[Insane13Participant]

 I’m trying to figure out how an 18 year old kid leading the euroleague in scoring is only number 5 on the mock draft ?  Its not like people can’t watch him play and realize his talent and skills outweigh the athlete’s of the us easily. Nobody in the draft has near the skillset as him and I doubt any of the freshmen could do what he’s doing so I don’t understand how 4 players are ranked ahead of him just because they’re seen as more athletic. The NBA has changed from just being about athletes and more about skills but I guarantee when he gets to the NBA if 4 teams pass on him they will regret it. 

[Miko4rm206Participant]

 Easily MPJ, Ayton and Bagley. Bamba Idk depend on teams need. Foreign prospects are hit and miss all the time. For every Kristaps Porzingis there’s a Andrei Bargani. The last foreign SG that got this much Rave in a draft was Mario Henzonia and the magic completely buried him behind Jon Simmons, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross and Aaron Afflao. Its harder to scout players across seas

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Hezonja, and for that matter Dragon Bender, were not playing meaningful roles on their teams prior to being drafted. While early in the season, Doncic is leading the Euroleague in scoring, is 6th in rebounds, 18th in assists, and 4th in 3s per while shooting a 41 percent clip. It is not fair to put Doncic is that category. For a guy his age, you probably have to go back to Pau to find a guy who was his age and performing like this. 

It is November 6th, so where a guy is ranked now does not matter, but there is no sense in knocking what appears to be an unknockable start to the season. The Americans haven’t started yet, so it is okay to let the season play out.

[Miko4rm206Participant]

 It would be nice to see a Wing player from Europe play at a All-star level. But other than Manuel Ginobili who was a steal in the 2nd round nobody else comes to mind? Hezonia wasn’t getting minutes across seas but has been playing professional since 11.  An. I would actually give him the edge over donic in athleticism and maybe even shooting. But guess we will have to wait and see if Ballhandling is really more valuable for a 2 guard then athleticism. Espcially in a Pg dominated league 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Theres honestly no way I would draft any of those guys before Doncic straight out of highschool except for maybe Ayton because of his rare athletisism, measurements and touch. But Porter Jr. maybe better but hes gotta prove it first because Doncic has already proved he will be a difference maker in the NBA.

[Miko4rm206Participant]

 Since when can you get drafted straight out of HS ??? Donic has experience playing over seas with guys who couldn’t make it to the NBA. All those European awards are great?? But dosent translate to NBA all-star appearances or all NBA teams.

Danillo Gallinari avg 15 pts at 18 yo age playing European ball. He’s nothing but a solid role player.

Ricky Rubio was suppose to be the next Best European PG?? But if the 2009 draft was redone he probably wouldn’t even be a lottery pick. 

And lets not even talk about Hezonia, Fournier or Abrines. Its hard for a European guard to play at a All-star level in the NBA. 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 Luka is in the current group of top 5 prospects who are considered to be a fair bit better than the rest. In mty mind the gap between Luka at 5th on the mocks and the guy who is 6th is as big or bigger than the gap between the other 4 top guys and Luka.

Sites will find it hard to put Luka above all the other 4 guys as they have no real form line and Porter is an academic year older than Luka plus Bagley was considered likely top pick in 2019 before reclassifying and you have two top bigs there too so I can see why Doncic is 5th.

All mocks are just that until we have the draft lottery and know who will be picking where and what their needs are, so someone like Luka’s position will change accordingly then.

He is the sort of guy that I think all top teams in the draft will want to work out and have a good look at as he might be that slightly unknown factor. He will bew scouted like hell, but teams will want to see him as a person and see his character which being in Europe may be harder to judge than NCAA guys.

 

 

 

[mowestenParticipant]

 

I like Doncic and think he’s got NBA All-Star written all over him, but let’s be real here, there’s not a lot of guys in the world who are between 6’10 and 7’1 who can play basketball. 

 

In most years, he might be the top pick. I would have picked him No. 1 last year. This year is different. There are a lot more 6’7 guys in the NBA that can play basketball than there are Marvin Bagley’s.

 

You also have to wait and see how these guys perform in college. They are under a big microscope and if they stink it up, they could fall. Personally, I would consider taking him No 3, but it would be hard for me to take him over Porter or Bagley.

 

 

 

[Miko4rm206Participant]

Agreed MPJ- has Always been compared to KD and hasn’t disappointed.

Ayton has Been compared to Embiid/David Robinson. Watching his 2 games from UofA (even tho against lesser talent) he is the real deal

Bagley who has been Compared to Chris Bosh/Lamar Odom is really trying to model his game after Giannis/Ben Simmons. And will be playing for coach K who always puts quality talent into the league.

Luka from what I seen is a Bigger version of Brandon Roy. Do it all 2 guard. Which isn’t bad but compared to the 3 players mentioned before he falls a little short. But we have a whole NBA season and College season ahead of us.

 

 

 

[r377Participant]

Luca Doncic just won player of the month. Unheard of at his age, playing against grown men and former NBA talent. He should be at least no2 on the mocks ATM

[Robb_CParticipant]

 Doncic is very skilled no questioned, the question is will he be able to play the way he does in the Euroleague in the NBA? His skillset needs to translate to the league.. I believe some of his skillset will have a bit of a growing pain period in the NBA, for the simple fact the league is ten time faster than the Euroleague and he already struggles a bit on defensive assignments.

Hes a unique talent.. I’m not sold on him being a superstar, his age vs his potential as a bit of a cap on it due footspeed weakness.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 See thats the point though. Your asking if Doncic can do this against NBA players. Well he has. He won Gold in EuroBasket against NBA players and now hes the best player in a league of former NBA players, players that dont want to be on the bench in the NBA and players thatfall just short of the NBA. The question for Luka is how much of an impact will he have not will he have an impact. 

On the other hand these kids straight out of highschool still havent even proven themselves on the amatuer college level. I gautrantee one of these guys drop out it happens every year. I personally feel like Porter is a bit overrated and the KD comparisons are too far. 

By no means am I saying Luka is a lock for top 3 or whatever but just if the draft was today Im not taking an unpolished kid out of highschool ahead of him unless the combo of athletisism, skill and measurements was too great to pass up which to me would only be Ayton and Bamba but even those two havent proven it. The current mock draft isnt ranking the current order but predicting what the order will end up being which is why people are upset or confused.

 

 

[Robb_CParticipant]

You’re kidding right?! I watched the entire EuroBasket its one of my favorite tournaments and I was extremely disappointed about the lack of NBA talent..

Luka was having issues defending Euroleague talent, especially on the drive his team seemed to have to bail him out and help and recover in certain situations.. I evaluate that as a huge defensive red flag and thats why I see him struggling defensively against guards.. 

He’s definitely a great prospect and very savy with the ball in his hands… I dont see  him as a franchise corner piece but he’s definitely a great prospect.

Ayton and Porter are very interesting prospect for me.. Right now very clear one and two, Bamba is a bit raw in regards to his footwork and is offensively a bit limited but making strides.. I like Sexton as well

Luka should be right around the 4-5 Range.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[holefillers1Participant]

  We have a full body of work with Doncic. He has played at the European level for a little while now and has now doubt gotten comfortable at that level.  Here the Collegiate level athletes have not even been tested. I guarantee a couple of these guys in the lotto will look lost and completely too raw to enter the draft next year.  But if a guy like Kevin Knox or Porter or Bamba are able to dominate players at this level from the jump, their stock will get a boost.  

[r377Participant]

I think the same thing about his speed and athleticism. When you watch him he doesn’t look very fast.

I was thinking of Drazen Petrovic, I think Drazen was faster and a better athlete. Players like Larry Bird, Paul Pierce and Manu Ginobilli, when you look at them they almost look like they play in slow motion, but they have the skill and IQ to get it done. I think Doncic falls into this category….

[khaled_a_dParticipant]

He is number one pick in ESPN (and there new writer who owns DX) so I would say he is where he deserves to be. Givony had the most accurate mock drafts in this decade, I love nbadraft.net but their mock drafts has been always underwhelming and they always underrate international prospects until June .

Also for Doncic himself he is phenomenal , nothing like him has been seen in European basketball at his age so we are seeing something completely new so stop the comparison, they aren’t remotely accurate. The guy is playing close to Manu level when he was 23-24 while he is 18 , won the European championship for first time in Slovenia history and was in all star team along Pau,Dragic,Bogdanović & Shved He will probably slow down a bit as it will be difficult to continue this number, his athleticism might limit his potential a bit too so those are legit concerns

[HitsterParticipant]

If Givony has put him number 1 then that has to be respected as he doesn’t tend to alter his mocks lightly and is perhaps more cautious on his mocks than Aran and co on here.

The guys on here will obviously update their mock to reflect NCAA and Euro League season as it progresses.

[binetParticipant]

 Neither of Bagley,Ayton, and even more so Bamba (even more true for projects like him) should be taken over Doncic. The league has evolved in a way where you don’t need a traditionnal Center to win, and it’s debatable whether these are still the best profile over hunting for the next Draymond. 

Add to that the obvious data that most busts in the draft history have been among tall prospects like Kwame, Bargnani, Oden, Thabeet, Okafor …  and among the top centers in the league you have Marc Gasol, Jokic, DeAndre, Whiteside all taken in the second round, and so few of them taken in the high lottery. 

Doncic is an unreal talent and as a wing player, he is that much more valuable, playing a position that is now ideally tripled on ideal 5s, like Golden State’s Iguodala-Thompson-Durant, Boston’s theoretic Brown-Hayward-Tatum, Milwaukee’s Giannis-Middleton-Jabari. Teams are playing PG-Wing-Wing-Wing-Center now.

 

[Robb_CParticipant]

 LOLOL the reason why the league has moved passed centers is because they dont grow on trees.. the league has adjusted to this by using more guards..

Ayton is going to be a problem in the league hes extremely promising.. 

 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Bagley, Ayton and Bamba are the only guys I would consider picking over Donkic. The league is very low on decent Centers and these guys have great measurements, instincts and all around skill. They could end up dominating the position.

I agree about Donkic though. Hes kind of being slept on. I think hes alot like Harden. For 6’8 the way he moves with the ball is amazing. He had one play against Maccabi where he brought the ball up the court , changed speed and directions quickly past half court, faked a pass with his left hand while the ball was in his right, brought the ball around his back to the left and passed outg to the open man in the left corner while penetrating the defence. looked like something Ben Simmons would do.

 

[r377Participant]

 Luka Doncic still tearing it up….

 

Luka Doncic scored a career-high 35 points in a triple-double on Sunday, making 14-of-24 FGs and 4-of-6 FTs with 12 rebounds, 10 assists and three 3-pointers.

 

This was quite an encore. With his performance in a win vs. Detroit on Friday, he became the first rookie in league history to post at least 30 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block in a game. The twice-reigning Western Conference Rookie of the Month is the only player in league history with two triple-doubles as a teenager, and he’s scored 30+ points in six games while every other rookie has combined for five such games.

 

 

[Insane13Participant]

I knew I was right lol. Does anybody still think Bagley or ayton should’ve went over doncic ?

[Insane13Participant]

I want the people who were saying Luka shouldn’t be number one on this post to own up to being wrong. He’s the only player in this draft to be all nba already lmao. He wasn’t mario hezonja or dragan bender you have to watch basketball not just compare all euro players be real.

[CynthiaParticipant]

To be fair, we can go back and find some pretty bad posts about most players, whether we over or under hyped. Half the fun of a site like this is speculating and debating, even if we end up dead wrong. Even NBA GM’s who make millions doing this are often just as clueless as us.

[r377Participant]

Luka has taken a team full of role and bench players to an undecided game 7 – 2nd round of these 2022 playoffs against the Suns

[ZouldiersParticipant]

The fact that people on this site thought Luka Doncic’s game wouldn’t even translate in the NBA after winning Euroleague MVP at 19 years old is just asinine. Luka is now a top 10 player in the league while his counterparts are nowhere near his level lol.

[HitsterParticipant]

I’d say Luka is top 3 in the league now only Giannis and Jokic I’d put above him.

[Author]

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