Though it is smokescreen season, a report broke recently claiming that the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings might pass on Luka Doncic if he was available with the 3rd overall pick.
Many outlets have Doncic as the top overall prospect in this draft, and we have long been a fan of his game here at SDS as well. While the track record of top-tier European prospects is mixed, one need only look at the major success stories (Dirk Nowitzki, Kristaps Porzingis) to see that there is immense talent available via overseas players – but a team must be willing to take that chance.
Luka Doncic looks to be a slam-dunk prospect and passing on him – especially if he falls to 3rd overall – would be a monumental mistake for this front office led by GM Travis Schlenk and overseen by owner Tony Ressler.
Doncic is a 6’8”, 220-pound player who has a crafty, tight handle, amazing court vision, solid shooting mechanics as well as inimitable feel and a certain joie de vivre with which he plays that almost no other player in this draft class can match.
Did we mention he only just turned 19? Or that he became the youngest player to ever win the EuroLeague’s MVP award? Or that his current team (Real Madrid) just won the European Championship, in which (oh yeah), he was also the MVP of the tournament as well?
Doncic is the real deal, and he should be able to come into the league and immediately make his mark on the offensive end. His defensive skills are not quite up to the level of his transcendent offensive potential, but, sadly, superstardom is not made on the defensive end in the NBA.
If you watched the Hawks for any amount of time during the 2017-18 season, you saw John Collins wide open rumbling down the lane – completely unimpeded by a defensive player – but the ballhandlers on the Hawks were not able to find him with any regularity.
If Doncic were on the team, his creative handle and stellar passing skills would be able to get JC the ball with regularity in the pick-and-roll, freeing up other players for open shots beyond the arc.
The mark of a good front office is making the tough decisions, whether they be in the draft, free agency or the trade market.
So far, Schlenk has done a solid job in the draft by nabbing a steal at 19th overall in John Collins last year, who turned into an All-Rookie Second Team member. In the second round, Tyler Dorsey showed some solid shooting/scoring outbursts and should also be a productive member of the rotation going forward.
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Though multiple top-tier talents will be available at the top of the 2018 Draft, Doncic is perhaps the most enticing. If Sacramento passes on him, as has been reported, the Hawks should not hesitate for an instant and take him 3rd overall.
Please Travis, as Hawks fans, we can never have anything nice, so don’t let us down on this one.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Atlanta Hawks Fan