2018 NBA Draft - June 21

[InBoobieWeTrust]

A lot of his 3's are high degree of difficulty...not normally to that extent, of course, but this is a good time to note that he's definitely a better shooter than his 35.4% 3-point percentage suggests.

Here's the 3-pointer:


Oh, and his handle might be improving too:


EDIT: full highlights

Doncic is #1 on like at least 20 if not more NBA early big-boards right now. Dude looks like the sure fire #1 pick.

 

[blommen]

Doncic is #1 on like at least 20 if not more NBA early big-boards right now. Dude looks like the sure fire #1 pick.

I do wonder where his ceilling lies compared to guys like Ayton and Bamba. I heard people compare him to Manu, but I don't how accurate that is.

 

[Nathan S]

I do wonder where his ceilling lies compared to guys like Ayton and Bamba. I heard people compare him to Manu, but I don't how accurate that is.

Personally, I'd say Manu has an edge on him athletically, but Doncic is substantially bigger and a better shooter. His ceiling is sky high...have to remember he's nearly a full year younger than Ayton and Bamba. Those guys hadn't graduated high school when they were the same age Doncic is now. If LeBron is breaking the older half of the aging curve, Doncic is breaking the younger half. Players aren't supposed to be this good at 18.

 

[blommen]

Personally, I'd say Manu has a edge on him athletically, but Doncic is substantially bigger and a better shooter. His ceiling is sky high...have to remember he's nearly a full year younger than Ayton and Bamba. Those guys hadn't graduated high school when they were the same age Doncic is now. If LeBron is breaking the older half of the aging curve, Doncic is breaking the younger half. Players aren't supposed to be this good at 18.

That's the one thing I've been able to parse from watching his highlights, he is unbelievably polished for his age. It made me question how more "room to grow" he has, if that makes sense? Like, he is so advanced in his level of play, so where does the growth happen. More importantly though, I've been starting to think about how playing on professional teams from such a young age might work as a developmental tool. Maybe we're going to see a trend where young prospects start going over to Europe in order to polish their game and learn to play "the right way" so to speak, before trying to transition into the whirlwind that is the NBA or the ethical clusterfuck that is College sports.

 

[Nathan S]

That's the one thing I've been able to parse from watching his highlights, he is unbelievably polished for his age. It made me question how more "room to grow" he has, if that makes sense? Like, he is so advanced in his level of play, so where does the growth happen. More importantly though, I've been starting to think about how playing on professional teams from such a young age might work as a developmental tool. Maybe we're going to see a trend where young prospects start going over to Europe in order to polish their game and learn to play "the right way" so to speak, before trying to transition into the whirlwind that is the NBA or the ethical clusterfuck that is College sports.

I think he has a lot of room to grow, in particular because he's reputed to have an excellent work ethic. If he's going to push the limits of how skilled a human can possibly be at basketball...that's a good problem to have

I do think more elite prospects might start going pro in Europe. It's an unfair advantage that they get to focus purely on basketball and learn from a whole team of career basketball players.

In Doncic's case, I'm sure he spent countless hours practicing alongside Sergio Llull (one of the best basketball players not in the NBA) when he was 16 and 17. You can't get that experience, or anything like it, on a college team.

 

[blommen]

I think he has a lot of room to grow, in particular because he's reputed to have an excellent work ethic. If he's going to push the limits of how skilled a human can possibly be at basketball...that's a good problem to have

I do think more elite prospects might start going pro in Europe. It's an unfair advantage that they get to focus purely on basketball and learn from a whole team of career basketball players.

In Doncic's case, I'm sure he spent countless hours practicing alongside Sergio Llull (one of the best basketball players not in the NBA) when he was 16 and 17. You can't get that experience, or anything like it, on a college team.

If you see more rookies with more polished game and reaching their potential faster I think it's a good movement. The one and done thing is stupid and problematic in a ton of ways, so if we don't allow players to come out of high school, letting them spend some time abroad seems like a good alternative.

I talked to Carter Rodrigues about this on twitter last night, considering the insane rate you see players flame out in the league are. There are so many players who just don't cut it coming out of college, even in the lottery. I think the draft system has to be reformed in some way at this point. Removing the stigma of G League and having more young players go down there would help a great deal. Maybe if you remove the one and done deal, teams should start utilizing this way more when it comes to developing young players, or like we talked about, sending them overseas to develop in a more focused environment that isn't quite as hectic as the NBA. If you do decide to go play college ball, maybe make it so that you have to play at least 2 or even 3 seasons, so that we are sure that you have gotten something out of it?

This was kinda rambly, sorry

 

[Nathan S]

If you see more rookies with more polished game and reaching their potential faster I think it's a good movement. The one and done thing is stupid and problematic in a ton of ways, so if we don't allow players to come out of high school, letting them spend some time abroad seems like a good alternative.

I talked to Carter Rodrigues about this on twitter last night, considering the insane rate you see players flame out in the league are. There are so many players who just don't cut it coming out of college, even in the lottery. I think the draft system has to be reformed in some way at this point. Removing the stigma of G League and having more young players go down there would help a great deal. Maybe if you remove the one and done deal, teams should start utilizing this way more when it comes to developing young players, or like we talked about, sending them overseas to develop in a more focused environment that isn't quite as hectic as the NBA. If you do decide to go play college ball, maybe make it so that you have to play at least 2 or even 3 seasons, so that we are sure that you have gotten something out of it?

This was kinda rambly, sorry

I forget if I shared it on here, but I had the idea a while ago that, a. basketball players should be able to go pro out of highschool again, and b. college teams should play against D-league teams as part of their regular season.

I think this would massively increase public interest in the D-League and thereby make NBA teams more comfortable developing young players on their D-League affiliates. At the same time, players who choose to go to college would get the chance to prove themselves against a higher level of competition.

 

[blommen]

I forget if I shared it on here, but I had the idea a while ago that, a. basketball players should be able to go pro out of highschool again, and b. college teams should play against D-league teams as part of their regular season.

I think this would massively increase public interest in the D-League and thereby make NBA teams more comfortable developing young players on their D-League affiliates. At the same time, players who choose to go to college would get the chance to prove themselves against a higher level of competition.

Yeah, I think that would help a good deal I think. Also, imagine if Wiggins got drafted out of high school and then spent, like, 2 years playing for Real Madrid. Like, maybe I'm being naive, but I can't imagine him not becoming a better all-round player than he was in Year 2 of the NBA. I'd imagine he would be a much more disciplined defender and team player in general, honestly.

 

[Photon]

I was also wondering about Luka’s ceiling, but after seeing him go against grown men in EL (ex NBA alot of them) and at the Euro basket, well, he might be like LeBron. Nothing to add, just polish everything. I mean, he fakes out best defenders outside the NBA, defenses pile on him (Lull, Randolph, Kuzmic and Gustavo Ayon- 3 starters, all out, he is 2nd in fouls drawn (someone was critical about that early on), first in efficiency index (2nd DeColo is 7pts behind-former EL MVP), second in ppg (at the same time 2nd to average more than 20 in EL- Shved 1st). That is just EL, ACB is too easy for him...

Source:
http://www.euroleague.net/main/stat...easoncode=E2017&cat=FoulsReceived&agg=PerGame

Fckin Nets.

 

[I'mWithDan]

I like Doncic a lot but I'd still take Ayton #1 if I had the pick.

It's looking like you can't really go wrong with either but I lean towards bigs like Ayton being harder to find.

 

[blommen]

I like Doncic a lot but I'd still take Ayton #1 if I had the pick.

It's looking like you can't really go wrong with either but I lean towards bigs like Ayton being harder to find.

Ayton's mental game still scares the hell outta me, personally. He has all the tools to be an absolute juggernaught, but I'm just not sure that he has the mindset to get there.

 

[Nathan S]

I like Doncic a lot but I'd still take Ayton #1 if I had the pick.

It's looking like you can't really go wrong with either but I lean towards bigs like Ayton being harder to find.

Don't agree that bigs like Ayton are harder to find. There isn't a big like him in every draft, but ~20 points and ~10 boards per game isn't unheard of either.

Doncic, on the other hand, is in completely uncharted water. There's never been a prospect like him by any reasonable measure.

 

[MD13]

View: https://twitter.com/franfraschilla/status/942057821826248704

 

[Nathan S]

Jaren Jackson's block numbers are off the charts now that he's consistently getting 25-30 minutes per game. And his scoring efficiency is ticking upwards too after a rough start. Goes without saying at this point that he's in the mix with Ayton, Bamba, Bagley, and Porter for a top-5 pick.

 

[Nathan S]

Trae Young in first 33 minutes: 9/17, 27 points, 10 assists, 0 turnovers

Trae Young in last 7 minutes: 0/5, 0 points, 0 assists, 4 turnovers

End result...W against #3 ranked Wichita State

Safe to say that's a game that gives us more questions than answers