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Luka Doncic thread


frosgrim

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I've been going back and forth on Doncic and Ayton, but I get the feeling that I would be more apprehensive missing out on Doncic. Not only is it impressive for him to be so skilled, intelligent, and competitive in a tough league at 18, but he's getting every team's best shot. Everyone wants to derail the hype train. He's going to be battle-tested and as much as the opposing talent with increase in the NBA, he'll have more space to work with and better talent around him. 

We haven't had someone who could simply "get buckets" since Joe. It's what we've been missing to get us over the hump in many of those playoff losses. Doncic has pretty good handles and a big body to create space and those step-back jumpers are beautiful. His long range percentages aren't quite where you want them to be, but that's not really a concern for an 18 year old with clear shooting talent who hasn't enrolled in Bud U yet.

We've also missed out on countless dunks/free throws over the last two seasons with Dwight and Collins because we don't have the passers to convert simple lob passes consistently, much less take advantage of the smaller windows of opportunity. Adding another capable ball-handler would do wonders for our efficiency. Doncic/Collins is a pairing that could grow into the deadliest in the league.

My biggest concern with Doncic is how he fits with Dennis. There are potential issues on both sides of the ball there. Dennis hasn't shown much off-ball ability in his career and winning with poor defenders at both guard spots is tough. Neither of them are doomed to be bad defenders, though. Collins/Ayton would have similar defensive concerns, but I would say they have a higher defensive ceiling and they're a more intriguing duo overall out of the gates. I just think Ayton has more bust potential and if they both pan out I'd rather have the star SG.

Those are my early feelings. Still a long way to go before the draft. I'm not too interested in Bagley at the moment. He may project to be a better player than Collins, but there's so much overlap there and we have a chance to add big time talents at positions of need. Unless you think he's head and shoulders above the rest (or we don't end up with a top 2 pick) it doesn't seem like a smart pick. 

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On 1/2/2018 at 1:59 PM, High5 said:

I've been going back and forth on Doncic and Ayton, but I get the feeling that I would be more apprehensive missing out on Doncic. Not only is it impressive for him to be so skilled, intelligent, and competitive in a tough league at 18, but he's getting every team's best shot. Everyone wants to derail the hype train. He's going to be battle-tested and as much as the opposing talent with increase in the NBA, he'll have more space to work with and better talent around him. 

We haven't had someone who could simply "get buckets" since Joe. It's what we've been missing to get us over the hump in many of those playoff losses. Doncic has pretty good handles and a big body to create space and those step-back jumpers are beautiful. His long range percentages aren't quite where you want them to be, but that's not really a concern for an 18 year old with clear shooting talent who hasn't enrolled in Bud U yet.

We've also missed out on countless dunks/free throws over the last two seasons with Dwight and Collins because we don't have the passers to convert simple lob passes consistently, much less take advantage of the smaller windows of opportunity. Adding another capable ball-handler would do wonders for our efficiency. Doncic/Collins is a pairing that could grow into the deadliest in the league.

My biggest concern with Doncic is how he fits with Dennis. There are potential issues on both sides of the ball there. Dennis hasn't shown much off-ball ability in his career and winning with poor defenders at both guard spots is tough. Neither of them are doomed to be bad defenders, though. Collins/Ayton would have similar defensive concerns, but I would say they have a higher defensive ceiling and they're a more intriguing duo overall out of the gates. I just think Ayton has more bust potential and if they both pan out I'd rather have the star SG.

Those are my early feelings. Still a long way to go before the draft. I'm not too interested in Bagley at the moment. He may project to be a better player than Collins, but there's so much overlap there and we have a chance to add big time talents at positions of need. Unless you think he's head and shoulders above the rest (or we don't end up with a top 2 pick) it doesn't seem like a smart pick. 

2 words: Bing. Go.

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On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 0:52 PM, NBASupes said:

Excellent player. Excellent system fit, I am not sold on the personnel fit. But I like what I see

Not trying to challenge, but what do you mean by personnel fit?

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16 minutes ago, frosgrim said:

Not trying to challenge, but what do you mean by personnel fit?

Probably that we have a PG now who needs the ball to be effective and who might be easier to fit with a big than another ballhandler/passer.  

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15 hours ago, AHF said:

Probably that we have a PG now who needs the ball to be effective and who might be easier to fit with a big than another ballhandler/passer.  

yeah, I could see that argument. But other teams have figured it out. IMO, the Hawks just need to draft the best player, independent of position right now. None of us are sure about what Dennis, Prince, and Collins will turn into, so keep building the raw, young talent and then build the fit from there. 

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18 hours ago, frosgrim said:

Not trying to challenge, but what do you mean by personnel fit?

Dennis and him aren't really a fit. There is no big who can protect perimeter players on this team defensively. He would in turn have too much responsibility on this team and that's a bad thing.

Saying he can fit Bud would only be accurate if he can fit our personnel. He does fit the motion offense, I agree.

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2 hours ago, frosgrim said:

yeah, I could see that argument. But other teams have figured it out. IMO, the Hawks just need to draft the best player, independent of position right now. None of us are sure about what Dennis, Prince, and Collins will turn into, so keep building the raw, young talent and then build the fit from there. 

If they are doing that, Bagley should be the pick

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NBAdraft.net updated their list: 

http://www.nbadraft.net/2018-extended-mock-draft-20

I agree to a degree on Doncic comparison with Smitty. He's very similar in body type and style out of MSU. Smitty was more athletic before the injuries but he couldn't shoot or dribble anywhere near as good as Doncic. Other than that, they are similar. Smitty was a better defender back then than Doncic is now. 

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This is a very tough call. Maybe some pre-draft work with Doncic will help Bud get a feel for his game. My comp is a prime Ginobili, who I think was held back by Pop. Ginobili could have been a top 5 NBA scorer in his prime. In the 2004 Olympics team USA had no answer for him. 

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I'm starting to believe it's a 2 player draft between Doncic and Bagley. I'd love either, and think Bagley/Collins would be more than fine. Their intangibles push them ahead of Ayton IMO, tools are better than Young. Curious where Porter falls.

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On ‎1‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 9:50 AM, NBASupes said:

If they are doing that, Bagley should be the pick

Maybe, There are a ton of opinions out there- but I do think if you get a top 5 pick and you don't anyone else of comparable talent- you take best player available. The Hawks are in no place to overvalue a position of "need" when the cupboard is as bare as it is on this team.

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