2017-2018 Draft Prospects watch.

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think the athletic concerns are a little overblown. He's not an elite run-jump athlete (though still adequate), but his balance and coordination are off-the-charts, and he has great size.

Yeah Larry bird wasn’t a transcendent athlete but where he was special made him one of the best ever.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Yeah Larry bird wasn’t a transcendent athlete but where he was special made him one of the best ever.

Actually, while Magic Johnson was big, he wasn't a transcendent athlete either. He was fairly average athletically. But he had skills, vision, and just a feel for the game that was off the charts.

When evaluating draft prospects, we tend to overblow athleticism and under value other things. That is why Tatum went unappreciated by many. They felt he was just not as much as an athlete as Jackson or Isaac. But he is actually a very good athlete, good enough for his other skills to shine.

 

[Phrazbit]

Yeah. I keep looking at that and then remembering that I got duped by Jimmer and Buddy Hield. They looked all-world in college too. I want to think that Trae is a potential answer, but my past experiences cause me doubt.

Jimmer and Buddy weren't particularly good as Freshmen, fwiw, and neither ever came close to producing the assist numbers Young has.

Exactly. Neither Jimmer or Buddy could create for anyone else. Young is an incredible shooter but also appears to be one of the best passers in the country.

In a dream world we get one of the monster bigs with a top 3 pick, then package our likely 10-14 pick from Miami with another pick or asset to grab Young in the 5-10 range.

He is incredible. It would be nice if he were a bit more of an athlete but his herky jerky game of quickness rather than pure speed and leaping is one that is translating well to the NBA of late.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think we'll be able to trade back into the 6-10 range to get someone like Young. We have the Miami pick this year as well as their 2021 pick and the Milwaukee pick. It'll be interesting to see where the Miami pick falls. I really hope it doesn't end up in the top 7 so we can use it this year.

If a team is after a player, I think some could view Chriss highly as well. He'd be the young player I'd prefer to move. I think if we waited longer than this offseason to trade him then his stock might fall too low. Hearing national analysts talk about him though I don't think anyone is down on him outside of the Suns fanbase.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

While I would love to get Young and one of the bigs, that probably is wishful thinking. So, as long as I am hoping for best-case scenarios....

We draft Luka Doncic.

The draft goes...

1. Deandre Ayton
2. Luka Doncic - Suns
3. Marvin Bagley
4. Michael Porter Jr.
5. Trae Young
6. Collin Sexton

Then we trade the Miami pick and Warren for Bamba. (I think Warren is the guy another team would want and, while I like him and think he has a great contract, I'd rather free up Jackson to develop fully at SF, particularly with my offensive-minded backcourt. Including Warren might help us keep the 2021 Miami pick as well.)

Avoid big moves in free agency. We will need to start signing our own young players soon. If we can't keep Len at a decent rate, keep Chandler. If not, move on.

PG Doncic Ulis Canaan
SG Booker Reed Daniels
SF Jackson Free Agent Draft Pick
PF Bender Chriss Dudley
C Len Bamba Williams

Eventual Lineup:

Doncic
Booker
Jackson
Bender
Bamba

Reed
Chriss
Len

If your backcourt can evolve to become average defensively and your frontcourt develops some on offense, that could be an explosive, talented team with everything you need to compete. Doncic and Booker as offensive stars with a long, active defensive frontcourt.

 

[Haunting]

Doncic is not a real PG and Doncic + Young would still be the best combo that you could get.

Playing Young, Booker and Doncic is a lot better than putting in some non shooters.

Also Dragan Bender starting has to be a joke.

 

[Adrian]

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[Hoop Head]

Doncic is not a real PG and Doncic + Young would still be the best combo that you could get.

Playing Young, Booker and Doncic is a lot better than putting in some non shooters.

Also Dragan Bender starting has to be a joke.

Hey Slin, have you watched Bender at all this year?

 

[overseascardfan]

Anyone think CHI would be interested in Bender / Chriss for Markkanen? Would much rather have Markkanen now than either of them, hell I'd rather have Markkanen than Jackson right now.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think we'll be able to trade back into the 6-10 range to get someone like Young. We have the Miami pick this year as well as their 2021 pick and the Milwaukee pick. It'll be interesting to see where the Miami pick falls. I really hope it doesn't end up in the top 7 so we can use it this year.

If a team is after a player, I think some could view Chriss highly as well. He'd be the young player I'd prefer to move. I think if we waited longer than this offseason to trade him then his stock might fall too low. Hearing national analysts talk about him though I don't think anyone is down on him outside of the Suns fanbase.

Forget trading back. There is no point in it unless it gives us another top pick. We have seven potential picks in this draft. Plus we've got oodles of other young players.

If we really like Young, just take him.

 

[Hoop Head]

Forget trading back. There is no point in it unless it gives us another top pick. We have seven potential picks in this draft. Plus we've got oodles of other young players.

If we really like Young, just take him.

I didn't mean trading down, what I meant by trading back is getting another pick in the lottery after the team uses their first pick. I assume the Suns own pick will be within the top 5, so they'd be trading to get back into the lottery to select again by using the other picks they have bait to get them another pick in the 6-10 range. Whether it be the Miami pick this year, wherever it falls, the Bucks pick, and/or the 2021 Miami pick in addition to Chriss or another player on our roster. Whatever it takes to get a second high 1st round draft pick.

 

[hcsilla]

Anyone think CHI would be interested in Bender / Chriss for Markkanen? Would much rather have Markkanen now than either of them,

So would the Bulls, too.

 

[hcsilla]

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Another excellent prospect, what a long athlete with sweet 3P-shooting touch.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I didn't mean trading down, what I meant by trading back is getting another pick in the lottery after the team uses their first pick. I assume the Suns own pick will be within the top 5, so they'd be trading to get back into the lottery to select again by using the other picks they have bait to get them another pick in the 6-10 range. Whether it be the Miami pick this year, wherever it falls, the Bucks pick, and/or the 2021 Miami pick in addition to Chriss or another player on our roster. Whatever it takes to get a second high 1st round draft pick.

OK. Yes. Then I would be on board with that, but it would be difficult.

 

[overseascardfan]

Trae Young had 22 assists tonight. Wow, more impressive is he also scored 24 points.

 

[SirStefan32]

Young needs to slow it down a bit. I really want him to be available when the Suns pick.

 

[hsandhu]

Young needs to slow it down a bit. I really want him to be available when the Suns pick.

You think he's gonna work into the top 5? otherwise if he is top 6 , Suns will probably be in range, unless they start winning too much when booker comes back

 

[SirStefan32]

Honestly, I have no idea. I have not been following the top prospects closely enough to even guess.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Trae Young had 22 assists tonight. Wow, more impressive is he also scored 24 points.

Wow. We might not be able to get him. I think we will draft 7-9.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ncaa-record-22-assists-win-northwestern-state

He reminds me so much of Steve Nash, but Nash was not that good at that age.

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[ColdPickleNachos]

I just want to end up in the top 7.

1. Luka Doncic
2. Deandre Ayton
3. Marvin Bagley
4. Trae Young
5. Mohamed Bamba
6. Collin Sexton
7. Michael Porter Jr.

That's seven potential difference-makers. It's a steep drop-off from there imho.

8. Jaren Jackson Jr.
9. Mikal Bridges
10. Miles Bridges
11. Robert Williams
12. Kevin Knox

Those players are nice potential pieces, but the upside goes down considerably, and both Bridges and Knox are not great fits either.

The good news is Young and Sexton have moved it from a top 5 to a top 7. All this really means is that we are destined to end up picking at 8.

 

[Phrazbit]

I feel pretty good about our chances of a record between 2nd and 4th worst still.

Also, Bamba scares me, I'd put him a tier below the rest. Yes he is long and yes he is athletic, but there have been a ton of those guys who flamed out fast because they had little skill, which so far he sorely lacks.

 

[Haunting]

I'd take Trae Young #1 without even thinking much about it and I really like Doncic.

But Young is the truth and he is as much of a typical Suns player as I have ever seen. Pretty much a perfect fit.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Bamba scares me too...particularly with our recent lack of development on prospects. Of that top 7 I think he definitely has the highest probability of being a bust. However, he's averaging over 4 blocks a game as a Freshman and the upside there is so tantalizing that I can't help myself. If he worked out, he would be perfect for what the Suns need.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the Trae Young thing, but he might be the best of all of them.

 

[Hoop Head]

Just the Suns luck, there is a player who is a perfect fit that initially projected to be someone they could snag with the Miami pick, somewhere in the 8-12 range, and he's not only raising his stock but he's doing so in a way that they may need a top 3 pick to get him. Thankfully he's a guard still in a draft that is filled with great bigs so the chances of him going #1 are slim.

If we could somehow get Young and Doncic to pair with Booker we could easily be a team built to takeover when Golden State starts getting too old and picking up where they left off, dominating by shooters and playmakers. At that point I'd love to see D'Antoni return to coach the team.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Just the Suns luck, there is a player who is a perfect fit that initially projected to be someone they could snag with the Miami pick, somewhere in the 8-12 range, and he's not only raising his stock but he's doing so in a way that they may need a top 3 pick to get him. Thankfully he's a guard still in a draft that is filled with great bigs so the chances of him going #1 are slim.

If we could somehow get Young and Doncic to pair with Booker we could easily be a team built to takeover when Golden State starts getting too old and picking up where they left off, dominating by shooters and playmakers. At that point I'd love to see D'Antoni return to coach the team.

I can't see using Young, Doncic, and Booker on the floor at the same time, especially if we still have Jackson and TJ.

However. If Len continues his quality play and we resign him, Bagley might be an interesting choice with Young. I would have no problem drafting a replacement for Chriss.