I'll defer to Artur91 on his ability to predict Doncic's future. I watched Doncic play quite a bit in Europe, (
http://www.livebasketball.tv/ is a great website by the way) and while I really like him, I never thought he would be this good this soon. Anytime you watch a European player play, your always going to wonder, if what he does there will translate to the NBA. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. In Doncic's case, it did, and then some. The list of those who didn't is long!
I had three players at the top of my list, and none of them were named Ayton, who I liked, but thought was a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, I thought Ayton would go first, I just wouldn't have taken him first. I had Bagley, Jackson, and Doncic all ranked almost equally, but all for different reasons. As to who will be the best of the three at the end of their careers is still up for grabs right now, but obviously Doncic has the lead at the moment.
It's rare for a player to come into the NBA and be an instant star. In most cases, when they do, your generally looking at a future HOF'er. But not always. Tyreke Evans made a big splash his rookie year, but then faded when the league adjusted to his game. I usually base more on a players 2nd year in the league. The old saying that the league giveth, and the league taketh away, is true. Whatever your doing, the league will adjust and take that away from you. If you can't equally adjust, well then your the next Tyreke Evans. Doncic adjusted!
I
understood why Vlade took Bagley over Doncic. Look how Doncic basically destroyed Dennis Smiths career. Smith went from looking like a very good prospect, to non-relevant. Not saying that he would have done the same to Fox. Matter of fact, I'm fairly sure he wouldn't have. And in hindsight, with Fox being injured, having Doncic would have been a gigantic plus. I'm a believer that you can't have too many good passers on a team, and having Fox, Doncic, and Bogi all on the floor together would have been fun to watch.
But as they say, it's water under the bridge now. We can't go back and re-do the draft. Right now, it looks like a huge mistake. But if the Kings were winning, the mistake wouldn't look quite as bad. But as my grandmother used to say, IF, is for children! So here's the question, and think about it logically and not emotionally. Would firing Vlade make a difference going forward, knowing that a new GM would in all likely hood, clean house, meaning Walton and his entire staff would also be gone.
Do we really want to give the national press another reason to mock our franchise? Do we really want to go through another coaching change with another new system? It's easy to get emotional and say fire Vlade, but there's a lot of collateral damage that comes with that decision. I do think that some changes need to be made, but as they say, I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water.
One final thought on the subject. Players come into the league, and in 90% of the cases, if their good enough to stick, they're far better players in their 4th year than they were in their first. I won't bore you with naming said players. The Kings have in the past, given up on some players too soon. I think Vlade is similar to a player, in that he's going to get better at his job. He came in with zero experience, and maybe he shouldn't have been hired in the first place, but regardless of that, and what you may think, you do get better at your job as you gain experience.
So I'm willing to stick with Vlade a bit longer, but please, no more Papagiannises!
