The 2017 BRK Pick Will Be A PG ... and That's OK

[clevelandceltic]

I don't see the point in trading Smart when his value is so low. I'd rather deal Bradley at this point and get a legit big. Trade Horford for Saric and Noel. Then Bradley for Kevin Love. Who says no?

So Smart becomes the starting 2 guard?

[saltlover]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

[clevelandceltic]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

Based on what? Yes he is a very good prospect but you make it sound like there is no one even close to him which is certainly not the case.

[saltlover]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

Based on what? Yes he is a very good prospect but you make it sound like there is no one even close to him which is certainly not the case.

No one close to him.  He's 17 and could be in the rotation of a handful of NBA teams today.  Can't say that about anyone else in the class of 2018.

[Ilikesports17]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

Based on what? Yes he is a very good prospect but you make it sound like there is no one even close to him which is certainly not the case.

No one close to him.  He's 17 and could be in the rotation of a handful of NBA teams today.  Can't say that about anyone else in the class of 2018.

8 points and 20 minutes a game? Could he really fit in an NBA rotation? hes 6'7" 195. And hes not real athletic. That seems like a stretch. But 100% of the things I know about him comes from his DX page and this
http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Luka-Doncic/Summary/54148

[oldtype]

Doncic is very promising.  Putting up those kinds of numbers at age 17 in the Spanish League apparently breaks most statistical models, which is why he's exciting so many people.

It's a bit early to be saying that he's so far ahead of Porter Jr. or Ayton though.

[saltlover]

Doncic is very promising.  Putting up those kinds of numbers at age 17 in the Spanish League apparently breaks most statistical models, which is why he's exciting so many people.

It's a bit early to be saying that he's so far ahead of Porter Jr. or Ayton though.

I'm sorry, but on Celticsblog it's never too early to be obsessed with a potential draftee to the exclusion of all others.  When he's All-NBA in his third season, I want to be able to say "I told you so."  He's my new Giannis.

[clevelandceltic]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

Based on what? Yes he is a very good prospect but you make it sound like there is no one even close to him which is certainly not the case.

No one close to him.  He's 17 and could be in the rotation of a handful of NBA teams today.  Can't say that about anyone else in the class of 2018.

Oko then you would be unique in that opinion and I hope that youre correct for your sake but I like most people who have seen many of the 18 players would disagree that there is no one even close

[vjcsmoke]

I don't see the point in trading Smart when his value is so low. I'd rather deal Bradley at this point and get a legit big. Trade Horford for Saric and Noel. Then Bradley for Kevin Love. Who says no?

I say no.  And DA ultimately says no.

1. Bradley is tradeable but only for the right player.  Not just a rotation big, not just a bandaid who can soak up some rebounds, but in a package for a star player.
2. You don't trade your biggest free agent signing in the history of your franchise, Horford, the next day.  It sends a really bad message to future free agents looking to sign with Boston.
3. Kevin Love is completely overrated and injury prone.  Adding his salary kills our ability to go after a legit star free agent.  There's a reason Cleveland wants to dump Love and New York wants to dump Carmelo.  We should not touch either of those guys.

Back to the topic.  If we draft Fultz or Ball, they are both big guards, so we should easily be able to play IT/Fultz at the same time for example.  Smart is probably the most expendable as Bradley offers about the same level of defense but with better offense.  And whoever the new PG we draft is, he would probably be at least better ball handler than Bradley.  Not to mention Rozier is still around for backup 3rd string PG duties.

[clevelandceltic]

Doncic is very promising.  Putting up those kinds of numbers at age 17 in the Spanish League apparently breaks most statistical models, which is why he's exciting so many people.

It's a bit early to be saying that he's so far ahead of Porter Jr. or Ayton though.

I'm sorry, but on Celticsblog it's never too early to be obsessed with a potential draftee to the exclusion of all others.  When he's All-NBA in his third season, I want to be able to say "I told you so."  He's my new Giannis.

I can see getting excited about him but I just dont see it the way you see it. What Porter can do at 6'10 is pretty special when he is aggressive. Ayton even more so. Ayton is kinda like Towns except he doesnt look to dominate the same way as Towns and his back to the basket game isnt as good. Very similar in terms of running the floor and shooting ability.

[saltlover]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

Based on what? Yes he is a very good prospect but you make it sound like there is no one even close to him which is certainly not the case.

No one close to him.  He's 17 and could be in the rotation of a handful of NBA teams today.  Can't say that about anyone else in the class of 2018.

8 points and 20 minutes a game? Could he really fit in an NBA rotation? hes 6'7" 195. And hes not real athletic. That seems like a stretch. But 100% of the things I know about him comes from his DX page and this
http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Luka-Doncic/Summary/54148

1) 20 minutes a game is a decent amount.  Euroleague is only 40 minutes a game.  No one on his team plays even 30 minutes.

2) Because of 1, only one player on his team averages more than 10 points per game, so 8 is a very reasonable amount.

3) He's 17, on the 1st place team in Europe.  He's played more minutes as the season has gone on, and is now a starter (except today when he was injured.  So don't look at today's box score).  Per game averages are pulled down a little bit by this -- he's at 11/5/5, with a 3:1 assist:turnover ratio in 23 minutes over his last 8 games, when he's primarily been a starter.

4) I said a "handful of teams", not every team.  But he could totally be in Brooklyn's rotation, or Philly's, or Dallas, Orlando, probably Sacramento.  I'm not saying that he's better than even Terry Rozier today.  But yes, he could earn regular minutes on a bad NBA team, right now, at 17.  You can not say the same thing about Ayton or Bamba.  Those two could be forcefed minutes, but they wouldn't be earned.

Again, he's a starter on the best team in Europe.  No one has ever done that at his age before.  They're not even on the bad teams in Europe at his age.  Watch highlights of most games in the past month that Real Madrid has played in the last month, and he'll be in the center of the action, either with a critical shot or nice pass.  Ayton would be on the back of the bench in Europe, like Bender.  Bamba wouldn't even be that.

I'm not saying Ayton isn't a good prospect.  But he's not the generational talent in this class.  That's Doncic.  Sky's the limit.

EDIT: In the Zizic thread there's a little bit about research John Nichols did to find how much Eurostats correlated with NBA stats.  Rebounding, assists, and 3-point pct, all strengths of Doncic, had the best correlations.

[Ilikesports17]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

Based on what? Yes he is a very good prospect but you make it sound like there is no one even close to him which is certainly not the case.

No one close to him.  He's 17 and could be in the rotation of a handful of NBA teams today.  Can't say that about anyone else in the class of 2018.

8 points and 20 minutes a game? Could he really fit in an NBA rotation? hes 6'7" 195. And hes not real athletic. That seems like a stretch. But 100% of the things I know about him comes from his DX page and this
http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Luka-Doncic/Summary/54148

1) 20 minutes a game is a decent amount.  Euroleague is only 40 minutes a game.  No one on his team plays even 30 minutes.

2) Because of 1, only one player on his team averages more than 10 points per game, so 8 is a very reasonable amount.

3) He's 17, on the 1st place team in Europe.  He's played more minutes as the season has gone on, and is now a starter (except today when he was injured.  So don't look at today's box score).  Per game averages are pulled down a little bit by this -- he's at 11/5/5, with a 3:1 assist:turnover ratio in 23 minutes over his last 8 games, when he's primarily been a starter.

4) I said a "handful of teams", not every team.  But he could totally be in Brooklyn's rotation, or Philly's, or Dallas, Orlando, probably Sacramento.  I'm not saying that he's better than even Terry Rozier today.  But yes, he could earn regular minutes on a bad NBA team, right now, at 17.  You can not say the same thing about Ayton or Bamba.  Those two could be forcefed minutes, but they wouldn't be earned.

Again, he's a starter on the best team in Europe.  No one has ever done that at his age before.  They're not even on the bad teams in Europe at his age.  Watch highlights of most games in the past month that Real Madrid has played in the last month, and he'll be in the center of the action, either with a critical shot or nice pass.  Ayton would be on the back of the bench in Europe, like Bender.  Bamba wouldn't even be that.

I'm not saying Ayton isn't a good prospect.  But he's not the generational talent in this class.  That's Doncic.  Sky's the limit.

EDIT: In the Zizic thread there's a little bit about research John Nichols did to find how much Eurostats correlated with NBA stats.  Rebounding, assists, and 3-point pct, all strengths of Doncic, had the best correlations.

ah thank you for that context. Like I said, I wont pretend to know almost anything about Euro basketball.

[clevelandceltic]

Is this trend about 17 or 18?

The 2018 will be about drafting a big. 4 of the top 5 picks in most 2018 mock drafts are bigs.

The 2017 is about getting the best player available which will most likely be a point guard.

ah, but what if the best player is not a big?

Well at this point its very unlikely that the top player in 18 wont be a big. When you watch whom is available and the skills they provide Im hard pressed to see guys like Porter, Ayton, and Bamba to name a few not being the best player in 18.

I will say that I was really down on the 18 draft because I felt the top players really left something on the table. I will now say that having watched them again recently, I think a full engaged Ayton (this is a major challenge along with getting him in the post more) and an aggressive Michael Porter are better prospects than what we are seeing at the top of this years draft especially Ayton. Should be very interesting.

Luka Doncic is the best player in 2018, bar none.  Bigs are rarer, and Donkic is simply a 6'8" PG, so Luka might not go first.  But he's the best.

Based on what? Yes he is a very good prospect but you make it sound like there is no one even close to him which is certainly not the case.

No one close to him.  He's 17 and could be in the rotation of a handful of NBA teams today.  Can't say that about anyone else in the class of 2018.

8 points and 20 minutes a game? Could he really fit in an NBA rotation? hes 6'7" 195. And hes not real athletic. That seems like a stretch. But 100% of the things I know about him comes from his DX page and this
http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Luka-Doncic/Summary/54148

1) 20 minutes a game is a decent amount.  Euroleague is only 40 minutes a game.  No one on his team plays even 30 minutes.

2) Because of 1, only one player on his team averages more than 10 points per game, so 8 is a very reasonable amount.

3) He's 17, on the 1st place team in Europe.  He's played more minutes as the season has gone on, and is now a starter (except today when he was injured.  So don't look at today's box score).  Per game averages are pulled down a little bit by this -- he's at 11/5/5, with a 3:1 assist:turnover ratio in 23 minutes over his last 8 games, when he's primarily been a starter.

4) I said a "handful of teams", not every team.  But he could totally be in Brooklyn's rotation, or Philly's, or Dallas, Orlando, probably Sacramento.  I'm not saying that he's better than even Terry Rozier today.  But yes, he could earn regular minutes on a bad NBA team, right now, at 17.  You can not say the same thing about Ayton or Bamba.  Those two could be forcefed minutes, but they wouldn't be earned.

Again, he's a starter on the best team in Europe.  No one has ever done that at his age before.  They're not even on the bad teams in Europe at his age.  Watch highlights of most games in the past month that Real Madrid has played in the last month, and he'll be in the center of the action, either with a critical shot or nice pass.  Ayton would be on the back of the bench in Europe, like Bender.  Bamba wouldn't even be that.

I'm not saying Ayton isn't a good prospect.  But he's not the generational talent in this class.  That's Doncic.  Sky's the limit.

EDIT: In the Zizic thread there's a little bit about research John Nichols did to find how much Eurostats correlated with NBA stats.  Rebounding, assists, and 3-point pct, all strengths of Doncic, had the best correlations.

While all these things may be true. Michael Porter could get min in a few of the teams you mentioned rotation.

Also I have seen no one mention him as a generational talent and he has been on the seen for at least 2 or 3 years and have been scouted by NBA teams during his earlier years. That's not to say that he couldnt be. Just saying that I see him on the same level as Ayton and Porter.