2018 NBA Draft

[CHBB]

I know we're a few months away still but with the deadline now behind us and Conference Tournaments starting soon, it seems like a good time to start talking about the draft.

So who do you like? Who do you think goes first overall? Who do you think could be steals or guys who sneak into the draft from now until June?

[CKR13]

Doncic declares for the NBA Draft

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/04/21/report-potential-no-1-pick-luka-doncic-formally-declares-nba-draft/539332002/

[CHBB]

Suns get first overall pick. Sactown #2, Atlanta #3, Memphis #4, and Dallas #5.

I'm wondering if Phoenix goes with Doncic, Ayton, or Bagley Jr?

You have to think regardless of who gets picked, this draft will result in some major things happening down the road with Phoenix and Sacramento being so stacked with young wings and bigs.

[Levenspiel]

Suns get first overall pick. Sactown #2, Atlanta #3, Memphis #4, and Dallas #5.

I'm wondering if Phoenix goes with Doncic, Ayton, or Bagley Jr?

You have to think regardless of who gets picked, this draft will result in some major things happening down the road with Phoenix and Sacramento being so stacked with young wings and bigs.

With Kokoshkov at the helm of the Suns, it will be quite interesting if they do not pick Doncic at#1.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Ayton played for University of Arizona, is 7'1 agile center that performed great stat-wise in NCAA, apart from the fact Arizona got eliminated really fast.

PHX frontcourt consists of Len, Bender and an old Tyson Chandler. I think Phoenix will go with Ayton 99%, as realisticaly Dončič's NBA position is not PG, which is another posiion Phoenix would need to fill desperately. It's not up to Kokoškov alone.

As far as Sacramento, I am not exactly sure how Dončič would fit in, considering a trio of Bogdanović, Aaron Fox and Dončič would likely be one of the worst defnsive backcourts in the league.

I hoped Chicago would have some luck with the lottery, I'd love to see Dončič play alongside Markannen.

[CHBB]

Watching Ayton in the tournament I was thinking there's no way in hell he's taller than 6'11" and to me he'll have to be a four. Playing in the Western Conference would nullify that though.

If I'm Phoenix, I draft Ayton then trade some of my young guys and maybe a pick or two to get a high enough pick that I can also snag Doncic. Or draft Doncic and trade for a Center.

I think Sacramento will have to make moves either way. They just flat out don't have room for another wing or big right now and that's where their needs are imo. Well that and point guard but we all know they are gonna roll with Fox and probably Mason, unfortunately.

What's interesting about the Hawks is the last time they had the third pick, they selected Horford and it set them up to an extent for the next almost decade.

I'll be really interested to see what the Clippers do with back to back lottery picks. And Cleveland at #8.

I think Jaren Jackson Jr would be perfect for Memphis but they've drafted bigs for three consecutive years now.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

I really liked Bagley, mostly from the highlights, but never had the time to watch some prolongued game footage of him. I took an hour of my time today to do just that, watching the game vs. Kansas in NCAA tournament.

I kind of revamped my opinion on him drasticaly. Is it really Duke's defensive scheme that makes players look so bad? If that is not it and it seems a little far fetched anyway, Bagley seemed as someone who has literaly no freaking clue about playing defense at all. I would honestly pick his teamate, Carter over him just after the game vs Kansas, because there are some things in defense, that just can not be taught. Bagley is not offensively as talented to be forgiven those sins he commits in defense. Trent jr., Duval, Carter, Bagley and you lose to Kansas like this?
Now, either I missed something too obvious to miss or Bagley will actualy slide way below 3rd pick.

[CHBB]

Ehh very few of these kids play defense anymore. You draft a guy like Bagley for his potential. At 6'11" and with handles and the agility of a forward, he's got a lot of it. Kind of like a more athletic Dragan Bender or something. Imo he needs to go to a team with a dominant center he can play off of -one that will feature him offensively. Maybe he can be a Bobby Portis type even.

If you want a defender, you go with Mikal Bridges, Donte Divincenzo, or Khyri Thomas imo. There's also guys like Kelan Martin or Diallo who plays with an edge, and of course smaller school guys. Imo Mikal Bridges is the guy who will have that next level defensive impact. Kid will be a problem on both ends.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Being 1 degree worse in defense takes 3 degrees better offensive player, to make up for what is lost on the defensive end. So basicaly I believe there is always a tipping point when a really talented offensive player can't make it up for what he screws in defense. His team might, but it really takes a special offensive talent for that and more or less, it's way easier to correct guard mistakes than covering up for a confused big man down low.
Haven't read what Duke fans said about that game, but their loss vs. Kansas was a defensive tragedy.

I haven't seen Mikal Bridges, but things I am reading from him, were ussualy things I read about players that ended up as a late lottery steals.

[CHBB]

I agree with that to an extent, which is why I think Bagley needs to be out West.

Mikal has been an impact defensive player ever since he broke out in that championship win over North Carolina. He's one of those Kawhi Leonard/MKG/Tony Snell types who start out playing stretch four as they develop and then end up being able to make an impact at all three positions. Over the past two seasons he's also started blossoming into the kind of offensive player everybody hoped MKG would be one day. Forget Brunson. Bridges has been the guy ever since Josh Hart graduated.

The only player I like as much as a defender in all of college basketball is Penn State's Josh Reaves. This kid will probably be a second round pick next year if not go undrafted but he's a future lockdown defender at the next level, at worst a 3 and D guy but with major two-way potential.

Abdur-Rahkman of Michigan is another potential two-way guy. He'll be a UDFA steal.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-anthro/
Measurements from draft combine are public.

Bamba 9' 75'' standing reach :O

[Joško Poljak Fan]

There are rumours that unless Dončič is no.1, he might as well slide to 4th place in the draft, since both Sacramento and Atlanta would prefer one of those USA bigs.
I lost my faith in Bagley, even if he is even younger than Dončič, but am lately getting impressed with Bamba.
Bamba type defenders are ussualy not my thing, I do take height and other measurements into consideration, however consider them overated unless there is something more to the player indicating he is also able to use those abilities. With Bamba, I watched some interviews and it seems he is pretty inteligent for a C. Haven't talked to many NBA C's but overall the inteligence at C is oftenly not a factor, considering the limited pool of players that have the height, to choose from.
I can see some teams beting on Bamba. And if he drops further than 4th place... some mock drafts even consider 5th, 6th, 7th place... he might proove to be a steal.

Porter Jr., some say his injury he had would likely repeat itself, but some teams might see the old Porterj Jr. potential in him, so he is also a good candidate to rise in the draft.

I wouldn't mind Dončič dropping all the way to no.7 with Bulls. While to be honest, both teams picking 4th (Memphis) or 5th (Dallas) seem as good organisations to me.

One guy I noticed watching Bagley, was Wendel Carter. In my opinion he might be overlooked. He is 99 born, might not posses the raw potential that Bagley does, but is overall a better inside player than Bagley is, boxes out better, better at positioning for a rebound, as long as his 3point stroke prooves as something he could regulary use when open, Carter could be yet another servicable big man in this draft.

So many potentialy good C's and PF's seems kind of unussual, considering in some drafts even Rafael Arauyo was picked in the lottery as there weren't any better C's around...

[CHBB]

I like Wendell Carter a lot but I don't know if he's a starter or not. I definitely like Doncic going to Memphis but they need a dominant Center to back up and hopefully one day replace Gasol. If not that then Jaren Jackson Jr.

I think Bamba would be an excellent fit for Dallas.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

I think Carter would only need some patience for a season or two and will eventualy develop into a servicable starting center. Honestly thinking about which player Duke would miss more, him or Bagley, I am not sure if Bagley wouldn't be replaced easier than Carter would. Googled a bit, realised Bagley actualy was injured for a while this season and as expected, there is no shortage of articles on why did Duke defend notably better without Bagley on court.

I don't think Carter is as talented offensively as Bagley is, however I am the type of guy that bets a lot on defense.

[CHBB]

Actually it's the defensive end that makes me question his potential at the five spot. He flat out isn't tall enough or big enough with his build to play straight up against NBA fives. He's more of an Al Jefferson type imo. Definitely potentially dominant though.

If you ask me, the guy with the most potential by far as a five is Austin Wiley. This kid would've easily been a lottery pick had he played this season. He's got the most size, the true five build, and kind of reminds me of Whiteside a bit when he was coming out of Marshall. If I'm Phoenix or any team that needs a dominant Center, I draft Doncic and find a way to get Wiley much later.

The only other true five is Isaac Haas. This kid has serious potential but he gets completely overlooked. You put him in Phoenix or New York or just anywhere next to a shot-blocking stretch four and look out.

I think you're looking at Bagley all wrong. He doesn't have a defensive position right now. He basically actually is what people tried to make guys like Brandon Ingram and DJ Wilson out to be. You draft him as a project while giving him the ball as the focal point of your offense and in two or three years he could be a superstar. He's a true stretch four.

Speaking of stretch fours, honestly the two bigs I think have the most potential as something more than tweeners out of the past two drafts are Jaren Jackson Jr and Harry Giles. I look at these kids and I see potentially the next Webber and Bosh. Giles will be a monster next year and take the league by storm if healthy.