Luka Doncic (pre and post-draft discussion thread)

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It's actually pretty crazy how similar doncic game is now to hedo turkoglu when he was on the magic. For anyone not excited by that comparison remember turkoglu was an 18/6/5 player on a top contender.
Also Doncic is a way better passer and ball handler while being miles better at the same age. The big thing with that is Hedo was ahead of his time he fits today’s game like a glove
 
Ive been listening to the the ringer nba podcast for the last couple weeks. The entire panel has Doncic #1 on their boards and they also think it’s ridiculous that he’s been getting nit picked at extreme levels right now.
If the nit picking makes him fall to 2 I’m all for it and will celebrate.

Either way walking out with Ayton/Doncic is a cause for franchise celebration
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
MOD NOTE: I took the latest part of the discussion about Doncic (relating him to Tatum) from the other Doncic thread (in Personnel Moves) and merged it here. As someone else has pointed out, there's no need for 2 parallel threads.
 
https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2018...-insider-rob-scott-sacramento-kings-nba-draft

Said Doncic is at his best when he’s matched with a PG and would be a good fit with Fox/Bogdan.

Doncic bring so accomplished so young is being used against to say he’s almost a finished player at 19 smh. Doncic can get better by getting in better shape and trimming the fat and also becoming an elite shooter.

Doncic plays with fire and he’s not afraid of anyone, I saw that last game and I loved it.

Also said Doncic would play good if he was put in the playoffs right now
 
It's really going to wind up being a crap shoot either way. The points about Doncic's athleticism and ability to get by defenders without a screen are legit. If that part of his game doesn't develop, he won't be the best player on the Kings and they could possibly have Bogdan and a slightly better Bogdan. Not a bad thing but not a perennial playoff contender either. The good thing is, he's 19 and he's incredibly good for a kid that age. The bad thing is athleticism doesn't improve as you get older so he's going to need to develop some extra skills if he truly wants to be compared to Harden. As of right now he can work the pick and roll and use that step back like Harden but he can't take his man off the dribble in an iso situation like Harden can and that's half his game.
I’m not certain that Bogdan won’t be the better wing player. Bogdan is the better shooter and is still developing his step back 3 (Luca has his).
 
Watching the Euroleague final..... have to be concerned about Doncic’s defense. Seems like Madrid is hiding him on D and Fener attacks him whenever they get a chance. He spends a lot of time playing center field but doesn’t help close out on drives and has no lift to block shots.

Madrid plays much better D when he is out.

Compared with Bogdan who last year defended the opposing point which indicated he had the foot speed to guard NBA wings. If Doncic were an inch or two taller he might be a good stretch four but struggling to see him as 2 overall with the players we see on the board.
 
Watching the Euroleague final..... have to be concerned about Doncic’s defense. Seems like Madrid is hiding him on D and Fener attacks him whenever they get a chance. He spends a lot of time playing center field but doesn’t help close out on drives and has no lift to block shots.

Madrid plays much better D when he is out.

Compared with Bogdan who last year defended the opposing point which indicated he had the foot speed to guard NBA wings. If Doncic were an inch or two taller he might be a good stretch four but struggling to see him as 2 overall with the players we see on the board.

Eh whatever. Many of the leagues elite guards need to be hidden on defense. Curry, Irving, Harden, Lillard, Kemba, Westbrook, and Booker are all putrid defenders. It's easier to build a successful team with bad defender at guard than it is with a bad defender in the post. Besides at least Doncic is built like a tank which means he should be able to fight through screens and not get pushed around on the wings.
 
Eh whatever. Many of the leagues elite guards need to be hidden on defense. Curry, Irving, Harden, Lillard, Kemba, Westbrook, and Booker are all putrid defenders. It's easier to build a successful team with bad defender at guard than it is with a bad defender in the post. Besides at least Doncic is built like a tank which means he should be able to fight through screens and not get pushed around on the wings.
Have you watched him play? I didn’t see the ability to fight through screens at all. Thought we would play him at the wing.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
Eh whatever. Many of the leagues elite guards need to be hidden on defense. Curry, Irving, Harden, Lillard, Kemba, Westbrook, and Booker are all putrid defenders. It's easier to build a successful team with bad defender at guard than it is with a bad defender in the post. Besides at least Doncic is built like a tank which means he should be able to fight through screens and not get pushed around on the wings.
What? Did you make a mistake on that? Westbrook is an AWESOME defender. An incredible defender.
 
Too risky taking a guy without top flight athleticism at #2 imo. I really want to love Doncic as I'm not sold on any of the other prospects chances of being an elite talent either. On paper the idea of getting a 19yr old Euro mvp with a well rounded game is pretty enticing. He was the LeBron of Europe this year but Trae Young was the Steph Curry of the NCAA and he's not in the discussion at #2. Athleticism limits some of these guys upsides. Doesn't mean it's impossible they'll reach perennial all star status but it does make it less likely. I keep trying to convince myself that Doncic has a good chance to be great but what I really believe is that he has a great chance to be good.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
The whole debate about Number 2 is the most stressful thing this team has done in the last 10 years or so.

I just want the draft to be over with, and am hoping beyond all hope they don't do anything outside of the box with the pick.

(I'm still on the Draft whoever's not picked between Ayton/Luka bandwagon. I can be convinced for Bagley. I throw rocks if nearly anything else happens, including a tradedown.)
 
What? Did you make a mistake on that? Westbrook is an AWESOME defender. An incredible defender.
Sarcasm?

Too risky taking a guy without top flight athleticism at #2 imo. I really want to love Doncic as I'm not sold on any of the other prospects chances of being an elite talent either. On paper the idea of getting a 19yr old Euro mvp with a well rounded game is pretty enticing. He was the LeBron of Europe this year but Trae Young was the Steph Curry of the NCAA and he's not in the discussion at #2. Athleticism limits some of these guys upsides. Doesn't mean it's impossible they'll reach perennial all star status but it does make it less likely. I keep trying to convince myself that Doncic has a good chance to be great but what I really believe is that he has a great chance to be good.
There's more to physical measurements than athleticism. The thing about Trae Young is that there is nothing about him in terms of a physical measurement that checks out. Nothing.
 
What? Did you make a mistake on that? Westbrook is an AWESOME defender. An incredible defender.
I don't think he's a very good defender either. Can be when he wants to...which is almost never. He doesn't even ratchet it up in the playoffs like Harden does.

Westbrook is so obsessed with the triple double that he leaves 3 point shooters wide open routinely so he can pad his rebounding stats.

He's like Rondo was with us. If you looked at the stats, Rondo would have a bunch of rebounds and average like 2 steals a game but if you watched the tape, he was just standing around guarding empty space half the time. You're going to run into a couple of steals and a handful of rebounds while playing the passing lanes and sagging into the paint but you're giving the opposing team high percentage shots.
 
Off the cuff:

Is this going to be the year that Divac does not draft from europe, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina or Kansas?

Another thing. Is his experience with Papa going to make him look twice, thrice and frice before he drafts a guy from europe with questions concerning athleticism?
Papa has more concerns than his body, though. It was a major part, but his talent and skillset or lack thereof was also a feature, as well as his bad attitude that we came to find out about.

Doncic is not a world-class athlete, but it's hard to imagine he's the same as the 7'2" slug known as Papagiannis. His talent and skill are obviously in a different stratosphere. If Vlade lets his previous drafting failure in what was an obvious bust even in hindsight color his decisions, I don't know...
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=005929&seasoncode=E2017#!E2017_PO

These are Doncic's playoff stats. I'm looking at Final Four and Playoffs and I don't find them very compelling, other than FT%. If offense is his main thing, wouldn't his stats tell a fairly decent story? If he's a great passer, why not more assists?

By the way, Magic Johnson's stats for the NCAA tourney when he was at Mich. State was per game: 21.8 pts, 8.8 rebounds, 10 assists, 2.6 steals; an average FT% of 89% and FG% of 52%. He played an average of around 36 minutes/game.
 
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Kingster

Hall of Famer
Westbrook is one of the few players in the NBA that can shut a good offensive player down. I saw him shut Harden down. Is he like that every night? No. With all the other things he does on the court he would really have to come from a different planet if he had the energy to do that. But he's an absolute animal when he puts his mind to it.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
The whole debate about Number 2 is the most stressful thing this team has done in the last 10 years or so.

I just want the draft to be over with, and am hoping beyond all hope they don't do anything outside of the box with the pick.

(I'm still on the Draft whoever's not picked between Ayton/Luka bandwagon. I can be convinced for Bagley. I throw rocks if nearly anything else happens, including a tradedown.)
It's really not. People seem determined to make this difficult but our job was done as soon as we landed the #2 pick. The funniest part about watching this play out is that a draft everybody was calling a 2 player draft magically transformed into a 1 player draft here as soon as we got the #2 pick. I guess old habits die hard. I wouldn't let it bother you. Some people will make drama out of anything. We still have the easiest pick in the entire draft.
 
It's really not. People seem determined to make this difficult but our job was done as soon as we landed the #2 pick. The funniest part about watching this play out is that a draft everybody was calling a 2 player draft magically transformed into a 1 player draft here as soon as we got the #2 pick. I guess old habits die hard. I wouldn't let it bother you. Some people will make drama out of anything. We still have the easiest pick in the entire draft.
As I said in the other draft, I think the people who were saying that it's a 2 person draft didn't get a chance to watch any of these guys in depth. Once you explore the ins and outs of each player, I don't think it's as much of a "homerun" as some thought. Every prospect has their flaws. In regards to Doncic, it just so happens that he's been the most recent prospect to play any type of bball, and he didn't particularly stand out in the final four. Even Ayton has his flaws.

http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=005929&seasoncode=E2017#!E2017_PO

These are Doncic's playoff stats. I'm looking at Final Four and Playoffs and I don't find them very compelling, other than FT%. If offense is his main thing, wouldn't his stats tell a fairly decent story? If he's a great passer, why not more assists?

By the way, Magic Johnson's stats for the NCAA tourney when he was at Mich. State was per game: 21.8 pts, 8.8 rebounds, 10 assists, 2.6 steals; an average FT% of 89% and FG% of 52%. He played an average of around 36 minutes/game.
He played extremely poor vs PAO, but I think it's because the fatigue caught up to him. He looked sluggish. In the first 2 games, there was only a 1 day break inbetween. Then he had about a week rest before kickstarting game 3 and 4 again. Looked a lot more refreshed, and had a big game 4. F
A little over a week later against a bad team(ACB, not Euroleague), he did post up a triple-double.

In terms of lack of assists, I do think it has more to do with gameplanning. There were a lot of times where he'd just bring the ball up, set the offense up, and stand at the 3pt line. I do think he's a better passer than those numbers indicate. Not sure if you are aware, but European style ball doesn't really allow for great individual scoring. It's just their style of play. Doncic at 16ppg is about tied for 2nd best in Euroleague this year.
 
It's really not. People seem determined to make this difficult but our job was done as soon as we landed the #2 pick. The funniest part about watching this play out is that a draft everybody was calling a 2 player draft magically transformed into a 1 player draft here as soon as we got the #2 pick. I guess old habits die hard. I wouldn't let it bother you. Some people will make drama out of anything. We still have the easiest pick in the entire draft.
Haha this is true, half of us wanted no part of Porter at 7 we get the 2nd pick and Porter somehow is the 2nd coming.

It’s a 2man draft we are getting Doncic/Ayton everything else is just noise

Sorry, but this thread becomes unreadable, so I can't wait for the draft to be over. The amount of Doncic bashing has risen to insanity. People still don't understand that Doncic wasn't playing college basketball and that most college teams wouldn't stand a chance in the Euroleague. I'm not the biggest Doncic lover either, but this is getting insane...
Not just on here but on realgm too I’ve learned that for people it’s better to dominate NCAA but lose to Buffalo (Ayton). Or dominate high school kids (Porter) than to dominate grown men and nba players in Fiba like Doncic did. Hell the kid played vs an nba team at 17
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
As I said in the other draft, I think the people who were saying that it's a 2 person draft didn't get a chance to watch any of these guys in depth. Once you explore the ins and outs of each player, I don't think it's as much of a "homerun" as some thought. Every prospect has their flaws. In regards to Doncic, it just so happens that he's been the most recent prospect to play any type of bball, and he didn't particularly stand out in the final four. Even Ayton has his flaws.


He played extremely poor vs PAO, but I think it's because the fatigue caught up to him. He looked sluggish. In the first 2 games, there was only a 1 day break inbetween. Then he had about a week rest before kickstarting game 3 and 4 again. Looked a lot more refreshed, and had a big game 4. F
A little over a week later against a bad team(ACB, not Euroleague), he did post up a triple-double.

In terms of lack of assists, I do think it has more to do with gameplanning. There were a lot of times where he'd just bring the ball up, set the offense up, and stand at the 3pt line. I do think he's a better passer than those numbers indicate. Not sure if you are aware, but European style ball doesn't really allow for great individual scoring. It's just their style of play. Doncic at 16ppg is about tied for 2nd best in Euroleague this year.
I think it's a combination of (A) Some people don't believe a player from Europe can be a superstar (B) In light of this, they're looking for reasons to dismiss Doncic's unprecedented success or at least frame it as a product of an inferior league where athleticism isn't important (C) With only one prospect still playing games, every thing he does is being nitpicked and second-guessed (D) Sacramento is still viewed by some as the worst possible place to send a young player so there's reluctance on the part of some media to see this as good fortune for the Kings-- electing instead to see it as misfortune for Doncic and this is feeding back to the fans.

If you want to be bothered by all of that I can't stop you. I've been watching Doncic all year long so one or two games here at the end of the year is not going to sway my opinion much. Scanning a box score is not going to sway my opinion much either. I don't expect anyone to take my word for it but I think all this hand-wringing about lack of athleticism is much ado about nothing. Go back and watch the tape against OKC and then remind yourself this is a 17 year old kid you're watching.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
I don't think he's a very good defender either. Can be when he wants to...which is almost never. He doesn't even ratchet it up in the playoffs like Harden does.

Westbrook is so obsessed with the triple double that he leaves 3 point shooters wide open routinely so he can pad his rebounding stats.
Over the last four years, Westbrook is 6th overall in the NBA in defensive win shares, though since that's an accumulation stat some of that has to do with him logging a ton of minutes. Looking at a rate-based stat, he is 19th in DRtg in the league over the last four years (min. 250 games).

The objection was raised because Westbrook was listed among lead guards with "putrid" defense who needed to be hidden on that side of the ball. He clearly does not belong on that list. Perhaps he slacks off from time to time, but he's still one of the league's best defenders (and one of the league's very best guard defenders) even taking that into account.
 
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