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2018 NBA Draft - June 21

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After seeing Doncic go toe-to-toe with NBA players in Eurobasket...I think he's probably as good as Batum right now, as an 18 year old.
 
After seeing Doncic go toe-to-toe with NBA players in Eurobasket...I think he's probably as good as Batum right now, as an 18 year old.
He's a better passer than batum but worse defender. But his floor is really high so it's pretty amazing
 
He's a better passer than batum but worse defender. But his floor is really high so it's pretty amazing

Yeah, there's no perfect comparison in the NBA right now. Just don't get why people are so bearish on his upside. How can a guy be that good at 18, with excellent work ethic and drive by all accounts, and not have superstar upside? Makes no sense to me.

Not taking anything away from Porter and Bagley, btw, just don't like the application of this "he is what he is" mentality to a guy who's probably 10 years away from reaching his peak. It's not like you're only allowed to improve if you have a 36"+ vertical.
 
Still can't believe the haul we got for a guy that demanded a trade.
 
Yeah, there's no perfect comparison in the NBA right now. Just don't get why people are so bearish on his upside. How can a guy be that good at 18, with excellent work ethic and drive by all accounts, and not have superstar upside? Makes no sense to me.

Not taking anything away from Porter and Bagley, btw, just don't like the application of this "he is what he is" mentality to a guy who's probably 10 years away from reaching his peak. It's not like you're only allowed to improve if you have a 36"+ vertical.

Because I look at it as a choice.

You’re not ONLY allowed to improve if you aren’t a freak athlete, but how many guys in the NBA that are superstars AREN’T freak athletes?

Let’s say the top players in the NBA right now are (in no particular order after LeBron) are:

LeBron
Durant
Westbrook
Giannis
Curry
Harden
Kawhi
Anthony Davis
Steph Curry
CP3


Of the guys on that list, only Harden, CP3 and Curry weren’t freak athletes with potential for freak bodies and both of those guys had some experience when they came into the NBA.

If you keep going after that you’ll run into guys like PG13, John Wall (who are freak athletes) and Dray. There are exceptions to the rule, but the majority of the top players in the NBA are freak athletes.

The odds are against you to be a superstar if you aren’t. Steph is a historically great shooter who is surrounded by players who maximize his skillset. CP3, Dray and Harden are guys who maximized their abilities with basketball IQ rather than freak athleticism so they work in your favor.

I get that the kid is young and going up against quality competition, but I just see a guy with a well rounded game who develops into a super glue player at a ceiling...not a superstar.

If I’m picking top 2-3, I’m looking for a superstar. And superstars...as I said...generally do have that freak athleticism profile. It makes it easier for them to score in more ways than guys who don’t have it.

There are, of course, outliers. I named a few above for you to draw on.

If I have the option to take a freak athlete/body guy with NBA moves in Porter, I am taking him and letting him take me to the playoffs.
 
Because I look at it as a choice.

You’re not ONLY allowed to improve if you aren’t a freak athlete, but how many guys in the NBA that are superstars AREN’T freak athletes?

Let’s say the top players in the NBA right now are (in no particular order after LeBron) are:

LeBron
Durant
Westbrook
Giannis
Curry
Harden
Kawhi
Anthony Davis
Steph Curry
CP3


Of the guys on that list, only Harden, CP3 and Curry weren’t freak athletes with potential for freak bodies and both of those guys had some experience when they came into the NBA.

If you keep going after that you’ll run into guys like PG13, John Wall (who are freak athletes) and Dray. There are exceptions to the rule, but the majority of the top players in the NBA are freak athletes.

The odds are against you to be a superstar if you aren’t. Steph is a historically great shooter who is surrounded by players who maximize his skillset. CP3, Dray and Harden are guys who maximized their abilities with basketball IQ rather than freak athleticism so they work in your favor.

I get that the kid is young and going up against quality competition, but I just see a guy with a well rounded game who develops into a super glue player at a ceiling...not a superstar.

If I’m picking top 2-3, I’m looking for a superstar. And superstars...as I said...generally do have that freak athleticism profile. It makes it easier for them to score in more ways than guys who don’t have it.

There are, of course, outliers. I named a few above for you to draw on.

If I have the option to take a freak athlete/body guy with NBA moves in Porter, I am taking him and letting him take me to the playoffs.

Porter isn't a freak athlete though. He is going to get burned on defense and he is merely a straight line driver at this point.

He is long, and he can get to the rim fast because of his long strides, butt can't say that he is elite by any stretch.

The players in the top 5 are either very skilled or have great measurements.. I believe the really elite athlethes are going to be picked after, atleast according to the projections so far.
 
Because I look at it as a choice.

You’re not ONLY allowed to improve if you aren’t a freak athlete, but how many guys in the NBA that are superstars AREN’T freak athletes?

Let’s say the top players in the NBA right now are (in no particular order after LeBron) are:

LeBron
Durant
Westbrook
Giannis
Curry
Harden
Kawhi
Anthony Davis
Steph Curry
CP3


Of the guys on that list, only Harden, CP3 and Curry weren’t freak athletes with potential for freak bodies and both of those guys had some experience when they came into the NBA.

If you keep going after that you’ll run into guys like PG13, John Wall (who are freak athletes) and Dray. There are exceptions to the rule, but the majority of the top players in the NBA are freak athletes.

The odds are against you to be a superstar if you aren’t. Steph is a historically great shooter who is surrounded by players who maximize his skillset. CP3, Dray and Harden are guys who maximized their abilities with basketball IQ rather than freak athleticism so they work in your favor.

I get that the kid is young and going up against quality competition, but I just see a guy with a well rounded game who develops into a super glue player at a ceiling...not a superstar.

If I’m picking top 2-3, I’m looking for a superstar. And superstars...as I said...generally do have that freak athleticism profile. It makes it easier for them to score in more ways than guys who don’t have it.

There are, of course, outliers. I named a few above for you to draw on.

If I have the option to take a freak athlete/body guy with NBA moves in Porter, I am taking him and letting him take me to the playoffs.

I mostly agree with what you're saying; there is a correlation between athletic ability and success in the NBA. But I don't understand how you talk about Harden in one sentence, and then say Doncic's ceiling is a super glue player in the next sentence. Doncic arguably has better all-around physical tools than Harden, and he's far more skilled than Harden was at the same age. How is his ceiling not *at least* James Harden?
 
Porter isn't a freak athlete though. He is going to get burned on defense and he is merely a straight line driver at this point.

He is long, and he can get to the rim fast because of his long strides, butt can't say that he is elite by any stretch.

The players in the top 5 are either very skilled or have great measurements.. I believe the really elite athlethes are going to be picked after, atleast according to the projections so far.

For Porter to move as quickly and effectively as he does is freakish. I don’t know how you want to look at athleticism, but it’s the same way Durant was. Guys that size don’t typically move like that. They’re usually slow and lumbering or awkward. Porter isn’t. He’s very fluid and at times explosive.

Are we watching the same guy?

To say what kind of defense a high school kid will play in the NBA is pretty wild.

Rookies are almost always bad. What they’ll be like down the line...who knows?
 
I mostly agree with what you're saying; there is a correlation between athletic ability and success in the NBA. But I don't understand how you talk about Harden in one sentence, and then say Doncic's ceiling is a super glue player in the next sentence. Doncic arguably has better all-around physical tools than Harden, and he's far more skilled than Harden was at the same age. How is his ceiling not *at least* James Harden?

Harden is/was a much better athlethe and ball-handler than Doncic.
 
I mostly agree with what you're saying; there is a correlation between athletic ability and success in the NBA. But I don't understand how you talk about Harden in one sentence, and then say Doncic's ceiling is a super glue player in the next sentence. Doncic arguably has better all-around physical tools than Harden, and he's far more skilled than Harden was at the same age. How is his ceiling not *at least* James Harden?

Because someone having better all around physical skills than someone doesn’t equate to them being able to draw 11 free throws a game and average neary a triple double.

I mean...we’re saying his ceiling is AT LEAST that? So he’s going to average a triple double basically?

Look... I don’t like Harden’s game that much, but he’s extremely crafty and he’s a great scorer, one of the best ever. How is he a comparison for Doncic?

Harden’s what he is because he’s got the ball in his hands constantly and he’s inefficient. Is that the game Doncic will even play?
 
Harden is/was a much better athlethe and ball-handler than Doncic.

Sure, but there's always some tradeoff between size and pure vertical athleticism. Harden's pretty average athletically for a 6'5" guy, Doncic's pretty average athletically for a 6'8" guy.

Don't buy that Harden was a better ball handler than Doncic at the same age, either. Harden was about as old at the start of his freshman year as Doncic was at the start of Eurobasket a month ago, for reference.
 
For Porter to move as quickly and effectively as he does is freakish. I don’t know how you want to look at athleticism, but it’s the same way Durant was. Guys that size don’t typically move like that. They’re usually slow and lumbering or awkward. Porter isn’t. He’s very fluid and at times explosive.

Are we watching the same guy?

To say what kind of defense a high school kid will play in the NBA is pretty wild.

Rookies are almost always bad. What they’ll be like down the line...who knows?

We will see.

He is just too stiff in the hips and it usually projects badly on defense.. Durant is a much more fluid athlethe imo.

I have no idea how he is going to look, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him drop during his college season.
 
Sure, but there's always some tradeoff between size and pure vertical athleticism. Harden's pretty average athletically for a 6'5" guy, Doncic's pretty average athletically for a 6'8" guy.

Don't buy that Harden was a better ball handler than Doncic at the same age, either. Harden was about as old at the start of his freshman year as Doncic was at the start of Eurobasket a month ago, for reference.

Right, I keep forgetting how young he is.
 
We will see.

He is just too stiff in the hips and it usually projects badly on defense.. Durant is a much more fluid athlethe imo.

I have no idea how he is going to look, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him drop during his college season.

You wouldn’t be surprised to see him drop based on what?
 
You wouldn’t be surprised to see him drop based on what?

Struggle to create quality offense inthe half court

Settle for jumpers, trouble creating separation, forcing the issue

Indifference on D

I just don't think he is a sure thing. I expect to see a lot of risers during the season.
 
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