Pick Watch 2018

[JCSunsfan]

Didn't you have Young at #3 before?

I do like Ayton, Bagley and Bamba. I'd prefer the Suns do not draft Porter with their pick.

Somehow I feel the Suns are destined to draft Bamba.

Sure I did. So we take one of our top 2 and then pick up Young later if he slides. If we had the #3 pick right now, and Ayton and Bagley are gone, I would probably take Young. But as I said before. I reserve the right to change my mind. These players are all close in value and if there is a way to game the draft and get two players we want, do it.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Sort of like Tatum or Markkanen I'm guessing.

Do you have a player in mind?

Players with a high floor. Ayton, Bagley, Carter, Mikal Bridges.
Players with high ceiling and low floor. Doncic, Porter (back), Jackson, Bamba.

Not sure which category to put Young in. Probably the second.

 

[GatorAZ]

Can’t believe we’re 4 games up on Sacramento.

 

[Mainstreet]

Players with a high floor. Ayton, Bagley, Carter, Mikal Bridges.
Players with high ceiling and low floor. Doncic, Porter (back), Jackson, Bamba.

Not sure which category to put Young in. Probably the second.

It sounds right.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Players with a high floor. Ayton, Bagley, Carter, Mikal Bridges.
Players with high ceiling and low floor. Doncic, Porter (back), Jackson, Bamba.

Not sure which category to put Young in. Probably the second.

Let me adjust

Players with a high ceiling and high floor (can't miss picks): Ayton, Bagley
Players with a low ceiling and high floor (safe picks): Carter, Mikal Bridges
Players with a high celing and low floor (gamble picks): Doncic, Porter, Jackson, Bamba, Young

 

[Mainstreet]

Talking about categories got me thinking about a scene from the movie "Airplane" as I shuffle players.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Let me adjust

Players with a high ceiling and high floor (can't miss picks): Ayton, Bagley
Players with a low ceiling and high floor (safe picks): Carter, Mikal Bridges
Players with a high celing and low floor (gamble picks): Doncic, Porter, Jackson, Bamba, Young

That seems like a good list imho.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Let me adjust

Players with a high ceiling and high floor (can't miss picks): Ayton, Bagley
Players with a low ceiling and high floor (safe picks): Carter, Mikal Bridges
Players with a high celing and low floor (gamble picks): Doncic, Porter, Jackson, Bamba, Young

I just don't see Doncic with a low floor. To me, he is high floor and the concern has everything to do with his ceiling. Is he quick and athletic enough to do his thing in the NBA? I'm not sure (either way) but I can't see him being any worse than a Penny Hardaway stuck in a Jared Dudley body. I see no true bust potential at all other than the usual disclaimers that apply for every prospect (injury, crack addiction, alien abduction etc.).

I'm a Young fan and I think he's destined for stardom but you have to be a little concerned about his approach at the next level. Steph Curry (especially younger Steph Curry) could drive a coach to drink with his early in the clock 35 foot heat checks and his unnecessarily showy passes (aka turnovers) and there's no doubt that Trae is made of similar stuff. If you have any doubts about his willingness to focus on winning basketball, complete bust becomes a real concern.

 

[SirStefan32]

It is so good to see you posting again, AzSteven!

 

[Mainstreet]

I think selecting draft picks can get too cute sometimes.

The Suns used to pass out a pamphlet at their draft parties of the top 100 prospects. I remember wanting the Suns to draft Cedic Ceballos based solely on his scoring and rebounding numbers in college.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Players with a high floor. Ayton, Bagley, Carter, Mikal Bridges.
Players with high ceiling and low floor. Doncic, Porter (back), Jackson, Bamba.

Not sure which category to put Young in. Probably the second.

Disagree with Doncic having a low floor. He has more advanced skill right now than probably anyone in the draft. The question more so is just how high is his ceiling.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Disagree with Doncic having a low floor. He has more advanced skill right now than probably anyone in the draft. The question more so is just how high is his ceiling.

I am not surprised. I think I am almost alone in my doubt of Doncic--except for Cheese.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I am not surprised. I think I am almost alone in my doubt of Doncic--except for Cheese.

to be honest, I wouldn't be so vociferous in my opinion it if we weren't once bitten, twice shy with Len and Bender. I just shudder at that thought of picking 3 Euros out of our 4 highest picks in the last 4 years... especially in a draft I believe to be loaded.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I just don't see Doncic with a low floor. To me, he is high floor and the concern has everything to do with his ceiling. Is he quick and athletic enough to do his thing in the NBA? I'm not sure (either way) but I can't see him being any worse than a Penny Hardaway stuck in a Jared Dudley body. I see no true bust potential at all other than the usual disclaimers that apply for every prospect (injury, crack addiction, alien abduction etc.).

I'm a Young fan and I think he's destined for stardom but you have to be a little concerned about his approach at the next level. Steph Curry (especially younger Steph Curry) could drive a coach to drink with his early in the clock 35 foot heat checks and his unnecessarily showy passes (aka turnovers) and there's no doubt that Trae is made of similar stuff. If you have any doubts about his willingness to focus on winning basketball, complete bust becomes a real concern.

The one thing you know about Trae, he is about what the NBA is most about--entertainment. That kid is fun to watch and will make the league, his team, and himself a lot of money.

 

[JCSunsfan]

to be honest, I wouldn't be so vociferous in my opinion it if we weren't once bitten, twice shy with Len and Bender. I just shudder at that thought of picking 3 Euros out of our 4 highest picks in the last 4 years... especially in a draft I believe to be loaded.

My concern is based solely on his lack of athleticism and poor outside shooting.

 

[Cheesebeef]

He had almost no help whatsoever. I think the biggest reason that teams were able to take him out of his game in the 2nd half of the season is because they started trapping and sending help his way once they realized what he was doing wasn't a fluke. Problem was that no one on his team could help enough to stop teams from doing it.

I want to think this too. This first three times I watched Young, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY... but man, he just seemed to hit a wall bigger than anything Trump could ever build. As for the no help whatsoever argument... I just don't know if that's a good enough argument to explain just how big his drop was. Think about other player like him in college... Curry never had any help and he wasn't playing for a big-time program. And he was electric in college, despite no help, playing on at a much lower level bball program AND single-handedly pulled off shockers leading his squad to huge upset wins in the tourney getting Davidson within minutes of the Final Four.

Same with another gunner like Jimmer Ferdette. Dude had nothing on that team, but he consistently played at a high level. Just didn't have the athleticism/size to play at the next level.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I want to think this too. This first three times I watched Young, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY... but man, he just seemed to hit a wall bigger than anything Trump could ever build. As for the no help whatsoever argument... I just don't know if that's a good enough argument to explain just how big his drop was. Think about other player like him in college... Curry never had any help and he wasn't playing for a big-time program. And he was electric in college, despite no help, playing on at a much lower level bball program AND single-handedly pulled off shockers leading his squad to huge upset wins in the tourney getting Davidson within minutes of the Final Four.

Same with another gunner like Jimmer Ferdette. Dude had nothing on that team, but he consistently played at a high level. Just didn't have the athleticism/size to play at the next level.

Well, there is going to be plenty of time to watch the tape and see what happened. I imagine that most GM's already know why he struggled at the end.

About the Curry argument. Curry played in the Atlantic 10 conference. That's not much of a powerhouse compared to the Big 12. Players like Curry and Young can play well out of conference in college because teams are seeing them only once, and there is no time to adjust. Once you get in conference, you are seeing teams more than once and they get to a player and his team really well. They can double and triple team. Just a consideration.

Jimmer was a two guard through and through. He was not a floor general and did not have very good ball handling skills or passing skills. Young is miles ahead of Jimmer in that dept. Frankly. If Young had averaged 18 pts and 9 assists, he would still be getting a lot of attention as a pure pg and still be considered a lotteriy pick.

 

[Hoop Head]

Games to look out for today, home teams on the right...

Atlanta vs Milwaukee
Dallas vs Brooklyn
Charlotte vs the Knicks
Cleveland vs Chicago
Denver vs Memphis
Kings vs Jazz

Would be nice to see the Hawks, Mavericks, Knicks, Bulls, Grizzlies, and Kings all win but all of them winning is incredibly unlikely. Atlanta beating the Bucks give them more separation from the Suns and keeps the Bucks pick in play for us, making that one of the more important games today. The Mavericks and Nets game can go either way but I think I'd rather see Brooklyn win to make the Cavs pick have lower odds. They have had the best lottery luck of any team in the last 15 years, getting the #1 overall pick 4 times. When they got it in 2011 that was a pick that originally belonged to the Clippers that was traded to the Cavs before the lottery drawing, similar to the Nets pick they own.

 

[SirStefan32]

Well, Memphis won one!

 

[Mainstreet]

Well, Memphis won one!

The box score showed Tyreke Evans played tonight. I thought he was out for the season.

This is good news.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975786

 

[Hoop Head]

The box score showed Tyreke Evans played tonight. I thought he was out for the season.

This is good news.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975786

No, they sat him prior to the trade deadline because they agreed to deal him but they couldn't get anything done. They didn't want to buy him out either, they couldn't come to agreement. It wouldn't surprise me if the league said something about him sitting out still because he was healthy when they sat him. The only reason he stayed out is because they were tanking.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Tonight was potentially huge.

 

[Mainstreet]

No, they sat him prior to the trade deadline because they agreed to deal him but they couldn't get anything done. They didn't want to buy him out either, they couldn't come to agreement. It wouldn't surprise me if the league said something about him sitting out still because he was healthy when they sat him. The only reason he stayed out is because they were tanking.

The point being is he played tonight. I thought they sat him for the rest of the season with a supposed injury. At least that's what I read. Maybe the league did say something because he played.

 

[Praxis]

Just lose, baby!

 

[pokerface]

Tonight was potentially huge.

I was thinking that. We could have lost it potentially and we gained on a couple teams. Cool.