2018 NBA Draft

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Sorry if you’ve discussed this elsewhere, but if everything unfold as expected who do you take at 3?

I'm am torn between Bagley and Bamba. You could make a strong case for either. With Bagley, you can start him at the 4 and move him to the 5 with substitutions. With Bamba, you have a defensive anchor that rebounds which the team so desperately needs.

Bagley will almost undoubtedly have a better rookie year which does mean something if the Mavs aren't tanking again.

I'm pretty much all in on Ayton, Bamba, or Bagley

I'm more lukewarm with Doncic, JJJ, and MPJ for various reasons.

[tap2390]

I’ve done some soul-searching and have determined that I really think Bagley should be drafted over Bamba. It really boils down to offensive skill for me. I also think it is easier to teach defense than it is to teach someone to be assertive and have an alpha attitude. It really reminds me of the debate between DSJ and Ntlikina.

[sefant77]

Suns hired Kokoskov as new HC, the guy won Eurobasket as HC of Slovenia...so i wouldnt be surprised if the Suns pick Doncic, even at #1

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Suns hired Kokoskov as new HC, the guy won Eurobasket as HC of Slovenia...so i wouldnt be surprised if the Suns pick Doncic, even at #1

@SkinWade: maaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn, those rumblings about McDonough wanting Doncic over Ayton just got some added fuel for the fire

@dalton_trigg: Remember that time the #Mavs hired Frank Ntilikina’s coach & we all accepted that he was going to be the pick at #9? Good times man.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Well if you really want to test those tin foil hats, isn't the only prospect in this draft that Cuban is following on Twitter Doncic? I think he's also following his gf, cuz that's not weird or anything.

[tap2390]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

Well if you really want to test those tin foil hats, isn't the only prospect in this draft that Cuban is following on Twitter Doncic? I think he's also following his gf, cuz that's not weird or anything.

That’s about as obvious of a smokescreen as I’ve seen. Cuban’s way of making sure someone expends capital to take Doncic top-2 out of fear Mavs will take him at 3. Will it work? Ask Phil Jackson. 😂

[hayth.james.g]

Originally Posted by tap2390

That’s about as obvious of a smokescreen as I’ve seen. Cuban’s way of making sure someone expends capital to take Doncic top-2 out of fear Mavs will take him at 3. Will it work? Ask Phil Jackson. 😂

I would love Doncic. Just saying ...

[sefant77]

No need for a smokescreen. If we pick #3 and Doncic is there we are taking him.

And with the Suns its now pretty clear, if they pick Top-2, its one of Ayton/Doncic for them. They wont take any other player that high

[SMC0007]

I still think it will come down to does Memphis want another big who is ready to go along side Gasol or not

[Underdog]

LOL, none of this means anything until the lotto balls tell us what the order is.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Underdog

LOL, none of this means anything until the lotto balls tell us what the order is.

Ugh. Captain logic to the rescue!

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by Underdog

LOL, none of this means anything until the lotto balls tell us what the order is.

Not too much longer! May 15th?

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by BPo001

Not too much longer! May 15th?

Yes! Thank goodness.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by Underdog

LOL, none of this means anything until the lotto balls tell us what the order is.

Yeah and it is freaking annoying that it takes so long from the end of RS until the lottery

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Yeah and it is freaking annoying that it takes so long from the end of RS until the lottery

And another month between draft lottery and draft.

Mid May for lottery
Mid June for draft

[saclare]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I'm am torn between Bagley and Bamba. You could make a strong case for either. With Bagley, you can start him at the 4 and move him to the 5 with substitutions. With Bamba, you have a defensive anchor that rebounds which the team so desperately needs.

Bagley will almost undoubtedly have a better rookie year which does mean something if the Mavs aren't tanking again.

I'm pretty much all in on Ayton, Bamba, or Bagley

I'm more lukewarm with Doncic, JJJ, and MPJ for various reasons.

100% agree. My top 3 is Ayton/Bamba/Bagley with heavy consideration and consternation between Bamba/Bagley. That is, if the balls fall and we know we are drafting top 3. I think someone will take Doncic ahead of us if that is the case.

[sefant77]

I think the potential for the most wild draft has the scenario where the Suns pick Doncic at #1 and the Grizz are at #2 and dont go after Ayton because of fit/win now with Gasol/Conley...

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by sefant77

I think the potential for the most wild draft has the scenario where the Suns pick Doncic at #1 and the Grizz are at #2 and dont go after Ayton because of fit/win now with Gasol/Conley...

I could see them nabbing bridges, making the three a rollercoaster

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

I could see them nabbing bridges, making the three a rollercoaster

You could see the Griz taking Bridges at 2?

[j0Shi]

Doncic will go #1 or #2 regardless. Just depends on what team picks first. Not sure why he doesn't want to work out, but what you've been hearing in the last months is that dude is simply gassed from playing like every available game in the last three years, no off-season, nothing. I could see why he has little to gain from working out and much to lose by looking weak.

Also screw "fit". If we draft and either Ayton or Doncic are available, you take them regardless. After those two you start incorporating stuff like how guys would look next to DSJ.

From what I've been reading I'm big on Bridges as well. Ayton is a no-brainer, but not sure I'd pick any of the other bigs over him. At least I wouldn't be mad. From the second tier I'm most concerned with Porter. Unless he looks super strong in workouts, easy pass. And thankfully we already have our PG, because god knows we love undersized guys and I do not want any part of Trae Young...

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

Also screw "fit". If we draft and either Ayton or Doncic are available, you take them regardless. After those two you start incorporating stuff like how guys would look next to DSJ.

I disagree, the fit of Doncic and DSJ would be horrible... If Luka is your guy, then you look to trade Dennis, otherwise you have two ball-dominant guys whose strengths are greatly diminished if you take the ball out of their hands.

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by Underdog

I disagree, the fit of Doncic and DSJ would be horrible... If Luka is your guy, then you look to trade Dennis, otherwise you have two ball-dominant guys whose strengths are greatly diminished if you take the ball out of their hands.

Yeah sure, that might what it'll eventually come down to. Doncic is still the kind of talent you simply can't pass on, much less because of another unproven rookie. I like what we've seen from DSJ in his first year, but still gotta put it into perspective. He's not there yet to "block" any draft options. If we go #1 and have the choice, you pick Ayton for sure (as of right now). But going #2 and not picking Doncic would be rough.

That said, much can change from now to the draft. Guys suddenly impress in workouts and whatnot. We'll see.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

You could see the Griz taking Bridges at 2?

Yup. I really can.

[sefant77]

I think if they reach because of fit it would be more Bagley. They dont really have to worry about the tweener stuff and they can hide him at D.

And they need a third scorer with Evans gone...

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by sefant77

I think if they reach because of fit it would be more Bagley. They dont really have to worry about the tweener stuff and they cant hide him at D.

And they need a third scorer with Evans gone...

Yeah, I agree that Bagley fits Memphis' needs more than Bridges... Although Bridges would definitely help them out (but he's the kind of player that would help any team out).

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by sefant77

I think if they reach because of fit it would be more Bagley. They dont really have to worry about the tweener stuff and they cant hide him at D.

And they need a third scorer with Evans gone...

I agree with this. I think he'd fit really well next to Gasol. The flip-side is I think he fits us terribly. He can't and likely never will be able to defend at the 5 spot. Which means he'd need a big next to him who can anchor a defense and stretch the floor. Even if he was able to be a legitimate 3pt shooter I think his real gift is his rim rolling ability. And he can't rim roll as well with a 2nd big in the paint. It's why I've dropped Bagley from my top 3-4 and moved him more to 5-6. I'd take Bamba over him easily as of now personally. I'm even betting on the huge upside of JJJ over him. He's 5-6 to me competing with MPJ. If Bagley displayed the ability to pass or initiate an offense I wouldn't be as scared but the only tweener right now who is a game changer is Green and Bagley doesn't display any of those abilities as far as I'm aware of. And since we are more than likely picking in the top 4 I just don't like him over Ayton Doncic Bamba or JJJ personally.

[mac222b]

[QUOTE=Bryan_Wilson;1435071]I agree with this. I think he'd fit really well next to Gasol. The flip-side is I think he fits us terribly. He can't and likely never will be able to defend at the 5 spot. Which means he'd need a big next to him who can anchor a defense and stretch the floor. Even if he was able to be a legitimate 3pt shooter I think his real gift is his rim rolling ability. And he can't rim roll as well with a 2nd big in the paint. It's why I've dropped Bagley from my top 3-4 and moved him more to 5-6. I'd take Bamba over him easily as of now personally. I'm even betting on the huge upside of JJJ over him. He's 5-6 to me competing with MPJ. If Bagley displayed the ability to pass or initiate an offense I wouldn't be as scared but the only tweener right now who is a game changer is Green and Bagley doesn't display any of those abilities as far as I'm aware of. And since we are more than likely picking in the top 4 I just don't like him over Ayton Doncic Bamba or JJJ personally.[/QUOTE

Agree with all of this. Guys I like: Bamba, Mikal Bridges, JJJ, and to a lesser extent Porter.
Would be ok with Doncic or Ayton but not thrilled. Bagley is just meh for me.

All of this is mainly as regards their respective fits with our current Mavs

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

I agree with this. I think he'd fit really well next to Gasol. The flip-side is I think he fits us terribly. He can't and likely never will be able to defend at the 5 spot. Which means he'd need a big next to him who can anchor a defense and stretch the floor. Even if he was able to be a legitimate 3pt shooter I think his real gift is his rim rolling ability. And he can't rim roll as well with a 2nd big in the paint. It's why I've dropped Bagley from my top 3-4 and moved him more to 5-6. I'd take Bamba over him easily as of now personally. I'm even betting on the huge upside of JJJ over him. He's 5-6 to me competing with MPJ. If Bagley displayed the ability to pass or initiate an offense I wouldn't be as scared but the only tweener right now who is a game changer is Green and Bagley doesn't display any of those abilities as far as I'm aware of. And since we are more than likely picking in the top 4 I just don't like him over Ayton Doncic Bamba or JJJ personally.

I think you're wayyyy underplaying what Bagley brings to the table. Mavs need ANY big man help, so I'm not really that concerned with the fit despite being a tweener 4/5. The guy is an absolutely monster around the basket both scoring and rebounding-wise. And while he doesn't take a ton of them, he can hit the three ball. We'll see if he can hit the NBA three, but he has decent form and stroke from my eye test.

The defense is concerning, but I can't see why he wouldn't be able to learn with his physical tools and athleticism. And I think Shamgod will help with those handles.

And the fact is, if 21/11 for the season isn't impressive, then the fact that he shot over 60%!!! from the floor should blow minds.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

The defense is concerning, but I can't see why he wouldn't be able to learn with his physical tools and athleticism. And I think Shamgod will help with those handles.

Al Jefferson never learned D
Amare never learned D
Greg Monroe never learned D

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Al Jefferson never learned D
Amare never learned D
Greg Monroe never learned D

That's fine, but not all players are the same. And I'll take a prime, pre-injury better rebounding Amare any day of the week. That's Bagley's ceiling IMO.

Oh and our great Uber was a bad defender but learned how to be a decent one. It's not out of the question if the work ethic and team dynamic is right.

[Bryan_Wilson]

It's concerning to me though that Bagley is a human pogo stick and got less than 1 block a game. So not even in help defense is he excelling or even doing above average. 21/10 -11 is great and he's clearly better offensively right now than others but I'm really really scared he's a better version of Powell. With the tools he has he should be close to Noel on defense and he's nowhere close imo. He's a better perimeter defender than a paint defender so I just can't see him anchoring a defense like Bamba, and that is my biggest issue. To me he's a pf but he rim rolls like a center and possibly could stretch the floor. But if you stretch the floor with him aren't you taking away from what makes him special? Even if it's not every possession it's still taking his freakish athleticism away from the rim. 4 of his 11 rebs a game were offensive. How many is he getting if he's spacing the floor shooting 3's? I don't like sacrificing what makes him special I'd rather pair him with an ideal fit next to him but that ideal fit is basically Marc Gasol and nobody else I can think of off hand. I'd still take him at 5-6 and be happy but as of now he's a tweener to me who is very very risky for a top 3-4 pick. His floor is higher than JJJ but his ceiling to me isn't nearly as high.

[EricaLubarsky]

As much as the draft predictions have been relatively stable to this point, there is no clear ranking of players. The top-10 is going to be anarchy this year. I'm just hoping that Donnie Jr. is up to it.

Craziest predictions I think may be plausible?

Bridges can make it to the top 3
Bamba going above Ayton
Doncic dropping to 5-12
Porter going going 12-25

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

As much as the draft predictions have been relatively stable to this point, there is no clear ranking of players. The top-10 is going to be anarchy this year. I'm just hoping that Donnie Jr. is up to it.

Craziest predictions I think may be plausible?

Bridges can make it to the top 3
Bamba going above Ayton
Doncic dropping to 5-12
Porter going going 12-25

If Porter drops that far I'm going to be sending 10,000 carrier pigeons to the war room demanding they trade back into the first to get him. And if they refuse me... well... I'll send another batch of 10,000 with a different kind of present.

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

As much as the draft predictions have been relatively stable to this point, there is no clear ranking of players. The top-10 is going to be anarchy this year. I'm just hoping that Donnie Jr. is up to it.

Craziest predictions I think may be plausible?

Bridges can make it to the top 3
Bamba going above Ayton
Doncic dropping to 5-12
Porter going going 12-25

First two, yes. Second two, no way. Unless Porter's back is real bad

[sefant77]

Doncic Not even drops until #5

Thinking he drops so far is crazy

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Craziest predictions I think may be plausible?

Bridges can make it to the top 3
Bamba going above Ayton
Doncic dropping to 5-12
Porter going going 12-25

There's a better chance that none of them happen than even one of them happening, but I can definitely see a possibility for any of these predictions... It really depends on team workouts and the combine, especially for Porter. He could go outside the top-10 or he could end up going #1 overall. Still too many unknowns in this draft... And I personally have Doncic at #5 (with Bridges at #4), so I could see other teams feeling the same, depending on need. Also, Bamba is already closing the gap with Ayton -- no reason we can't see a flip if he absolutely destroys the combine.

So, crazy? Yep... Plausible? Also yep.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

It's concerning to me though that Bagley is a human pogo stick and got less than 1 block a game. So not even in help defense is he excelling or even doing above average. 21/10 -11 is great and he's clearly better offensively right now than others but I'm really really scared he's a better version of Powell. With the tools he has he should be close to Noel on defense and he's nowhere close imo. He's a better perimeter defender than a paint defender so I just can't see him anchoring a defense like Bamba, and that is my biggest issue. To me he's a pf but he rim rolls like a center and possibly could stretch the floor. But if you stretch the floor with him aren't you taking away from what makes him special? Even if it's not every possession it's still taking his freakish athleticism away from the rim. 4 of his 11 rebs a game were offensive. How many is he getting if he's spacing the floor shooting 3's? I don't like sacrificing what makes him special I'd rather pair him with an ideal fit next to him but that ideal fit is basically Marc Gasol and nobody else I can think of off hand. I'd still take him at 5-6 and be happy but as of now he's a tweener to me who is very very risky for a top 3-4 pick. His floor is higher than JJJ but his ceiling to me isn't nearly as high.

I agree with a lot of this except for thinking he'll be standing outside the three point line. I think he'll just use the three as a lethal part of his inside game. If teams try to take that away, then he'll go outside for an occasional three.

I think now is the time to have a dominant inside big due to the lack of defensive bigs in the game. Start him at the 4 and move him to the 5 when the Mavs go small. I really don't see that as a huge fit issue. Probably have move Powell though since they have similar play styles.

I will say this though, if the Mavs get the 5th pick, then I'd give drafting Bamba 90% provided he is available. I think it's still safe to bet on Ayton, Doncic, JJJ, and Bagley being the top 4, but who knows.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Underdog

There's a better chance that none of them happen than even one of them happening, but I can definitely see a possibility for any of these predictions... It really depends on team workouts and the combine, especially for Porter. He could go outside the top-10 or he could end up going #1 overall. Still too many unknowns in this draft... And I personally have Doncic at #5 (with Bridges at #4), so I could see other teams feeling the same, depending on need. Also, Bamba is already closing the gap with Ayton -- no reason we can't see a flip if he absolutely destroys the combine.

So, crazy? Yep... Plausible? Also yep.

Are you reading my mind?!? I had Bridges 4 and Doncic 5.

That may change once the lottery happens but that’s creepy.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Are you reading my mind?!? I had Bridges 4 and Doncic 5.

That may change once the lottery happens but that’s creepy.

Crazy, what's your top-6 for the Mavs look like?

[hayth.james.g]

Seems like Doncic is falling off hard here. I guess it makes sense from a fit perspective. I personally love his game and what he will bring to the NBA.