With the #3 pick (!) in the 2018 draft, the Mavs get Luka Doncic

[SMC0007]

What's the deal with Luka being so aggressive when other players swipe the ball away after a turnover or dead ball. Maybe they are swiping his hands? IIRC,That's 2 times he has been willing to go at guys because of it.

[Dundalis]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

What's the deal with Luka being so aggressive when other players swipe the ball away after a turnover or dead ball. Maybe they are swiping his hands? IIRC,That's 2 times he has been willing to go at guys because of it.

Huh? I'd get pissed too. I feel like if you have any alpha male in you whatsoever, you wouldn't take that without showing some displeasure.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Dundalis

Huh? I'd get pissed too. I feel like if you have any alpha male in you whatsoever, you wouldn't take that without showing some displeasure.

Displeasure is fine... but It's not worth a fight or even a tech. It happened last season and his reaction wasn't as aggressive. It's not being an alpha when you give opponents a recipe to draw a tech from our best player.

[Bryan_Wilson]

I don't think any player likes it when you take the ball from them like that. It's a disrespect rly. And that rookie who did it is the one who escalated it by taking such an issue with Luka confronting him. If you are gonna take the ball from a player as confident as Luka your first reaction can't be to take a forearm to his neck. He wouldn't dare do that to Lebron or Giannis. But whether it's because Luka is a 2nd year player and reigning roy or a euro he thought he could earn some points with his team and coach maybe by being the "tough guy". Prolly also some chip on shoulder action for being barely drafted in the late 2nd. I like Luka standing his ground showing that things like that are not going to fly with him. And I have no doubt that if it had been a regular season game Luka would have proceeded to to come down and switched him into an iso situation and put his body into him and drawn a foul or drained a step back in his rook face. I have no problem with anything that happened until Mann put his arm up into Luka's neck. And I would bet Luka had no *real* issue either until that.

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

I don't think any player likes it when you take the ball from them like that. It's a disrespect rly. And that rookie who did it is the one who escalated it by taking such an issue with Luka confronting him. If you are gonna take the ball from a player as confident as Luka your first reaction can't be to take a forearm to his neck. He wouldn't dare do that to Lebron or Giannis. But whether it's because Luka is a 2nd year player and reigning roy or a euro he thought he could earn some points with his team and coach maybe by being the "tough guy". Prolly also some chip on shoulder action for being barely drafted in the late 2nd. I like Luka standing his ground showing that things like that are not going to fly with him. And I have no doubt that if it had been a regular season game Luka would have proceeded to to come down and switched him into an iso situation and put his body into him and drawn a foul or drained a step back in his rook face. I have no problem with anything that happened until Mann put his arm up into Luka's neck. And I would bet Luka had no *real* issue either until that.

Agreed tbh

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

I don't think any player likes it when you take the ball from them like that. It's a disrespect rly. And that rookie who did it is the one who escalated it by taking such an issue with Luka confronting him. If you are gonna take the ball from a player as confident as Luka your first reaction can't be to take a forearm to his neck. He wouldn't dare do that to Lebron or Giannis. But whether it's because Luka is a 2nd year player and reigning roy or a euro he thought he could earn some points with his team and coach maybe by being the "tough guy". Prolly also some chip on shoulder action for being barely drafted in the late 2nd. I like Luka standing his ground showing that things like that are not going to fly with him. And I have no doubt that if it had been a regular season game Luka would have proceeded to to come down and switched him into an iso situation and put his body into him and drawn a foul or drained a step back in his rook face. I have no problem with anything that happened until Mann put his arm up into Luka's neck. And I would bet Luka had no *real* issue either until that.

It is disrespect and blatant mind games, but swiping at the ball is something that is done almost every single game. Smalls do it to bigs, young to old, etc unless they make a rule for it, that won't change. It's one of the easiest ways to try and rattle a player...especially right after they turn it over. I love the aggressiveness from him and nba players in general. It's more fun to watch. I was just surprised that Luka has been so ready to go at it. As long as it doesn't lead to a suspension down the road by fighting with some scrub.

Also, I agree that the arm up in the neck was taking that situation to another level. It's something the refs should have addressed somehow.

[Underdog]

Luka is shitting all over the "soft Euro" tag... I'm fine with it, especially in the preseason.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Luka is shitting all over the "soft Euro" tag... I'm fine with it, especially in the preseason.

I hope the standing up for themselves continues into the season as long as they are smart about it. Most NBA guys are faux tough guys so there is rarely actual fighting.

[j0Shi]

I was really surprised that the Mavs weren't pushing the ball more against the Wizards. Watching the Hawks and Trae putting up 38 I got confirmed that this is what Luka should do. He is a magician in every situation and put up 17 in 10 iso possessions, but these are "hard" points nonetheless. Trae in the meantime put up 38 and 9 effortless because a good chunk came in transition.

Sure Trae is a better pure shooter, but I felt he was getting easier points by simply speeding up the game.

[hayth.james.g]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

I was really surprised that the Mavs weren't pushing the ball more against the Wizards. Watching the Hawks and Trae putting up 38 I got confirmed that this is what Luka should do. He is a magician in every situation and put up 17 in 10 iso possessions, but these are "hard" points nonetheless. Trae in the meantime put up 38 and 9 effortless because a good chunk came in transition.

Sure Trae is a better pure shooter, but I felt he was getting easier points by simply speeding up the game.

Why are we still talking about Trae? Completely different players with completely different rosters.

Luka had 30+ in 3 quarters. I would say the points came easy for him too.

[Skywalker]

1. Ayton suspended 25 games
2. Bagley out with a broken thumb

....




(knock on fucking wood)

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by hayth.james.g

Why are we still talking about Trae? Completely different players with completely different rosters.

Luka had 30+ in 3 quarters. I would say the points came easy for him too.

You missed my point. Not about Trae, he just happened to be a good example. Even Luka won't score 1.7 in iso through the season. These are hard possessions even if the best players tend to make it look easy.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I think Luka's lack of speed and athleticism tend to seem "hard" but if he is comfortable doing it and scores, oh well.

The fact is that many of those half court, iso drives for him were layups...the highest percentage shot in the game.

And the Hawks got the Pistons off of the 2nd night of a back to back. Pistons starting back court is trash.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

1. Ayton suspended 25 games

The Suns are such a trash organization.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Has a paltry 32.84 PER through two games. Come on man, you can do better than that!

[Bryan_Wilson]

It would be higher if he got more than 2 fta's last night.

[dirt_dobber]

Building a Wunderkind: What Phase 2 Looks Like for Luka Doncic
The second-year Mavs guard is already way ahead of the curve, but GM Donnie Nelson and others are still taking steps to lift Luka’s game to the next level .
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/1...taps-porzingis

[ChileanMavsFan]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...oncic-trickery

Nice reference to Luka's up and under move, which is crazy effective and amazing to watch.

3. Luka Doncic, faking you out of your shoes
Hypothesis: Doncic has the nastiest, most convincing up-and-under move on Earth.

Most players go into an up-and-under having made up their mind to shoot. They have no Plan B. Doncic digests so much visual information in real time -- and is so smart anticipating where every player is about to be -- he can pivot (literally) into Plans B, C or D:

Numbers alone tell you Doncic is off to a crazy start: 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists per game on 47% shooting, including a scorching 58% on 2s. He has almost excised long 2s in favor of shots at the rim and 3s.

The eye test tells you even more. Doncic is thinking two steps ahead of everyone. His trademark pass as a rookie was probably the LeBron-style crosscourt laser to corner shooters. Already this season, he has shown mastery of other tricky dishes that reveal themselves -- only for a flash, and only to the very best passers -- in the run of play.

[Underdog]

Lowe: Ten NBA things I like and don't like, including Luka Doncic trickery
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...oncic-trickery

Hypothesis: Doncic has the nastiest, most convincing up-and-under move on Earth.

[dirt_dobber]

Rebounding Wings Are the NBA’s Next Market Inefficiency
Luka Doncic’s offensive wizardry is well-known by now, but his ability to crash the boards like a big man has quietly been the key to the Mavericks’ resurgence this season—and a lesson for the rest of the league on how to fill out your lineup
By Rob Mahoney
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/1...-kawhi-leonard

There is a moment after a shot draws iron when the ball hangs in the air and belongs to no one—when the defense has not yet succeeded and the offense has not yet failed. Schrödinger’s cat both lives and dies, at least until some workaday big boxes his man out and puts an end to it.

Rebounding is so often the game’s great afterthought, regarded as either a natural byproduct or a foregone conclusion. It is a simple act in a sport of creativity and high strategy. Yet in the push toward positionless basketball, teams skewing smaller and smaller have to find their own ways to replicate what traditional power forwards and centers have been doing ably for decades. And for that, they should look to Luka Doncic.

Put aside, for a moment, all the charms and returns of Doncic as a playmaker. (And holy hell, are they considerable.) In the course of orchestrating one of the best offenses in the league, the 20-year-old superstar has come, almost incidentally, to represent an entirely different sort of tactical advantage. Doncic isn’t only the Mavericks’ top scorer and assist leader; he also ranks as the team’s most prolific rebounder, a contribution that provides the rest of the roster greater flexibility. In the same way that running the offense through Doncic allows Dallas to use limited creators like Seth Curry and Delon Wright as nominal point guards, the scale of Doncic’s rebounding makes room for a rebounding-challenged center like Kristaps Porzingis.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has tried eight different starting lineups in the first 12 games of the season, in large part because he can. With the need for defensive rebounding somewhat alleviated, the Mavs (7-5) have been able to style their starters as a matchup demands. Of late, they’ve oscillated between using Maxi Kleber, a solid stretch big, and Dwight Powell, a dedicated rim-runner, as their frontcourt counterpart to Porzingis in the starting lineup. Neither is much of a rebounder. Dallas also has the option—one it exercised earlier this season in a track meet against the Pelicans—to roll out Dorian Finney-Smith, a 6-foot-7 forward, as a sort of big. Or was it Doncic, who pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds in that game, who filled the role of a power forward while running point and matching up as a wing?

Attempting to understand a positionless game in such formulaic terms can be dizzying, if not altogether counterproductive. What has always mattered most is function; so long as a team has all of the raw materials it needs to build cogent systems, the structure itself is entirely negotiable. Lineup management in the modern NBA boils down to one question: How do we get—and keep—our best offensive players on the floor? Maybe too many of a team’s offensive threats are smaller guards, so one is sent to the bench in favor of a bigger wing. There could be a redundancy in skill set or a need to match up with a particular opponent, leading to another change. Games are dictated along the lines of these trade-offs.

This is why rebounding wings, like Doncic, are the next great inefficiency of the NBA marketplace. One of the most powerful things a player can do on a basketball court is change the parameters of who plays. The very presence of James Harden, for example, might keep an opponent from relying on a lumbering center—knowing full well their 7-footer could end up diced and sautéed. A player like Doncic, on the other hand, can make pipe-dream lineups more practical. What if you could space the floor without making concessions on the glass? What if you could work another playmaker into the mix without giving an opponent second chances? An elite rebounding wing makes it all possible.

The 10.7 rebounds Doncic grabs on a nightly basis are so much more than triple-double filler. Following an opponent’s missed shot, Doncic grabs a greater share of rebounds than nearly any perimeter player in the league—more than centers like Nikola Jokic and Steven Adams, according to data from Cleaning the Glass. For that matter, Doncic is on track to have one of the best defensive rebounding seasons ever for a perimeter player. You can see a similar effect on Clippers lineups with Kawhi Leonard or Heat lineups featuring Justise Winslow. Both hit the boards with force, and in doing so give their teams the freedom to bring in more shooters or perimeter defenders. The same concept applies, to varying extents, with the Pelicans’ Josh Hart, the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, or even an oversized point guard like the Spurs’ Dejounte Murray. The shifting demographics of the NBA have made rebounding wings even more beneficial. With fewer trees towering above the canopy, a greater number fall to these bigger wings.

Perimeter players of that size—and specifically those who can create their own shot like Doncic and Leonard—are already understood to be among the most valuable in the league. Guards can be trapped and smothered. Bigs can be swarmed and delayed. Taller wing players aren’t immune to good defense, though the best of them have the skill set and size to withstand it. The added dimension of rebounding only runs up the score. As if it weren’t enough that so few players are both big enough and quick enough to check Doncic or Leonard individually, defenders also have to contend with the space and support of the lineups their rebounding makes possible.

The elegance of this particular solution is that it comes at the problem sideways. Dallas goes out of its way to protect Doncic on defense, typically assigning him to chaperone a standstill shooter in the corner. Yet when Doncic starts from that physical space, there isn’t much an opposing team can do to keep him off the glass. No other guard or wing puts themselves in position to compete for as many defensive rebounds as Doncic does, according to the NBA’s player tracking data. It’s a perfect storm of size and instincts—all of which means that a defender as shaky as Doncic can still play an outsized role in closing defensive possessions, and that a Mavericks team with so few above-average rebounders can manage well enough to get by.

This is just one slice of the complicated interplay between Doncic and Porzingis, two curiously talented players still in their first month of understanding who they are as teammates. This particular dynamic works regardless because it speaks to the logic of the sport. Winning in basketball is an exercise in bringing the game to balance. Once bigs started floating outside to shoot and make plays, it was only a matter of time before perimeter players began to compensate for what bigs ordinarily provided. The game has changed over the last five years—toward space, toward skill, and toward speed. Next comes the reality of an entire league moving in the same general direction, changing both the style of the game and the way that players contribute. What starts as a ripple can become the new wave.

[sefant77]

First time in my life i wanna thank the idiots on the major networks (SAS,Bayless etc etc) who pre draft played draft experts and pushed the stupid narrative of the unathletic white boy, who is for sure going to struggle against real NBA defenses. Talking out of their asses with not knowing anything about european basketball.

Im pretty sure thats the reason why he fell to #3 because the moronic other FOs paid too much attention to this crap and chickened out. Specially the Kings

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by sefant77

First time in my life i wanna thank the idiots on the major networks (SAS,Bayless etc etc) who pre draft played draft experts and pushed the stupid narrative of the unathletic white boy, who is for sure going to struggle against real NBA defenses. Talking out of their asses with not knowing anything about european basketball.

Im pretty sure thats the reason why he fell to #3 because the moronic other FOs paid too much attention to this crap and chickened out. Specially the Kings

So the moral of your post is thank god for ignorance then right?!

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

So the moral of your post is thank god for ignorance then right?!

Specifically thank god for the ignorance of the 4 teams who had draft positions higher than the Mavs that year.

[sefant77]

I never thought the first season without Dirk would be that easy....

He really is the perfect successor, also characterwise

[Thespiralgoeson]

For fun-

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/08/10/lu...rid-eurobasket

Luka Doncic: Europe's Next Big Thing
Want to know more about Luka Doncic, Europe's next big thing? Read these 10 things about the NBA prospect.

JEREMY WOO AUG 10, 2017

The NBA draft conversation runs wall-to-wall for 12 months a year, so the odds are good that you’ve heard about Luka Doncic by now. But have you heard enough about him? Real Madrid’s teenage sensation is by all accounts the best European prospect in years. And in these murky prospect waters, where there’s a lofty label, there’s a hyperbolic one just around the corner. Those sorts of conversations and overreactions can be difficult to parse through even for American players. But Doncic is already in conversations for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, and it’s past time for a little old-fashioned due diligence.

As such, The Crossover reached out to NBA scouts, European scouts and Euroleague opponents, pored over game tape, and did the legwork for you. Here’s the early lowdown, in 10 neat segments.

1. Luka Doncic is no international man of mystery
He’s already played more meaningful minutes that have been televised, archived and analyzed than any player theoretically eligible for next year’s draft. Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not there. If Doncic is mysterious, so were both World Wars, impressionism and the day-to-day affairs of the Pope. Those with subscriptions can watch his full games archived online, those without can watch breakdowns on YouTube, and those who work for NBA teams can go and see him play in Madrid at their leisure. Point being, alluding to Doncic with any sense of enigma, which is bound to happen over the next 11 months or so, is mostly show and tell.

2. How Doncic made his name
Doncic will almost surely enter next year’s draft, in which he will then hear his name called among the first handful of players, as perhaps the most accomplished basketball-playing European teenager ever. Any draft cycle will always bring unfair exaggerations and comparisons upon prospects from any country, university or planet, but Doncic, born in Slovenia, has done unprecedented things on the court at just 18 years old. That much is more or less a fact.

In April 2015, Doncic made his first-team debut for Real Madrid and was the youngest player ever to do that. He was two months past his 16th birthday. Madrid doesn’t trot out Ronaldos or Bales on the basketball side, but nearly every player in its rotation has spent time in the NBA, played at an elite level internationally or both. He was brought along slowly, found ways to be productive, and last season was handed the keys to the offense whenever he was on the floor, playing roughly 20 minutes per game. Per 40, he averaged 15.7 points, 8.5 assists and nine rebounds in Euroleague play. He posted similar numbers in Spain’s ACB and shot 44% from the floor and 33% from three across competitions. He wasn’t just one of their top guys—at times he was their best guy on the floor.

3. Looking into Doncic's numbers
Chewing on Doncic’s numbers is actually more fun with context. Most of the European prospects that wind up in annual draft discussions are cutting their teeth on teams that traditionally play with and develop youth. A lot of Adriatic League teams do this, and clubs in other countries do too. Doncic is already a crucial part of a perennial Euroleague contender, as the lead ball-handler and playmaker alongside NBA-caliber talent. On his best nights, he’s on triple-double watch. It’s uncharted territory.

The most recent analog here is Dario Saric, and that’s purely in the “young star competing at a high European level” sense. When Saric was 18 he was productive and starring for Cibona, but he didn’t taste Euroleague action until joining Anadolu Efes two seasons later, after he’d been drafted. Saric and Doncic are skilled playmakers but positionally apples and oranges, so the direct comparison isn’t especially helpful. Ricky Rubio will be another name in this conversation, but he didn’t taste Europe’s top competition until he was 19 and wasn’t nearly as efficient a scorer. I’m comfortable asserting that in a vacuum, not a single American kid his age could swing games, much less earn a coach’s trust at that level right now. When you think about the overall age curve, and that Doncic was starting to produce like this at 17, it’s clear this is a different animal entirely.

4. What does this look like on the court?
Well, anyone can be an All-Star with a good video editor, but indulge in this YouTube mix as an appetizer, for now. You’ll at least see the impressive vision, comfortable set shot and body control and touch around the basket. That said, keep in mind that Doncic does miss in real life.


So, there will be understandably high levels of hype this season. What’s missing in these seven minutes of Doncic is the level of craft to his game and the amount of responsibility he successfully handled last season. Scouts rave about his combination of skill level and mental makeup. He’s always under control, can handle heavy ball pressure and his turnovers are typically the aggressive kind, which is acceptable for a young kid. He’s an active rebounder, he anticipates well on defense, and he’s athletic enough to make a highlight dunk or block from time to time.

Doncic understands how to create space using his body and with ball screens. He’s also 6’7”, which lets him see over defenses, keep his defender on his hip once he gets a step toward the basket and buys time for the play to unfold. Doncic throws pinpoint passes off the bounce to the corners and wings, makes teammates better and looks great doing it. He’s physically pretty mature, and so is his game. There just aren’t many legitimately huge playmakers this good at this age.

5. What's the catch?
This all sounds too good to be true, so what’s the catch? To be fair, any player can be nitpicked to death. For all his special qualities, the questions with Doncic will center around whether or not he can be a full-time lead guard. Let’s preface this with the caveat that he’s 18, but right now if he’s not handling the ball, he doesn’t really have a position yet. He essentially plays at two speeds right now: a measured halfcourt playmaking cadence, and pushing all-out on the break. He’s an outstanding ball-handler, but his size and high center of gravity precludes him at times from beating guards in isolation.

Right now, Doncic doesn’t have the requisite shiftiness to consistently take NBA-caliber athletes off the dribble, and that could be a problem when longer defenders are inevitably marking him. He needs those in-between gears to take over an NBA game as a passer—and he’s so young that it’s not impossible for him to get there. Doncic isn’t a poor defensive player himself, but will have to slide down a position or two when he gets over here in order to compensate for his foot speed. Madrid often switched him onto the screener to avoid matchup issues, and with less space and fewer elite athletes to worry about in the European game, Doncic got by just fine on that end. He’s still not that long or explosive. He’s well-built and should still get physically stronger, but the game will speed up and get tougher.

That said, these are hypothetical problems and Doncic clearly has the smarts and passing chops to play point guard. These questions are akin to those many had about Ben Simmons as a point guard two years ago. Whatever team drafts Doncic will want to do so with an eye toward empowering him to run the show. Secondary playmaker status seems like a safe floor, but if Doncic features more as a two-guard, his gifts will be more difficult to maximize. He’s an unselfish, visionary passer, not a takeover-type scorer, and in his best case scenario would be able to run the show. If you’re drafting in the top five, those are the risks and potential rewards you consider.

6. What Doncic game should you watch?
If you want to watch one game, watch Real Madrid against Galatasaray from back in March. Doncic enters as a sub in the first quarter, posts five points, five rebounds and four assists in about 10 minutes and gives his team a boost. He comes back in with three and a half minutes left in the third quarter, his team trailing by 16. Doncic immediately starts to dictate the pace of play and never leaves the game from there. Madrid comes back but loses by three, and he finishes as a plus-19 with a 13/8/8 line on 5/8 shooting. Oh, and he had turned 18 literally two days earlier.

[youtube:https://youtu.be/vU0GxcDmUFg]

7. What can Doncic be in the NBA?
I hate comparisons, but for comparison’s sake, let’s consider a best, middle and worst case from a production and role standpoint. If Doncic proves a viable lead ball-handler and equally capable off it as a shooter, developing his handle to where he can shift gears and dissect defenses, he could conceivably be a Gordon Hayward-type player who makes his teammates better and chips in all over the stat sheet. If his athleticism precludes him from doing what he does at a prolific level, he could end up in Hedo Turkoglu territory—and Turkoglu’s best few seasons with the Magic were certainly nothing to sneeze at.

He profiles as a more natural playmaker and athlete, so there’s certainly upside to that outcome. And if it all breaks bad, well, we’ve seen what happens to oversized passers who struggle with change of speed and shot creation against NBA defense. That said, I’m willing to bet he winds up better than say, Kyle Anderson. When Doncic is dominating the league in five years, please don’t screenshot this and tweet it at me.

Come at LeBron James, You Best Not Miss

8. Where does he fit in the upcoming draft class?
Well, it’s totally fair that Doncic is being mentioned in the conversation for the No. 1 pick. He’s earned it. He won’t fall far. It’s only August, but as best I can discern, it will still be difficult for a team to draft him ahead of say, a successfully reclassified Marvin Bagley. Right now I’d wager on Bagley going first, given he’s a fluid athlete who essentially has every skill you want in a modern big man. Porter Jr. might be the best nearly 7-foot true shooter we’ve seen since Kevin Durant, so he has that going for him. DeAndre Ayton and Mohamed Bamba are both exceptional prospects. Next year’s draft may not be as deep as the last one, but keep in mind there’s a lot of talent at the top.

Doncic will have every chance to make his case, and additional responsibility for his club given the recent news that Real Madrid backcourt-mate and reigning EuroLeague MVP (and longtime Houston Rockets stash) Sergio Llull tore his ACL playing for Spain.

9. Who is Luka Doncic?
We got this far without delving into Doncic’s personality, which has been closely guarded to date. Doncic signed with agent Bill Duffy earlier this year and has largely been kept from doing interviews, given that, you know, he was 17. As the draft approaches, that’s sure to change to some degree. Doncic is by and large regarded as a good-natured, humble player who benefitted from the fact his father had a long professional career in Europe.

Some brief Twitter stalking reveals that he follows a ton of soccer players, a ton of basketball players, Conor McGregor, Ariana Grande, Call of Duty, Game of Thrones, legendary New York sneaker store Flight Club and an account called “Best Earth Pics” that upon investigation is actually really great.

10. Eurobasket is next
Next on the docket for Doncic is this year’s Eurobasket tournament (the European Championships, for the unindoctrinated). This summer marks his maiden voyage with the Slovenian senior national team, after some speculation he’d play for Spain. His teammates will include Goran Dragic, Zoran Dragic, and Real Madrid co-star Anthony Randolph. Yes, that Anthony Randolph is now a naturalized Slovenian.

Those games begin August 31 when Slovenia plays Poland, and many NBA scouts will be laying eyes on Doncic in person for the first time. The games will be streamed online, so you can pass judgment with your own eyes and enjoy meaningful summer basketball. To be fair, Rocket scientists and scientologists alike can already tell Doncic is pretty special. But if all goes according to plan, it only gets better from here. Is your team tanking yet?

BY JEREMY WOO

[Underdog]

Luka's averaging 28.5 pts, 10.7 reb, 9.1 ast

Giannis last year MVP season: 27.7 pts, 12.5 reb, 5.9 ast

[EricaLubarsky]

It is barely starting to dawn on me just how lucky the Mavs got.

It basically never happens that a team goes from having a player like Dirk to having a player like Doncic. Usually, it's 5-20 years waiting for the next superstar.

I know we've missed the playoffs and it's been a little rough for a few years, but we legitimately got Doncic while Dirk was still in the league.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

It is barely starting to dawn on me just how lucky the Mavs got.

It basically never happens that a team goes from having a player like Dirk to having a player like Doncic. Usually, it's 5-20 years waiting for the next superstar.

I know we've missed the playoffs and it's been a little rough for a few years, but we legitimately got Doncic while Dirk was still in the league.

Yea, I mentioned this in the GDT/ Something special about this. Obviously has something to do with Donnie, scouts and mbt but it's like there is an old basketball spirit that watches over this city. The common denominator is Cuban and the Nelsons.

[sefant77]

Its a late reward for Cuban screwing up the Giannis draft and wasting Dirks last years

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Its a late reward for Cuban screwing up the Giannis draft and wasting Dirks last years

Meh, I prefer Luka over Giannis anyway... even if I had to endure Messley for a few years.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

It is barely starting to dawn on me just how lucky the Mavs got.

It basically never happens that a team goes from having a player like Dirk to having a player like Doncic. Usually, it's 5-20 years waiting for the next superstar.

I know we've missed the playoffs and it's been a little rough for a few years, but we legitimately got Doncic while Dirk was still in the league.

Yeah, the closest comparison I can think of is the Spurs landing Duncan at the end of Robinson's career.

[endrity]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Yeah, the closest comparison I can think of is the Spurs landing Duncan at the end of Robinson's career.

I have thought of that ever since last year pretty much. The Spurs are now in risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since the year before they selected Duncan, but more than that, they are looking at the first prolonged rebuild in their franchise in what seems like more than 30 years without a clear plan on how to get the next one. They essentially went from Gervin to Robinson, to Duncan, to Kawhi seamlessly. And I am not sure they will be in a position to select the next one in the next couple of years.

It wasn't quite as smooth for the Mavs, but it's pretty damn close.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Yeah, the closest comparison I can think of is the Spurs landing Duncan at the end of Robinson's career.

They didnt "land" him, they blatantly shut down a healthy Robinson and got rewarded for their bullshit

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Meh, I prefer Luka over Giannis anyway... even if I had to endure Messley for a few years.

He may be the one guy that I'd take right now over Luka if I were starting a team..

[BPo001]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/1...ns-mike-conley

Short article on Luka’s historical start this season

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by BPo001

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/1...ns-mike-conley

Short article on Luka’s historical start this season

10/10

[Skywalker]

Also from the ringer, Simmons latest podcast with Marc Stein. First 35 min or so are just Luka talk basically

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aanOPz__uoY

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

Also from the ringer, Simmons latest podcast with Marc Stein. First 35 min or so are just Luka talk basically

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aanOPz__uoY

Just came on here to post that. Listening to it now. I love listening to Stein.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by BPo001

Just came on here to post that. Listening to it now. I love listening to Stein.

I love how Simmons has just gushed over Luka from day 1. Even before he played one minute in the NBA, Simmons was talking about how Luka was going to be a superstar, and how crazy the other 4 teams were for passing on him.

Also, to hear him compare Luka to Bird is just awesome, considering Simmons is a mega Celtics homer.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Every NBA legend needs a nickname. Can Luka's nickname for the rest of his career be "bad motherf*cker?" Please?