone interested.

[Calvin Klein]

Link for the game anyone?

[bwoolf2]

So its only been the 1st quarter and i will watch the entire game Doncic will be a good NBA player but Euro basketball at least athletically is not even close to the NBA and I based on what I have seen the top teams in college are much more athletic. Now Euro basketball is more skilled and we are talking about grown men but Doncic is probably the only player on the floor that could play in the NBA. I can see why Rudy Fernandez didnt make it and he is the probably the next best player out there. At least in college occasionally you get matchups of multiple players that you know can play at the NBA level.

[bwoolf2]

No wonder Doncic dominates this is pretty bad basketball to watch, Jaycee Carroll who played at Utah State is one of the best players on the floor. Again, Doncic is going to be a good NBA player dont get me wrong, but the competition he is playing against is pretty bad. We can talk about Euro league being the 2nd best in the world but its a long long ways from the NBA.

[Gorilla Warfare]

Sources: Top Golf Scottsdale

We should totally look into this in depth and accept it as verification that he will be in a Suns uniform next season. Top Golf’s Facebook account now becomes a better source than Gambo.

https://www.facebook.com/topgolfscottsdale/posts/1739964799395762

[Jwetz83]

So its only been the 1st quarter and i will watch the entire game Doncic will be a good NBA player but Euro basketball at least athletically is not even close to the NBA and I based on what I have seen the top teams in college are much more athletic. Now Euro basketball is more skilled and we are talking about grown men but Doncic is probably the only player on the floor that could play in the NBA. I can see why Rudy Fernandez didnt make it and he is the probably the next best player out there. At least in college occasionally you get matchups of multiple players that you know can play at the NBA level.

1st half is over. Being a Doncic supporter, I am a little concerned.

Game seems slow and Doncic hasn’t really established himself as the best player on the court. I see a lot of his stats come from him just being more athletic then most. However , I don’t think this translate to the nba. Especially if a team decides to put their number one defender on him.
Defensively , his stance is high and lazy. Will have trouble dealing with a pick and roll. Will have to switch a lot.

I believe that the game is perimeter oriented but Doncic has not shown me enough so far to be the first selection. By his first half performance, think someone like Turkoglu, just more athletic.

[Villalobos]

No wonder Doncic dominates this is pretty bad basketball to watch, Jaycee Carroll who played at Utah State is one of the best players on the floor. Again, Doncic is going to be a good NBA player dont get me wrong, but the competition he is playing against is pretty bad. We can talk about Euro league being the 2nd best in the world but its a long long ways from the NBA.

Ayton dominated against inferior league college midgets.

[bwgood77]

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.

Yeah, but MJ wasn't the consensus top prospect either. Multiple people were trying to trade into that second spot to grab a big. KD wasn't either. MJ just went on to become the best player of all time.

Seems like the MJ comparison would almost be more comparable if Doncic went on to become the next big thing and Ayton busted. Same with KD actually. I don't think Ayton is by any means a clear consensus. A lot of analysts and draft sites out there have had Doncic at #1 much or all of the year.

Most of the mainstream analysts/sites had Bagley #1 during pre-season and non-conference games, Doncic in January, then Ayton from February on. I see more gurus with Doncic back at #1 on their big board now but it's still majority Ayton.

I saw Porter preseason in some places, but after he was out then it's been, depending where you look, between Doncic and Ayton everywhere and on occasion, Bagley. Most of the places that had one has stayed with the same person most of the year. I think ESPN flipped from Doncic to Ayton maybe in Feb or so.

[juanc]

So its only been the 1st quarter and i will watch the entire game Doncic will be a good NBA player but Euro basketball at least athletically is not even close to the NBA and I based on what I have seen the top teams in college are much more athletic. Now Euro basketball is more skilled and we are talking about grown men but Doncic is probably the only player on the floor that could play in the NBA. I can see why Rudy Fernandez didnt make it and he is the probably the next best player out there. At least in college occasionally you get matchups of multiple players that you know can play at the NBA level.

Rudy Fernandez the second best player on the court? Are we watching the same game?
If you guys are expecting Luka to take the game over and finish 4-5 consecutive possesions than you really don't know him.

[Villalobos]

Read on Twitter

[bwoolf2]

So its only been the 1st quarter and i will watch the entire game Doncic will be a good NBA player but Euro basketball at least athletically is not even close to the NBA and I based on what I have seen the top teams in college are much more athletic. Now Euro basketball is more skilled and we are talking about grown men but Doncic is probably the only player on the floor that could play in the NBA. I can see why Rudy Fernandez didnt make it and he is the probably the next best player out there. At least in college occasionally you get matchups of multiple players that you know can play at the NBA level.

Rudy Fernandez the second best player on the court? Are we watching the same game?
If you guys are expecting Luka to take the game over and finish 4-5 consecutive possesions than you really don't know him.

Not talking this game im talking history as far as Fernandez goes, there are 0 guys outside of Doncic that could play in the NBA right now on the court.

[darealjuice]

Bordow put out a list of players we're meeting at the combine in this article:

Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Duke forward Marvin Bagley III
Alabama guard Collin Sexton
Creighton guard Khyri Thomas
Missouri forward Michael Porter Jr.
UCLA forward Kris Wilkes
Miami guard Bruce Brown Jr.
USC forward Chimezie Metu
Texas center Mohamed Bamba
Oregon swingman Troy Brown Jr.
Penn State point guard Tony Carr
Kentucky shooting guard Hamidou Diallo
UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday
Oklahoma point guard Trae Young
Michigan forward Moritz Wagner
C Mitchell Robinson (did not attend college)
Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop
Michigan State center Jaren Jackson Jr.
Duke center Wendell Carter
Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith

[Kerrsed]

To be fair to Doncic in regards to this game, the playmaking aspect and offensive firepower has been kinda taken away from him with the return of Sergio Llull,who just returned from ACL tear. He was/is their #1 option when it comes to offense (Like Dragic was with the Slovenia National Team with Doncic).

[bwoolf2]

No wonder Doncic dominates this is pretty bad basketball to watch, Jaycee Carroll who played at Utah State is one of the best players on the floor. Again, Doncic is going to be a good NBA player dont get me wrong, but the competition he is playing against is pretty bad. We can talk about Euro league being the 2nd best in the world but its a long long ways from the NBA.

Ayton dominated against inferior league college midgets.

Just saying he played against other players that will play in the NBA and have careers in the NBA, there are none outside of Doncic in playing in this final 4.

[Kerrsed]

Who all has been watching the game (Besides me)?

[bwgood77]

Sources: Top Golf Scottsdale

We should totally look into this in depth and accept it as verification that he will be in a Suns uniform next season. Top Golf’s Facebook account now becomes a better source than Gambo.

https://www.facebook.com/topgolfscottsdale/posts/1739964799395762

Screw the combine, I'm hitting the driving range in Scottsdale. Like the addidas shoes.