RealGM and at least one of the Facebook Suns fan pages. And I've seen it from fans almost everywhere including within the past few months. Bloggers and on-line sports writers and podcasters (NBA Wraparound comes to mind as one that talked about it more than once) have either mentioned it directly or it's come up in response to their comments. I honestly can't think of a sports related site I've read or listened to that didn't at least discuss it as speculation. You mention Chris Sanders and I do remember his comments but I'd already heard about the Sarver trip on RGM a few days before he brought it to this board. There was a lot of speculation on other sites when it happened that paralleled what Chris thought. The majority always believed we were taking Ayton but that's not in question here.
yes. everyone acknowledged Sarver took a trip to see Doncic. That's not in question. The question is if there was rampant speculation that he really wanted him over Ayton in places other than fans. You've pointed to RealGM (that I googled and couldn't find anything like that)... and a Suns fan page as evidence that this talk was common place. But you're... never mind. believe whatever you want.
35-10-10 halfway through the 3rd. Unreal. I like Ayton and hope he turns out to be a great player, but man, in hindsight I wish we picked Doncic.
. Yeah, I want to stay positive about Ayton but it's getting more difficult by the day to cling to the idea that Ayton was the right pick.
What Luka did in 26 minutes tonight was insane. On ESPN no less. At 20 years old. Again..... Ayton is going to need to become the 2nd coming of David Robinson but I will give him till the end of next season to make me a believer. Until then..... It was a horribly myopic..... head towards the past...... Sam Bowie level decision. He hasn't shown the drive, aggression, or instincts required to be an All-NBA level player. And that stuff doesn't come with time IMO.
We are 1 1/2 games behind Dallas in the Western Conference standings. And that is without Ayton and, lately, Rubio. Our Center and Point Guard. With a marginal Power Forward. And weak on backups at various positions in the rotation. Just learning how to play together as a winning team after a decade of futility. Only 1 1/2 games games behind Dallas despite Doncic's individual stats. I am glad we gained a Center and a legitimate Point Guard. If we had picked Doncic, we would have neither. Or the benefit of returning Booker to SG. Almost like Wilt vs. Russ. Wilt had the overwhelming individual stats. Russ had the trophies.
How would Doncic, who is absolutely a PG on offense, stop us from returning Booker to SG? Had we picked Doncic than Baynes and Diallo would probably more than suffice as the centers right now. We could also probably start TJ to guard opposing PGs so that Doncic could hide on a wing or even a stretch 4. It wouldn't be great on defense, but our offense would be nearly unstoppable.
After that trip Ryen Russillo said on his pre-draft podcast that Sarver loved Doncic but the front office wanted Ayton.
I am responding with a few questions. With Booker and Doncic, what quality starter would bring up the ball every trip down the court and wear themselves out? And as Wings, who would defend quicker Point Guards throughout the game? As you said, where's the defense? How many players can you hide? Also, as you mentioned, Baynes and Diallo as our ongoing Centers? Is that the formula for success? As I posted, we're 1 1/2 games behind the Mavericks, despite Doncic's stats. Because we've stopped the gimmick of not having legitimate players for each position.
Doncic is the PG and thus would bring the ball up the court. It's what he is doing with the Mavs and he would still do it if he was on the Suns. He would not have the same issues as Booker as he is a superior ball handler and passer. Again defense would be the tough part as one of Doncic or Booker would always have to guard a good offensive wing, but Doncic can also guard many stretch 4s because of his size. Booker has also shown to be a much more effective defender when the effort is there. Baynes and Diallo would be more than good enough at center with all the open looks and easy lay ins they would get from Doncic and Booker. Doncic generates a ton of open looks for his teammates and Booker would benefit more than most. We also could have spent the cap space this summer in different areas than we did to round out the roster better around Doncic and Booker. As to the difference in records I would argue that we have a better roster than the Mavs at this point (at least when we were healthy). Doncic is having to essentially carry his offense for stretches of games and we haven't had to rely on anyone to do that for us so far. Also I would like to point out that I am not yet at the point of saying we made a mistake, but I do fully believe that we could have made it work and the team would likely be doing quite well had they taken Doncic instead of Ayton.
Doncic, Booker, Oubre, Saric, Baynes is WAY better than what the Mavs have. And the Mavs are 9-5! Doncic with as many shooters as we have would be scary.
