What's your pick today? (June 11, 2018)

[Kingster]

I love Luka's game but what are the odds that he's the best player to come out of this draft? 10:1? 20:1? More?

I think his floor is high enough that his bust potential is low. But does anyone actually think he can be the best player on a contending team?

He's not a go-to scorer. He's going to be a mediocre to poor team defender and a poor to very poor individual defender, at least initially but with athletic limitations on how good he can be on that end. He's a pick and roll maestro and his BBIQ is shockingly good for a kid his age. Luka seems like a great piece on a team that already has an offensive star where he can be a playmaker and complimentary player. I just don't know that he's a franchise guy though.

And right now the Kings still need a franchise guy. Right now we have two solid but not great players at SG, a young PG coming off a disappointing rookie season who needs a lot of development but is still worth waiting on, a C who is soft on the boards, doesn't show up consistently and is entering the last year of his rookie deal, a PF who flashed a ton of potential in HS but is coming off two major knee injuries and hasn't played a minute in the NBA and then a collection of young and veteran roleplayers.

This team needs a franchise player. When all is said and done I think he's at best the third or fourth best player from this draft class which is a solid double when the Kings really need a homerun for once. Am I wrong?

No, you're not wrong. And like I've said before, the only way Doncic becomes a great player is if his shooting percentage goes considerably higher. I've seen no evidence that he can get his own shot, which for a wing player has got to be a key consideration if you are looking to get a star. He appears to be more of a one trick pony. Along the same lines, I do wonder also how he would impact the Kings' team as much as one would want without taking the ball out of Fox's hands, or Bogs for that matter. How much net benefit is he going to bring the team? You can't have it both ways. It's either give him the ball (higher usage) and let him make plays for others to maximize his one primary strength (playmaking), or play him at the three and give him the ball less (less usage) and have him make fewer plays for others and thereby reduce his one primary strength. It seems like he's not going to be a versatile assist/point/rebound/defense guy; it looks like his main claim to fame is going to be playmaking. I do like the idea of having multiple playmakers on this team, but that only works if those guys are versatile and bring more to the table than playmaking. With an athletic/quickness level of 7 out of 10 he doesn't have much room for error going forward.

 

[funkykingston]

Too many questions, I focus on the last one. Yes.

Joking aside, you didn't see Doncic play.
Why poor team defender? Why poor individual defender? He's a go to scorer as well, in case of need. Not the kind of player who care about his personal stats.

I haven't watched as much of Doncic as some but I've watched 6 or 7 full games as well as the normal highlight videos etc.

Almost no rookies are good team defenders from day one. And given that Luka wasn't aggressive in his rotations and closeouts in the Euroleague I find it hard to believe that he'll be markedly improved starting out in the NBA. That said, he has very good instincts and timing so I think in time he will be a decent team defender. As for an individual defender? Poor lateral quickness, rarely in a good defensive stance, doesn't fight hard through screens and generally doesn't give as much effort on that end of the floor.

Doncic struggles to beat guys off the dribble now and often uses up a lot of clock with crossovers from the perimeter to try and get some kind of opening to compensate for not being able to put his head down and get a shoulder past his defender. Again, if his shot develops (and he has very good/simple mechanics) then I could see him being a decent scorer when playing off of a primary scoring option. But I don't see a kid where you can say, "go get a bucket" and he can do that each time. I'm a big Doncic fan, but I think he's a very high level complimentary player and not the best player on a playoff team.

Maybe if Fox takes a huge leap, Giles stays healthy and really is a stud, WCS finally comes to play each night and Hield and Bogdanovic continue to improve THEN Doncic might be the engine to something special.

The problem is that I think the Kings are much farther off than that and don't currently have any real building blocks. I think there are guys from this draft that will be perennial all-stars and make all-NBA teams. I'm just not sure Luka is one of them. I think he's likely a high level starter who is a ton of fun to watch, makes winning plays and makes one or two all-star games in his career. I'd like to be wrong though because I love watching him play.

 

[Hansel]

In Europe there's no defensive 3 second violation, even if you get past your defender you find the big man under the basket. I don't think he can't do that, just there's no a lot of advantage doing that. The paint is almost always well protected.
It's easier in the NBA to get to the basket if you beat your man.
I think he'll be average individual defender and more than decent team defender, using his IQ more than his speed.

 

[Gtronic]

Luka all day and every day!!!

 

[LPKingsFan]

Does a guy need to score 25+ per game to be your franchise player? Isn't that how you end up taking a Glenn Robinson over a Grant Hill?

 

[Kingster]

Does a guy need to score 25+ per game to be your franchise player? Isn't that how you end up taking a Glenn Robinson over a Grant Hill?

Most of the time a guy has to be a bigtime scorer in order to be a franchise player. And if he doesn't score that much, he better be pretty astounding at other aspects of the game, especially on the defensive side of the ball, like Gobert (and I think he's borderline whether you would consider him a franchise player or not). The really good players score and do something else very well, whether it's LBJ, AD, the Greek Freek, KAT, Durant, Westbrook, etc., etc.

 

[roasthawg]

I love Luka's game but what are the odds that he's the best player to come out of this draft? 10:1? 20:1? More?

I think his floor is high enough that his bust potential is low. But does anyone actually think he can be the best player on a contending team?

He's not a go-to scorer. He's going to be a mediocre to poor team defender and a poor to very poor individual defender, at least initially but with athletic limitations on how good he can be on that end. He's a pick and roll maestro and his BBIQ is shockingly good for a kid his age. Luka seems like a great piece on a team that already has an offensive star where he can be a playmaker and complimentary player. I just don't know that he's a franchise guy though.

And right now the Kings still need a franchise guy. Right now we have two solid but not great players at SG, a young PG coming off a disappointing rookie season who needs a lot of development but is still worth waiting on, a C who is soft on the boards, doesn't show up consistently and is entering the last year of his rookie deal, a PF who flashed a ton of potential in HS but is coming off two major knee injuries and hasn't played a minute in the NBA and then a collection of young and veteran roleplayers.

This team needs a franchise player. When all is said and done I think he's at best the third or fourth best player from this draft class which is a solid double when the Kings really need a homerun for once. Am I wrong?

Completely agree about Luka. I don't think we can say we need a franchise player at all costs at #2 though. I think you do like the Celtics and keep acquiring talent every chance you get.

 

[funkykingston]

Does a guy need to score 25+ per game to be your franchise player? Isn't that how you end up taking a Glenn Robinson over a Grant Hill?

I understand your point but Grant Hill did score 25+ per game in the 1999-2000 season. He put up 25.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 5.2 apg. It was his best season and his last in Detroit. After that the wheels fell off but I don't think many people appreciate just how good Hill was before all the injuries.

Side note, Glenn Robinson never scored more than 22 ppg.

Grant Hill was a do-it-all player for the Pistons but was also their leading scorer for all six seasons he was there. He was their best player, period.

That's my question with Luka. Is he the man? Or is he the ideal sidekick for the man?

 

[Blob]

The Kings tested Bagley's perimeter skills yesterday. Bagley said it was a significant focus. I think the Kings wanted to be convinced whether he could play three. Did he pass the test? I don't know but if he showed polished skills I think it will go a significant way to whether he will be the pick. If the Kings are confident Bagley can spend time at small forward, and exploit his height and length advantage there, he becomes a more viable candidate. The second player in this draft should be multi-positional and if it is discerned he is not ready to play small ball 5 (yet) he should be versatile and talented enough the slide to small forward. Even setting aside the idea of 3/4/5, the question is how comfortable is he defending in space and making face up moves from the three point line and in. There were questions about Jayson Tatum perimeter game after he made 34% of threes at Duke. He undoubtedly impressed Danny in pre-draft and went onto shoot 43% from behind the arc. Tatum's and Bagley's game are nothing alike but the point is what a player can do is not always on full display. I noticed Doug Christie was on the sideline yesterday so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say about Bagley. I think reading between the lines will be indicative of whether Bagley flourished or flopped.

 

[rosa u podne]

Because I think he (Mikal Bridges) is the best player in the draft.

Then I would take him at #2 unless I somehow know for sure I'll get him after trade down. Btw I voted "other" option, because he is the player I want.

 

[ockingsfan]

The Kings tested Bagley's perimeter skills yesterday. Bagley said it was a significant focus. I think the Kings wanted to be convinced whether he could play three. Did he pass the test? I don't know but if he showed polished skills I think it will go a significant way to whether he will be the pick. If the Kings are confident Bagley can spend time at small forward, and exploit his height and length advantage there, he becomes a more viable candidate. The second player in this draft should be multi-positional and if it is discerned he is not ready to play small ball 5 (yet) he should be versatile and talented enough the slide to small forward. Even setting aside the idea of 3/4/5, the question is how comfortable is he defending in space and making face up moves from the three point line and in. There were questions about Jayson Tatum perimeter game after he made 34% of threes at Duke. He undoubtedly impressed Danny in pre-draft and went onto shoot 43% from behind the arc. Tatum's and Bagley's game are nothing alike but the point is what a player can do is not always on full display. I noticed Doug Christie was on the sideline yesterday so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say about Bagley. I think reading between the lines will be indicative of whether Bagley flourished or flopped.

I don't think Bagley could play the 3. He doesn't have the ball handling or the passing ability to play the 3. It would be a disaster to draft Bagley at 2 and expect him to play the 3. It would be like trying to switch Skal to Small Forward, both unnatural positions for them.

I think the most likely reason they had him show his perimeter skills at the workout was to make sure he has a game that translates to todays Power Forwards and Center position players. They wanted to make sure he could shoot from beyond 3 feet. They wanted to see if he had a face up game, since he didn't really show it off at Duke.

 

[Kingsfan23]

The Kings tested Bagley's perimeter skills yesterday. Bagley said it was a significant focus. I think the Kings wanted to be convinced whether he could play three. Did he pass the test? I don't know but if he showed polished skills I think it will go a significant way to whether he will be the pick. If the Kings are confident Bagley can spend time at small forward, and exploit his height and length advantage there, he becomes a more viable candidate. The second player in this draft should be multi-positional and if it is discerned he is not ready to play small ball 5 (yet) he should be versatile and talented enough the slide to small forward. Even setting aside the idea of 3/4/5, the question is how comfortable is he defending in space and making face up moves from the three point line and in. There were questions about Jayson Tatum perimeter game after he made 34% of threes at Duke. He undoubtedly impressed Danny in pre-draft and went onto shoot 43% from behind the arc. Tatum's and Bagley's game are nothing alike but the point is what a player can do is not always on full display. I noticed Doug Christie was on the sideline yesterday so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say about Bagley. I think reading between the lines will be indicative of whether Bagley flourished or flopped.

I think they are testing he can display the perimeter skills to be a 4

 

[Blob]

I don't think Bagley could play the 3. He doesn't have the ball handling or the passing ability to play the 3. It would be a disaster to draft Bagley at 2 and expect him to play the 3.

You are basing your assessment (conclusion) off what you have seen at Duke and to lesser extent UAA and high school, right? Yesterday was opportunity for the kid to show his game is more expansive than that, that he was limited by the role he was asked to play. His quotes in the interview reflect as much, that he doesn't limit himself to a particular position. The fact that the Kings oriented the workout to perimeter play indicates to me they are not putting those limits on him either. I am not saying whether performed well or poorly. I was not there and neither were you. One thing I will add is that he looks more capable to me of playing small forward than center, with power forward his natural position.

 

[funkykingston]

You are basing your assessment (conclusion) off what you have seen at Duke and to lesser extent UAA and high school, right? Yesterday was opportunity for the kid to show his game is more expansive than that, that he was limited by the role he was asked to play. His quotes in the interview reflect as much, that he doesn't limit himself to a particular position. The fact that the Kings oriented the workout to perimeter play indicates to me they are not putting those limits on him either. I am not saying whether performed well or poorly. I was not there and neither were you.

The "I consider myself a positionless player" or "I don't think I'm limited by positions, I can play all over the floor" sentiments are talking points that pretty much all the top prospects are coached to give. Porter Jr and Jackson Jr said virtually the same thing. Bamba has mentioned Porzingis and Durant in addition to Gobert in terms of how he views his own game. Even Ayton talkbs about eing a PF when he's clearly a center.

I DO think Bagley is more versatile than he was allowed to show at Duke but every pick right now wants to be seen as a great fit for the modern NBA so that's a pretty stock answer.

As for where he'll play, he's a PF. In time I think he'll have a more expanded game and be very good from the perimeter with his shot setting up his drive but right now his greatest strengths are rebounding and overwhelming defenders as he attacks the rim. Asking him to play on the wing primarily is not going to be the best way to use him as a rookie.

 

[jcwkings]

I love Luka's game but what are the odds that he's the best player to come out of this draft? 10:1? 20:1? More?

I think his floor is high enough that his bust potential is low. But does anyone actually think he can be the best player on a contending team?

He's not a go-to scorer. He's going to be a mediocre to poor team defender and a poor to very poor individual defender, at least initially but with athletic limitations on how good he can be on that end. He's a pick and roll maestro and his BBIQ is shockingly good for a kid his age. Luka seems like a great piece on a team that already has an offensive star where he can be a playmaker and complimentary player. I just don't know that he's a franchise guy though.

And right now the Kings still need a franchise guy. Right now we have two solid but not great players at SG, a young PG coming off a disappointing rookie season who needs a lot of development but is still worth waiting on, a C who is soft on the boards, doesn't show up consistently and is entering the last year of his rookie deal, a PF who flashed a ton of potential in HS but is coming off two major knee injuries and hasn't played a minute in the NBA and then a collection of young and veteran roleplayers.

This team needs a franchise player. When all is said and done I think he's at best the third or fourth best player from this draft class which is a solid double when the Kings really need a homerun for once. Am I wrong?

Why is he going to be a mediocre to poor team defender? His basketball IQ is his best asset and that plays a huge part in team defense. He is already very good at reading passing lanes and getting deflections.

 

[Blob]

The "I consider myself a positionless player" or "I don't think I'm limited by positions, I can play all over the floor" sentiments are talking points that pretty much all the top prospects are coached to give. Porter Jr and Jackson Jr said virtually the same thing. Bamba has mentioned Porzingis and Durant in addition to Gobert in terms of how he views his own game. Even Ayton talkbs about eing a PF when he's clearly a center.

I DO think Bagley is more versatile than he was allowed to show at Duke but every pick right now wants to be seen as a great fit for the modern NBA so that's a pretty stock answer.

As for where he'll play, he's a PF. In time I think he'll have a more expanded game and be very good from the perimeter with his shot setting up his drive but right now his greatest strengths are rebounding and overwhelming defenders as he attacks the rim. Asking him to play on the wing primarily is not going to be the best way to use him as a rookie.

I don't disagree. The point I am making is the Kings seemingly tailored the workout to be convinced or dissuaded with regards to how expansive his game may be outside the paint. His ability to overwhelm slower defenders, crash the boards, and run the floor has been established. No one is contesting what he does best. I am suggesting the tipping point is whether there is more there. I am not saying the Kings were trying to determine if he could be a full-time small forward. Of course not. Rather they wanted to see enough face-up game so he can be relatively comfortable and effective all over the floor in numerous matchups. This is how Bagley would "close the deal" as the #2 pick or leave the team feeling lukewarm.

 

[roasthawg]

Why is he going to be a mediocre to poor team defender? His basketball IQ is his best asset and that plays a huge part in team defense. He is already very good at reading passing lanes and getting deflections.

Omg with this basketball iq stuff. Steph Curry has a decent basketball iq, how's his defense?

 

[Kingsfan23]

I don't disagree. The point I am making is the Kings seemingly tailored the workout to be convinced or dissuaded with regards to how expansive his game may be outside the paint. His ability to overwhelm slower defenders, crash the boards, and run the floor has been established. No one is contesting what he does best. I am suggesting the tipping point is whether there is more there. I am not saying the Kings were trying to determine if he could be a full-time small forward. Of course not. Rather they wanted to see enough face-up game so he can be relatively comfortable and effective all over the floor in numerous matchups. This is how Bagley would "close the deal" as the #2 pick or leave the team feeling lukewarm.

All of that is true, but IMO is needed to be an effective PF in today’s game or play alongside another big, like Giles, who isn’t known for stretching the floor himself. I’m not an expert on the prospects or anything but I’d sooner think of Marvin as a C than I would a SF, but it’s all subjective

 

[OptimusRhyme]

Honestly i'd be happy with any one of the following with the second pick- Bagley Doncic, Ayton-possibly Bamba (id prefer him in a trade down scenario)

If they could somehow get Mikal Bridges in a trade id be stoked.

 

[Joshoua]

Why is he going to be a mediocre to poor team defender? His basketball IQ is his best asset and that plays a huge part in team defense. He is already very good at reading passing lanes and getting deflections.

Same as Lonzo Ball who became a decent defender this year

 

[funkykingston]

Why is he going to be a mediocre to poor team defender? His basketball IQ is his best asset and that plays a huge part in team defense. He is already very good at reading passing lanes and getting deflections.

Because 90% of all NBA rookies are poor team defenders right off the bat. As I mentioned, I think he'll get to be average or better in time because of his instincts but will always be a bit limited on defense by his lateral quickness. That's a bigger concern in one on one defense though.

 

[funkykingston]

Same as Lonzo Ball who became a decent defender this year

If the Kings draft Doncic and he is as good defensively as a rookie as Lonzo was in his first season I'd be very happy.

 

[funkykingston]

Omg with this basketball iq stuff. Steph Curry has a decent basketball iq, how's his defense?

Curry is actually a much better defender than he's given credit for. Yes, the Warriors have Klay take the more difficult guard assignment and yes, teams try to get their scorers switched on Curry (see James Harden in the WCFs) but Curry is not a sieve defensively. He's actually pretty stout. And he's far, far stronger now than he was as a rookie. His size/length will always limit him to some degree and he's not Chris Paul, but he's also not Isaiah Thomas or Emmanual Mudiay.

 

[roasthawg]

Curry is actually a much better defender than he's given credit for. Yes, the Warriors have Klay take the more difficult guard assignment and yes, teams try to get their scorers switched on Curry (see James Harden in the WCFs) but Curry is not a sieve defensively. He's actually pretty stout. And he's far, far stronger now than he was as a rookie. His size/length will always limit him to some degree and he's not Chris Paul, but he's also not Isaiah Thomas or Emmanual Mudiay.

Curry is a bad defender. Without arguing that though I'll switch to IT who has a good basketball iq. Or rondo, remember how bad his defense was here? He was Mr. Bbiq

 

[funkykingston]

Curry is a bad defender. Without arguing that though I'll switch to IT who has a good basketball iq. Or rondo, remember how bad his defense was here? He was Mr. Bbiq

On the flipside what about Chris Paul? He's not a gifted athlete and is either the best or second best (IMO second to Jrue Holiday) PG defender in the NBA, primarily due to effort and BBIQ.

Likewise, Lonzo Ball was a far better defender last year than De'Aaron Fox. Fox is far more athletic and they have about the same wingspan so why was Ball a plus defender while Fox was a poor defender?

With Doncic I think of Peja. Stojakovic came into the NBA as a poor individual defender and a poor team defender. I think his defense was the biggest reason it took him so long to unseat Corliss as the starting SF. In time he became a very solid team defender and even a decent one-on-one defender. He actually guarded Nowitzki as good as anyone IMO.

 

[jcwkings]

Omg with this basketball iq stuff. Steph Curry has a decent basketball iq, how's his defense?

As a team defender? excellent actually. Its in isolation where he gets targeted in the playoffs. Doncic will get targeted off the dribble by quicker wings but he has the frame where he can get strong enough to battle them inside.

 

[funkykingston]

As a team defender? excellent actually. Its in isolation where he gets targeted in the playoffs. Doncic will get targeted off the dribble by quicker wings but he has the frame where he can get strong enough to battle them inside.

Curry is still judged by how he defended a few years ago. Even as recently as Kerr's first year with the team you could reasonably accuse him of coasting on defense, even in the playoffs. He was challenged to pick it up on that end and he has.

If the team drafts Luka it makes having an interior presence an even bigger priority, barring WCS having a revelation that being a defensive monster would actually get him paid the big money and showing up every night.

Honestly, Doncic and Bamba or Jackson Jr would be an ideal pairing if the Kings had the capital to get two top 5 picks.

 

[hrdboild]

All this Doncic sliding stuff, it makes no sense to me. I think a lot of agents working back channels trying to get him to slide in public perception and hoping a few teams lock in on someone else. Some of the stuff about the team sour on Doncic dates to mid-season, which again tells me they might think Vlade and Peja's euro-influence may drop his stock around the league.

Here's the thing, we built this team around a superstar big man for 5+ seasons, it got us nothing. We now have a shot at building around a superstar wing. The owner loves that style. The NBA seems to be going that style. If the modern NBA is 4 wings and 1 big, we have 5 guys that can hopefully be that 1 big. Especially if Giles is real.

This is a great point. We already have 3 young bigs in a league where every team is transitioning to playing one center and 4 wings/guards. If we draft another big we may need to trade two of them or we're wasting resources where we can't use them. What are the odds any of Bamba, Ayton, Jackson, or Bagley end up being a more dominant big man than DeMarcus Cousins? I can definitely see it happening with Ayton but Bamba, Jackson, and Bagley are all sortof situational players who are probably at best on the same level as Cousins (and that requires quite a bit of optimism). We have more room for improvement on the wing so the presumption that we're targeting a big here is a bit of a head scratcher to me. Even if Doncic/Porter/Bridges/Bridges/Porter max out as an almost All-Star or something we're still so so much better than we would be with a small upgrade at PF/C and no top talent on the wing. I don't think waiting for another draft year to get our wing is practical either. This is the highest pick this team is every likely to get. Get another pick if you have to but we really need to get a star level wing somehow this year.

Doncic struggles to beat guys off the dribble now and often uses up a lot of clock with crossovers from the perimeter to try and get some kind of opening to compensate for not being able to put his head down and get a shoulder past his defender. Again, if his shot develops (and he has very good/simple mechanics) then I could see him being a decent scorer when playing off of a primary scoring option. But I don't see a kid where you can say, "go get a bucket" and he can do that each time. I'm a big Doncic fan, but I think he's a very high level complimentary player and not the best player on a playoff team.

This is not what I saw at all. He was the man this year on that Real Madrid team after Lull got injured but it's also the Euroleague and he's still a teenager. They had plenty of firepower without him and I didn't see him pressing the issue that much because he didn't need to. When the team needed a basket though, more often than not he found a way to make a play either by drawing a foul, hitting a jumper, or making a smart pass. I think sometimes people just don't understand how different the Euroleague is from the NBA. It's a 40 min game and Real Madrid has a deep roster. Luka led his team at 25mpg. So sure he's not going to score 30 points per game but look at what he managed to accomplish relative to the rest of the league: #2 in fouls drawn, #2 in Free Throw attempts, #3 in points scored overall. His scoring pedigree is very impressive. There are times when he over dribbles but most of the time he makes quick decisive moves that end in point scoring opportunities.

I don't think it's accurate to say that Doncic can't beat guys off the dribble either. If you're going to pull 4 guys back and ask Luka to do something with the ball that's a situation where he will probably struggle against NBA defenders but so would 90% of the players in the NBA. There are very few Kyrie Irvings and Russell Westbrooks that can isolate and score with any kind of efficiency playing a 1 on 5 type of game. And we might already have one of those guys in De'Aaron Fox anyway. But if you go to a 4 out offense like Golden State or Houston where there are always shooters spreading the floor and you run some screening action at the point of attack, Luka won't need to beat the first defender on his own to be a dominant force. All he needs to do is make smart decisions out of the pick and roll and he might be the best 19 year old I've ever seen with regards to making smart decisions out of the pick and roll. The defensive criticism make a lot more sense to me. As a scorer Donic might not be a high volume guy but if he's contributing 7 or more assists per game you can basically double his scoring total to account for his overall impact. That's where his superstar potential lies to me.

 

[funkykingston]

This is not what I saw at all. He was the man this year on that Real Madrid team after Lull got injured but it's also the Euroleague and he's still a teenager. They had plenty of firepower without him and I didn't see him pressing the issue that much because he didn't need to. When the team needed a basket though, more often than not he found a way to make a play either by drawing a foul, hitting a jumper, or making a smart pass. I think sometimes people just don't understand how different the Euroleague is from the NBA. It's a 40 min game and Real Madrid has a deep roster. Luka led his team at 25mpg. So sure he's not going to score 30 points per game but look at what he managed to accomplish relative to the rest of the league: #2 in fouls drawn, #2 in Free Throw attempts, #3 in points scored overall. His scoring pedigree is very impressive. There are times when he over dribbles but most of the time he makes quick decisive moves that end in point scoring opportunities.

I don't think it's accurate to say that Doncic can't beat guys off the dribble either. If you're going to pull 4 guys back and ask Luka to do something with the ball that's a situation where he will probably struggle against NBA defenders but so would 90% of the players in the NBA. There are very few Kyrie Irvings and Russell Westbrooks that can isolate and score with any kind of efficiency playing a 1 on 5 type of game. And we might already have one of those guys in De'Aaron Fox anyway. But if you go to a 4 out offense like Golden State or Houston where there are always shooters spreading the floor and you run some screening action at the point of attack, Luka won't need to beat the first defender on his own to be a dominant force. All he needs to do is make smart decisions out of the pick and roll and he might be the best 19 year old I've ever seen with regards to making smart decisions out of the pick and roll. The defensive criticism make a lot more sense to me. As a scorer Donic might not be a high volume guy but if he's contributing 7 or more assists per game you can basically double his scoring total to account for his overall impact. That's where his superstar potential lies to me.

To a certain extent I'm playing devil's advocate. I love Luka. I am just trying hard to convince myself that if the Kings draft him they aren't missing out on 2 or more potential stars and settling on a guy that's a high level role player.

I'd love it if he was the best player from this draft because he plays a style of basketball that is really fun to watch.

The other reason is that Luka represents a sort of, best case scenario for the Kings. Fox makes a leap, Giles is a stud. WCS finally plays consistently and focuses on defense, Hield and Bogie continue to improve. And in the middle is Doncic, helping make everyone else better.

The Kings would still need a stretch 4 and probably an improved backup PG unless Frank also improves significantly but that team (on paper anyway) would move the ball well, get up and down the court and make games a lot more fun.

 

[hrdboild]

To a certain extent I'm playing devil's advocate. I love Luka. I am just trying hard to convince myself that if the Kings draft him they aren't missing out on 2 or more potential stars and settling on a guy that's a high level role player.

I'd love it if he was the best player from this draft because he plays a style of basketball that is really fun to watch.

The other reason is that Luka represents a sort of, best case scenario for the Kings. Fox makes a leap, Giles is a stud. WCS finally plays consistently and focuses on defense, Hield and Bogie continue to improve. And in the middle is Doncic, helping make everyone else better.

The Kings would still need a stretch 4 and probably an improved backup PG unless Frank also improves significantly but that team (on paper anyway) would move the ball well, get up and down the court and make games a lot more fun.

That's fair. I've been in the position of defending Doncic a lot on this board mostly because I don't think it's fair to assume that he's going to struggle because he's not a freak athlete and that's the direction the conversation has gone but I like a lot of players in this draft too. I have my own rankings but regardless of who we pass over to get them, I would be pretty thrilled with adding Jaren Jackson, Mo Bamba, DeAndre Ayton, Miles Bridges, Mikal Bridges, or even Marvin Bagley who isn't my favorite prospect here but he's got a lot of points in his favor. So that's 7 guys already and more than that -- I don't see how you take them at #2 over all these guys -- but I see a lot of sleeper potential with Wendell Carter and Collin Sexton too. The only guys projected in the top 10 that I wouldn't be happy with are Trae Young and Michael Porter.

The toughest part about this draft for me is that I want more than 1 of these guys! The other tough thing is that every one of them comes with a slight caveat which makes you talk yourself out of them. Ayton watching players dribble by him for layups just a little too much, Doncic occasionally looking like he's tripping over his own feet when pressured, Jackson making some of the dumbest reach-in fouls this side of Jason Thompson, Bamba missing too many shots at the rim for a guy with a 9'8" (!!) standing reach, Bagley almost single-handily blowing up Duke's zone defense with his poor awareness and/or lack of effort, Miles Bridges trying to be the rare 6'5" tweener forward to succeed in the NBA. I'll toy with picking each of them and then one of these factors will plant a seed of doubt in my mind and then I start thinking somebody else looks really good. I don't have anything negative to say about Mikal Bridges though -- so maybe he's the guy?