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The hype for the 2018 NBA draft is building with the settling of the lottery teams at the top of the order.
Free agency will have a major impact with the usual suspects. LeBron James will be the biggest name there, with guys such as Paul George and Chris Paul possibly making the class even deeper.
But the real focus, for now, is on the draft, where the Phoenix Suns will get started at first overall in a class featuring dominant big-men prospects (Deandre Ayton) and plenty of superstar potential.
Remember, even the recent Victor Oladipo breakout is a hint that lottery picks are more important than ever, even if the results are delayed.
As such, the rumor mill is the driving force behind the downhill momentum for the hype, with a few notable teams topping the list of rumblings.
Who Gambles on Luka Doncic?
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Luka Doncic might be the biggest name in the 2018 class, but there’s a problem—it’s no sure thing he comes from overseas and commits to the NBA right away.
The two-time EuroLeague Rising Star winner is 19 years old and a star for Real Madrid, which is an understatement considering how often NBA executives travel to get a look at his seemingly unlimited upside.
After all, we’re talking about a 6’8″ point guard with a rare blend of traits enabling him to get others involved and score almost at will. But he’s been shy about the NBA so far, and it has led some to believe it could create a fall on draft day.
According to ESPN.com’s Jonathan Givony, teams below the Suns might not entertain the idea at all:
“The growing consensus among NBA decision-makers in attendance at Stark Arena in Belgrade is that the teams drafting behind the Phoenix Suns at No. 1, the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, are likely to pass on [the] European prodigy in favor of American frontcourt players.”
It’s quite the interesting development, as both the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks seem stuck in a slow-burn rebuild anyway, so waiting on Doncic and his immense upside wouldn’t be the worst outcome in the world.
While this might encourage the Kings or Hawks to go with someone such as Jaren Jackson Jr. out of Michigan State, what it really does is create a window for the top five to get chaotic, should another team want to strike a major trade and swipe Doncic out of a fall.
Doncic’s stance might have more clarity soon, but it wouldn’t necessarily signal the end of the potential chaos in the top five.
Grizzlies Looking to Move?
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The general consensus seems to be the NBA draft lottery was another ho-hum affair where the odds played out nearly as expected.
Don’t tell that to fans of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies dipped from a projected second slot to fourth, potentially putting them just out of range of the draft’s two top prospects. This led to Sean Deveney of Sporting News reporting the Grizzlies wouldn’t mind a move up if the price is right:
“With that reality settling in, the buzz around this week’s predraft combine here is that the Grizzlies are ripe for a move out of the No. 4 spot. The preference would be to move into the top two and take Ayton or Doncic, but it’s a longshot that Phoenix (No. 1) or Sacramento (No. 2) would be willing to deal out of their spots.”
A move up might be too costly and an ill-advised waste of resources, especially if Doncic takes a dive. In fact, the front office in Memphis might have to decide at No. 4 between taking the Real Madrid star or entertaining the idea of selling the pick to another team wanting to come up and get him.
The more realistic scenario might be a move down anyway. This is a 22-win team in the Western Conference looking for as much help as it can get, and it doesn’t have the added bonus of being a locale capable of reeling in free agency’s biggest names. Let’s add something else to the pile—the Grizzlies have to cough up a pick in the 2019 draft to Boston.
This is a long-term rebuild for the Grizzlies, meaning the more assets acquired via this process, the better.
Suns Open to Dealing No. 1?
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The Suns will be starting things off on draft night—if they don’t give up the pick.
According to ESPN.com, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough and the front office out in the desert haven’t dismissed the idea of trading the draft’s top overall selection. He’s also been quite open in the areas his team needs to fix: “Our biggest team needs are at the point guard slot and at the 5. … Where we sit in this draft, those are two pretty good positions to address.”
If the Suns choose to remain in a holding pattern at No. 1, Ayton seems the obvious choice. He’s a local product after winning the Pac-12 Player of the Year award with Arizona on the back of 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
But the 2018 class is a deep one for frontcourt players, and the Suns also have the 16th pick. So it would be quite interesting to see how McDonough and the front office would react if a team offered a starting-caliber guard for the top pick while knowing the depth of the class would permit them to add a quality frontcourt prospect later in the first round.
If the front office plays the situation right, it won’t be a rebuild in the desert much longer.
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