[slepchorParticipant]

 Ok first of all let me say that I am from Europe (not anywhere near Slovenia). BUT I grew up idolizing the NBA and all the superstars like Shaq, MJ etc. The league is the absolute no1 in the world, and has been for many decades. That being said though, and as far as the second place is discussed, I can’t believe anyone here thinks the NCAA can compare to the Euroleague in terms of competition. The euroleague is the second best basketball championship in the world, and Doncic has been dominating it since the age of 18!

I mean, come on guys, I’m all about big centers , unique wingspans and skillsets, diamonds in the rough and so on, I really am. But I just don’t see how any GM could pass on drafting the Euroleague MVP, who happens to be 19yo.. Euroleague differs a lot from the college level. We are talking about grown men and proven athletes in their 30s who get paid millions and play in arenas with crazy crowds. And Doncic thrived in this environment. He and Goran Dragic led the Slovenian national team to the Eurobasket title last summer, against teams that had many NBA stars playing for them. And guess who stood out.. 

To me this draft is very deep and has immense quality, anyone among Ayton , Bagley or Young could have gone no1 any other year. But Doncic has been tested against a whole different level of competitiveness and it would make no sense to me if the Suns did not pick him, especially after adding Kokoskov.. Don’t get me wrong, I literally don’t leave home when March madness is on, that’s how much I love it, but the no1 pick for this year is obvious in my opinion..

 

[DJR1957Participant]

 The four Bigs who are almost or above 7 feet tall (Ayton, Bagley, Jackson Jr, Bomba) are likely to be selected first. Each of them have great potential, and most of the time the NBA drafts on potential. In addition, the NBA is looking at Doncic a having a lower potential ceiling than the Bigs mentioned above.

 

   

[ChoppyParticipant]

 I can see how he doesn’t go number one, although I’m a Doncic believer and think he definitely deserves to be considered for first overall. The draft is all about potential. Doncic is dominating at 19, great. Could Ayton have done similar if he was over in Europe? Will Ayton be the better player in 5 years? Who knows. Doncic is a relatively known quantity. College kids are a crapshoot, but no-one wants to miss out on the best talent. So they draft for who they might be in 5 years, not who they are now.  

[slepchorParticipant]

 Sure guys I see where you’re coming from but what you say would make a lot more sense to me if Doncic was a 22yo or even 21.. I tell you my favorite player for some years has been Greg Oden (back in the Ohio State days and rookie year) so I really don’t underestimate height at all.. The center position is my favorite, but are you telling me that even though Doncic has the same years of development ahead of him as do Ayton or Bagley, he actually loses ground because he has proven himself on a greater level?! Even if we look at it for let’s say a timespan of 5 years, what can a big do apart from expanding his game from inside to the 3-ball.. The only logical expanation to me (and that because I don’t live in the states therefore I wouldn’t know) is that GMs view the draft as some kind of a personal bet, a ‘contest’ of who could discover the max potential, regardless of how it pans out for their organisation..

[llperez]

Ayton is a freak big man and college ball does not translate well for centers to be showcased since the three point line is close and everyone just doubled down low. Ayton can shoot and hits off the dribble and had tons of skill to combine with being a 7 foot physical specimen. It’s no knock on Doncic to say he is not in the running for number 1. Ayton is that unique

[negguaryParticipant]

 gives me Shaq like dominance vibes…..prime Dwight vibes….David Robinson bully vibes….that type of big man vibe!!

[RicoParticipant]

 He gives me Michael Olowokandi vibes.

[slepchorParticipant]

 Idk man, I wish I could be on board with you at this.. The league really needs centers, traditional ones, at lest body-wise.. but I watched Oden in hs and college and he had "it".. you knew he was special.. Embiid too.. The moment you saw him do his stuff you could tell. Ayton not so much.. I hope I’m wrong and no way i want him to be the next Oden, or Sam Bowie or JB carroll

[The GoatParticipant]

 I just saw the updated mock and there is zero chance he falls to 6, that will get at least 3 teams draft rooms fired. 

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

 That there is no certainty that he will come hence the drop…

But the main reason is as follow for the drop…If he didn’t go number 1 as people may see him taking away from Bookers game which may not work.

From 2-6

Kings-loaded back court so not really much of a need and if they trade Buddy they will look even worse post Boogie trade.

Hawks-Makes sense there but as a two guard or Pg is the question but this maybe a team he says no to.

Grizzlies-If 2 guard makes sense pg not really as Mike is owed big money…However he may say no to them if drafted..

Mavs-Could work as a SG but if he doesn’t come over and Bamba is there they may pass…

Magic-Depends on what they do they go Trae or Luka or a Porter jr if they are letting gordon go..

Bulls just got Dunn and Lavine for Butler so giving up on them so quick looks bad but if they let Lavine go then he could go there or if he is happy to play 6th man he could go there

8th-Cavs the lowest I see him they could wait for him and semi tank if Lebron is bailing or Lebron could convince him to come over if he stays..

Me personally I wouldn’t take him 1 for 2 reasons-You don’t want to be that guy who took a Dangello russell type player(some say Harden light but I don’t fully see that just yet) over a Joel embiid or David robinson/Patrick Ewing clone in Ayton or Gobert/K.G clone in Bamba.

and

If you want immediate help and your Job was riding on it as a GM you will go for the immediate B.A need over a player that may not comeover and another GM would get the credit…But if he has said he will come over regardless this becomes less of a factor/risk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jrblazeParticipant]

The only tape I’ve seen of him hasn’t really impressed me. I’m not taking him in the top 3. This draft is surprisingly deep…surprisingly deep. Doncic is a little over hyped IMO.  

[slepchorParticipant]

http://www.youtube.com/watch

And note that Real and Barcelona are as close to the NBA level as it gets, worldwide talking (to be specific, I am not saying they are extremely close to NBA standards, just probably 2 of the top 5 pro teams outside the league).

[negguaryParticipant]

 a video of him hitting a circus shot and crossing a big man over, how does this make his case as the number one pick in this deep draft?! 

[ChoppyParticipant]

 If he was just voted as the best player in Europe at 19, you can’t think the NBA readiness of any European prospect is very high. He’s as plug-and-play as it gets AND there’s room for improvement. I don’t see what you’re not seeing. 

[slepchorParticipant]

 I just didn’t want to send a 10 min mixtape.. Like when you see Bagley’s highlights for example there’s no footage of him dunking on 6’6 kids ?! Could you name any 6’7 college freshman that plays SF and could do the same playing against a top Europe team? Victor Claver did not have such a memorable stint with the Blazers during his 3 years in the NBA but I don’t recall seeing him being embarassed like that. Not that it would be hard for any NBA guard though lol.. Trust me I have seen Doncic playing pg and holding his own against much shorter and experienced players like Weems or Teodosic. All I was trying to say with my original post is that it seems odd that any team would pass on a seasoned euroleague pro who is 18 years old and wins titles and MVP’s at this rate for a kid tested 4-5 times against equal let alone bigger talent.. The funny thing is that it looks like I’m his cousin or sth with my posts but I don’t even support Real Madrid.. I just happen to watch both the NCAA and Euroleague a lot.

[celtics1982Participant]

 Not a great athlete, so it limits his upside. He’s going to be very good, but there will be a great player or two from this draft. He’s a SF, just look at who he’ll go against and have to defend. 

You can pump up the Euro league all you want, but stats don’t translate to NBA that well. Its not a bad league, just very different. I’d rather the young athletic euro guys, than fully established ones. 

 

 

[French FlairParticipant]

I think there’s a risk that he could stay in Europe. He’s on the best european team, he’s a starter and won’t come in NBA if the team who draft him has no chance to make the playoffs or leave him garbage time at his debut.

The other problem it’s, if the kid is plenty of proven talent, drafting an european has a lot of concerns to think about : homesickness, will he learn this new language easily (which is his 3rd language for Doncic after Slovenian and Spanish), NBA rules, roadtrips…

In NBA history, few european guys who came at 19 year old in NBA had a long career there and all of them were drafted out of the top 5 so it’s a high risk to draft someone number one who can stay in Europe if he wants to or cannot acclimatize in a new country.

 

 

  

[slepchorParticipant]

 I’m not pumping up the euroleague. It is very different from the NBA and undoubtedly inferior. But anyone who denies it’s the second best pro league in the world clearly has a wrong idea about the game. A great point though that he’ll have to up against Bron , Kawhi, PG etc. Hadn’t really thought of that. Oh and he can speak english very well btw. Not Pau Gasol level of good but kinda I-feel-my-country-is-underdeveloped-if-Slovenians-speak-english-that-well good.

 

Guys let me tell you something about European basketball. Things here are very very strict. The only reason Doncic hasn’t announced if he is leaving or not is that the spanish league finals have yet to take place. It would be considered really inappropriate if he let his teammates down and announced his decision before the season is over. I am not saying he is definitely joining the NBA, I’m saying we won’t know anything until Real finish their season. And that’s actually the point I’ve been trying to get across all along.. Coaching wise, Doncic has spent the last 2 years playing Euroleague finals, where missing a single layup or failing to guard seasoned veterans results at your coach trying to murder you, killing your cat, keying your car etc you get the picture. All those other guys, as high as their ceiling might be, would play a game at college and think of their grades or their parties afterwards. It makes a lot of difference in my opinion.

 

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