Luka Doncic (pre and post-draft discussion thread)
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The first 3 teams passed on that transcendent player. Seems pretty foolish. Or is it? We shall find out.
I mean, shouldn't we be criticizing the Suns for passing on the sure thing? Or Atlanta who actually had him and traded him. I don't know about you, but the fact that multiple teams passed on Doncic makes me stop and wonder what's up. Doncic may end up being great, but there was no consensus it was going to happen.
I mean, shouldn't we be criticizing the Suns for passing on the sure thing? Or Atlanta who actually had him and traded him. I don't know about you, but the fact that multiple teams passed on Doncic makes me stop and wonder what's up. Doncic may end up being great, but there was no consensus it was going to happen.
I am very confident that he won’t fail. The question has always been how great is he going to be. His fans make it sound like he is already a superstar in the NBA. I am barely making a point that just because he was a superstar in Europe, it doesn’t mean that he is all of a sudden one in the NBA. Luka has not proven a thing in the NBA.
Vlade and the Kings aside, we in America have a very bias opinion regarding European players. Even with our current technology and how close we are with the rest of the world nowadays, I still have lost count on how many discussions I had that ended in how silly of us or anyone in the US would even remotely be interested in this non-athletic, slow-feet, overhyped Euro-Guard. Reason being, we have this pride (rightfully so since the NBA is the top level of basketball) that the NBA is the be-all-end-all holy grail of basketball. If anyone doesn't mimic their style to ours, it just means that they are simply not advanced enough. If a basketball player never steps foot in the NBA, he can never be considered as a successful basketball player.
So even when we have this player who was recruited at 13 by one of the top basketball teams in the world, played as a starter since 16 for said team, competing night in and night out against grown professional players... [insert accolades], to have our NBA scouts to somehow still think he is less accomplished than a freshman sensation from our best college program is not out of the question.
And on top of allllll that, even with the growing numbers, how many real successful European players did we have? One that takes his team to the promise land? So to think that we overall don't have a bias against European players in general is a bit naive.
Lastly, back to our actual case with Vlade and co, I agree that if anyone is to not have a bias and fully understand European talent, it'd be Vlade and Peja, for obvious reasons. However, the pressure of us at the Kings, being one of the worst teams (with a dysfunctional history with FO) for over a decade, would IMO push someone into seeking shorter-term success over longer-term glory. It can just be to keep the job, not to get on the bad side of the ownership/shareholders, or hurting his reputation for future employment.
It is not hard to see the potential of Luka Doncic being a player who changes the culture and style of his team, which is the same culture and style that even our best Hall of Famer got swept by. But it might not happen immediately and I am not sure how much grace Vlade have with the ownership to withstand another few years of poor performance for such a player to develop. (If it isn't obvious to some of our European members yet, I'm mirroring him to the likes of Lionel Messi who blossoms only with a system that builds around him.)
Although, just like VF21 said in another thread, none of the rookies had touched the hardwood floor for real yet so all I said here might mean absolutely jack.
So even when we have this player who was recruited at 13 by one of the top basketball teams in the world, played as a starter since 16 for said team, competing night in and night out against grown professional players... [insert accolades], to have our NBA scouts to somehow still think he is less accomplished than a freshman sensation from our best college program is not out of the question.
And on top of allllll that, even with the growing numbers, how many real successful European players did we have? One that takes his team to the promise land? So to think that we overall don't have a bias against European players in general is a bit naive.
Lastly, back to our actual case with Vlade and co, I agree that if anyone is to not have a bias and fully understand European talent, it'd be Vlade and Peja, for obvious reasons. However, the pressure of us at the Kings, being one of the worst teams (with a dysfunctional history with FO) for over a decade, would IMO push someone into seeking shorter-term success over longer-term glory. It can just be to keep the job, not to get on the bad side of the ownership/shareholders, or hurting his reputation for future employment.
It is not hard to see the potential of Luka Doncic being a player who changes the culture and style of his team, which is the same culture and style that even our best Hall of Famer got swept by. But it might not happen immediately and I am not sure how much grace Vlade have with the ownership to withstand another few years of poor performance for such a player to develop. (If it isn't obvious to some of our European members yet, I'm mirroring him to the likes of Lionel Messi who blossoms only with a system that builds around him.)
Although, just like VF21 said in another thread, none of the rookies had touched the hardwood floor for real yet so all I said here might mean absolutely jack.
I just don't understand this argument. If anything, I've heard just the opposite - Doncic is more ready than Bagley to play in the NBA today and yield results in the NBA today. It's Doncic that's been playing in a professional league now for five years, not Bagley. It's Doncic whose claim to fame is his skills, as opposed to his athleticism, which implies that he's more ready today than Bagley. If anything, I think Divac did the hard thing, not the easy thing. First, he went against most avid Kings' fans who wanted Doncic. Second, Divac, of all people, should have more of an inclination to draft skill over athleticism, for the simple fact that he was more skilled than athletic. Third, he drafted someone who will probably take longer than Doncic to develop because unlike Doncic, Bagley hasn't been in the pros for a half a decade already. And like you say, Divac and Peja sure as heck are not going to be biased against european talent because of their heritage. That's for sure. There are all kinds of reasons that Divac might have been inclined to draft Doncic. But he didn't. And why didn't he? Because Bagley is better than Doncic and a better fit, accordingly to Divac. There isn't anything more to it than that.
I am not trashing on him. I am pointing out the facts. He's not as tall as reported. Look at the picture of him on the draft stage with Silver and the other players. He's closer to 6'6" than 6'8". And give me a break about talking about your dream to play in the NBA then take the summer league off. That's weak. How is he NOT super eager to launch his NBA career? When I was 19 years old I had boundless energy and still do. When you are fierce competitor, as Luka is alleged to be, you don't pass up new challenges. Summer League against draft picks and prospects is a new challenge and Luka needs a nap. By the way Luka's League played about 2 games per week. The number of games is less significant than the frequency of games. The games over there do not come as fast and furious as the NBA. Luka had plenty of time to rest and play in Las Vegas. The fact he's not playing can be summed up in one word: S-O-F-T.
Your defense of him is ridiculous. Harry has reasonable basis to concur with the teams decision. Luka does not. A fierce competitor dedicated to his craft would insist on being in Vegas. This is his "dream" being manifested and he is skipping the first chapter. He's skipping the opportunity to get his feet wet to smooth his transition in the Fall. By the way Luka was fourth on my board (1) Ayton (2) Bagley (3) Bamba (4) Luka so it is not like I am anti-Luka. If he was the Kings pick I would be offering the same critique.
I've read a report that he might play one Summerleague game but the Mavs are the ones who made the decision he shouldn't play. I've seen plenty of Luka Doncic full games and I can tell you he is not S-O-F-T. Calling a euro soft is an easy/lazy narrative though congrats on being half way there to being a successful sports blogger.
I know you are not anti-Luka, but you cannot deduce softness from the fact he is not playing in the summer league. to do so requires a lot of assumptions. you (we) lack all the other relevant information to make such a conclusion. for all you know he disagreed and was overruled by the team. everything I know about him suggests he is not soft so I do not think arguing so is ridiculous. but anyway, we will not get anywhere continuing this argument, other than maybe moved to another thread by VF21 
Hopefully it won't interfere with his nap schedule. When I refer to Luka as soft I am reminded of his gentle nature in interviews. He's a sweet kid. Sweetness don't get you rings. One of the reasons Bagley was the easy pre-draft call besides being the superior talent and superior fit which I stated many times and Vlade echoed thereafter was a cursory observation of personalities. Bagley is alpha. Luka is beta. Luka is more inclined to be a supportive role player. Bagley wants to take your head off. Bagley wants to be dominant. Being dominant does not include taking summer league off. There are also murmurs about Luka being pudgy, less than committed to strength and fitness regime. That's indication of softness there, at least habits that need to improve. You can be a fan of Luka and acknowledge this. You do NOT have to be so binary in your thinking. You can think Luka will be a good pro yet being a no show at the summer league is a diva move. If the player insisted he was rested and ready, I cannot see the team holding him out. It is for his own good and all involved parties. It is a few practices and 4-5 games not a triathlon through the Mojave desert.
http://www.nba.com/amp/league/artic...-doncic-update-still-needs-real-madrid-buyout
Your posts can be summed up in one word as well, but I don't wanna be banned.
Your posts can be summed up in one word as well, but I don't wanna be banned.
Cuban says Doncic was top of their board: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...cks-was-best-player-nba-draft-mark-cuban-says
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