Doncic at the 4?

[VF21]

twslam07 put a lot of thought and effort into a Off-Season Plan in the Personnel Moves forum. I didn't want to derail the discussion of his thread there, but he brought up something I haven't seen talked about before.

His whole thread is based on the premise that we will draft Doncic and play him as a power forward. Thus my question.

I don't see Doncic as a power forward. I'm not of the mind that you can shift a player to another position that easily. What's your thought?

 

[Telemachus]

twslam07 put a lot of thought and effort into a Off-Season Plan in the Personnel Moves forum. I didn't want to derail the discussion of his thread there, but he brought up something I haven't seen talked about before.

His whole thread is based on the premise that we will draft Doncic and play him as a power forward. Thus my question.

I don't see Doncic as a power forward. I'm not of the mind that you can shift a player to another position that easily. What's your thought?

While Doncic has the size to play the 4, it will take him some time to get the strength to play it. When he got posted up, he was pushed off his position way to easily.
Personally, I think he will be a much better player at the 3 than the 4. I would rather see him slim down to get quicker than to bulk up to play against 4s. That being said, I do see him being used as a 4 when his team goes into a small ball lineup.

 

[allrightythen]

He'd be undersized at the 4 imo. It could work in stretches against small line-ups but I think he's a 3.

 

[kingsboi]

play him at the four? sure but you have to get rid of the glut you have at the forward spots all ready then...you have Z-bo, Skal and Giles all capable of playing the spot...with much success I doubt it, because Giles for some reason likes to be labeled a center by some posters on here, which I don't see. That's not including a potential free agent signing either.

 

[Sactown ExPat]

I’ve espoused this for months. He’ll play the “3” on offense, but cover 4s on defense. He’d get exposed in the playoffs right now, but will easily develop the strength in a year or two.

 

[funkykingston]

Doncic is similar in size to Jayson Tatum so I'd like to see him start at the SF spot with the option to be an occasional PF in a small ball lineup.

 

[kingsboi]

I’ve espoused this for months. He’ll play the “3” on offense, but cover 4s on defense. He’d get exposed in the playoffs right now, but will easily develop the strength in a year or two.

Luka has a lot of baby fat on him, which is expected out of a teenager who eats what he wants and when he wants without much consequence for the time being. He, like Bogs, has broad shoulders and he can pack on some muscle mass but at the same time, you don't want to slow him down even more so there should be an array of different training methods the Kings' training staff can and should incorporate should he be a King come June 21st.

 

[Joshoua]

Doncic is similar in size to Jayson Tatum so I'd like to see him start at the SF spot with the option to be an occasional PF in a small ball lineup.

This is true they both have a 6’11 wingspan
Doncic 8’9 reach - 225 pounds
Tatum: 8’10.5 reach - 205pounds

Start him at SF but he’ll play a lot of minutes at PF

 

[ParniValjak]

Doncic might be able to play the 4 in certain situations but he is not a full time 4. I personally think he is at his best when he plays with another PG as a secondary ball handler whether that be at SG or SF. Gives him more freedom to score, rebound and pick shifting defenses apart with his passes.

 

[Sactown ExPat]

Doncic might be able to play the 4 in certain situations but he is not a full time 4. I personally think he is at his best when he plays with another PG as a secondary ball handler whether that be at SG or SF. Gives him more freedom to score, rebound and pick shifting defenses apart with his passes.

Right, that’s on offense. Who does he guard?

 

[Sactown ExPat]

Luka has a lot of baby fat on him, which is expected out of a teenager who eats what he wants and when he wants without much consequence for the time being. He, like Bogs, has broad shoulders and he can pack on some muscle mass but at the same time, you don't want to slow him down even more so there should be an array of different training methods the Kings' training staff can and should incorporate should he be a King come June 21st.

Has mass slowed down Lebron? Or Westbrook? Or Porzingis? Or Harden?

We spend so much debating the inane athleticism question that people miss what a beast Luka is going to be in his prime. With effort in the training room he’s going to be a chiseled 235-240 that can get anywhere on the floor with his handle, back down smaller players, has elite floor vision and passing, and a lethal step-back jumper. He’s going to be unguardable.

 

[Blob]

Has mass slowed down Lebron? Or Westbrook? Or Porzingis? Or Harden?

I think mass did slow down Harden in the second half of Game 6 and Game 7. The guy has a gut on him and needs to lose 10-15 pounds this off season. Maybe if he was carrying around a little less poundage, he would have had his legs under him more on all those three balls he bricked.

 

[SacTownKid]

I've always seen him as a combo forward. With his national team they ran switching that saw him on bigger players and he held his own. Milan Macvan struggled to post him and that dude is a bull.

 

[gunks]

He's pretty strong for how undeveloped his body is, and has a lot of bully in his game.

I like him as a "power" 3 who also is the main ball handler/playmaker.... almost like a homeless man's Lebron (which is still a player worth taking at 2!), but I can see him as a small ball 4 too.

Such a unique player, I really hope he's our guy.

 

[SLAB]

Idk where he plays, I just hope he's the guy. I'm kind of locked in on him (or Ayton) and I'm going to be pretty let down if / when enything else happens.

 

[NewArena]

Doncic might be able to play the 4 in certain situations but he is not a full time 4. I personally think he is at his best when he plays with another PG as a secondary ball handler whether that be at SG or SF. Gives him more freedom to score, rebound and pick shifting defenses apart with his passes.

now this thought is exciting me a bit

 

[NewArena]

Idk where he plays, I just hope he's the guy. I'm kind of locked in on him (or Ayton) and I'm going to be pretty let down if / when enything else happens.

i cant lie, thats pretty much how im feeling, but i would quickly get over it if i feel as if the organization saw and felt something undeniable. Idk, like i said in another thread, i just hope they dont put too much focus on the workouts and become prisoners of that moment.

 

[KingsCitizen]

Looking at the Conference finals, I have very little doubt that a 6'8" offense-ready player can take 4 spot especially in the final stretches of the end-game.
Kings could field in a line-up of Fox/Buddy/Bogdan/Doncic/Cousins p) against most of the league on the final stretches of a close game.

 

[Joshoua]

Looking at the Conference finals, I have very little doubt that a 6'8" offense-ready player can take 4 spot especially in the final stretches of the end-game.
Kings could field in a line-up of Fox/Buddy/Bogdan/Doncic/Cousins p) against most of the league on the final stretches of a close game.

Cousins isn’t walking through that door but put Giles in his place and that lineup matchups up with 99% of the league

 

[sactowndog]

Looking at the Conference finals, I have very little doubt that a 6'8" offense-ready player can take 4 spot especially in the final stretches of the end-game.
Kings could field in a line-up of Fox/Buddy/Bogdan/Doncic/Cousins p) against most of the league on the final stretches of a close game.

This could be the worst defensive team ever.

 

[Kingster]

twslam07 put a lot of thought and effort into a Off-Season Plan in the Personnel Moves forum. I didn't want to derail the discussion of his thread there, but he brought up something I haven't seen talked about before.

His whole thread is based on the premise that we will draft Doncic and play him as a power forward. Thus my question.

I don't see Doncic as a power forward. I'm not of the mind that you can shift a player to another position that easily. What's your thought?

I sure don't see him as a PF. He seems more of a SF to me. But in today's game there are some stretch 4s that don't play inside so much, so he might be able to deal with those guys. I just wonder what he does on offense when he *doesn't* have the ball in his hands? Can he move well without the ball, or does he have to pound the rock?

 

[SLAB]

I sure don't see him as a PF. He seems more of a SF to me. But in today's game there are some stretch 4s that don't play inside so much, so he might be able to deal with those guys. I just wonder what he does on offense when he *doesn't* have the ball in his hands? Can he move well without the ball, or does he have to pound the rock?

I don't know so this pure speculation, but you'd assume a guy with such a great feel for the game would also be an excellent mover off the ball as well.

 

[midtowner]

He is used to playing with point guards - Dragic on the National Team and Lull on his pro team. Off ball movement won’t be a problem.

Does anyone have a read if he is a good screen setter? The Kings’ screen game needs to improve dramatically.

 

[Telemachus]

I don't know so this pure speculation, but you'd assume a guy with such a great feel for the game would also be an excellent mover off the ball as well.

Doncic plays very well off the ball. Most seem to agree that he is at his best when he is a secondary ball-handler.

 

[206Fan]

He is used to playing with point guards - Dragic on the National Team and Lull on his pro team. Off ball movement won’t be a problem.

Does anyone have a read if he is a good screen setter? The Kings’ screen game needs to improve dramatically.

Doncic doesn't really set a lot of screens. So he won't help with that.

 

[hrdboild]

He seems to be on a similar trajectory as Lebron size-wise. Both were about 6'6" at 17 and grew to 6'8" by age 19. And indeed Lebron has played PF at times for Cleveland and Miami but he was a SG/SF for his first 7 or 8 years in the league. That was a period where teams still felt like they needed two front-court players to contend for a championship though. Lebron is also a super athlete, obviously, which makes him a little more versatile in terms of who he can match up with.

I agree that Doncic will probably be able to play minutes at PF, maybe as soon as next season, since other teams are also putting 3 or 4 guards on the court at once now but I also wouldn't plan to move him to that position full-time. He's already got his work cut out for him adjusting to the speed of the NBA game defensively and that hybrid 3/4 role is one of the toughest to play defensively because he'll be frequently switched onto full-size PFs and Cs. If we do get Doncic I would think the best way to build a lineup is to put him at SF with one of our bigs (Cauley-Stein, Skal, Giles, or even Koufos for now) at the 5 position and then get a hybrid 4 who can hit spot-up threes and also defend both forward spots. Somebody like Mo Harkless would be ideal.

On the offensive end it doesn't matter all that much where you put Doncic as long as you have some shooters and at least one big so you can work the pick and roll but defensively I think he matches up better with wings right now than big men. Maybe as he gets stronger he'll be able to hold his own in there. Some people are worried about his lateral quickness guarding on the perimeter but it's a switching league now so he doesn't need to be able to cover one-on-one, just make the right rotation and close out on shooters.

 

[Kingster]

If he does move well without the ball, I guess the only question on offense is whether he can hit that corner 3. Isn't that mandatory for 3s in today's NBA?

 

[SLAB]

He is used to playing with point guards - Dragic on the National Team and Lull on his pro team. Off ball movement won’t be a problem.

Does anyone have a read if he is a good screen setter? The Kings’ screen game needs to improve dramatically.

The one thing PapaG was great at.