Best forward in the draft

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Say Doncic was off the board

You can choose between JJJ, Bagley, or Porter Jr.

Who do you take?

Porter Jr. if he's cleared medically. Dude has the most superstar potential in the draft, which is what you want most when picking this high... If not, then we're choosing between Bagley and JJJ, which is a hard decision.

Bagley is probably the best scorer in the draft, and we definitely need that, but he isn't much of a defender. Although he does have the gifts to become a good defender, so there's always a possibility that he fixes that part of his game... And he's also a dominant rebounder. I dunno, Bagley is definitely a player that fixes two of our biggest weaknesses right away -- scoring and rebounding... But, like Doncic, is he a guy who's going to give up a point for each one he scores?

On the flip side, JJJ is probably the best defender in the draft, with an instinct that possibly even surpasses Bamba's physical traits as a rim protector at the NBA level... He's also an excellent floor stretcher, shooting almost 40% from beyond the arc in college. You know what we call a rim-protecting sharpshooter in the NBA? That's right, a unicorn... Really, his biggest weakness has been foul trouble, which does matter in a league where James Harden can flop his way into MVP consideration year after year... But he's also the youngest player in the draft, so there's always an chance for him to learn discipline, especially on Carlisle's short leash. Easily the best two-way player in the draft, but still really, really raw.

I dunno, this is a tough choice... Bagley is probably the safer bet with his instant upside, but JJJ could easily be the better player in 3 years, since discipline is easier to learn than defense, as it tends to come naturally with maturity and experience... Gun to my head:

Porter
JJJ
Bagley