Phoenix Suns: The pros and cons of drafting Luka Doncic No. 1
Pro: Playmaking wings are at a premium in the small-ball era
First things first: Luka Doncic is not a point guard. He will not solve the Suns’ needs at point guard or center, he won’t be able to guard point guards and just to drive this point home, HE’S NOT A POINT GUARD.
However, suggesting the Suns should avoid him because he’s not a traditional 1 would be burying one’s head in the sand and ignoring the way the modern game is progressing.
Take a look at the best teams in the league right now. The Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have some transcendent talent, but they all have a plethora of multi-positional, rangy wings who can defend, make plays, put the ball on the floor and shoot.
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The NBA is a copycat league. With an injection of “unicorn” big men, there’s no guarantee the small-ball era will last for ever. Skilled seven-footers who can spread the floor and switch on the perimeter could soon revive the center position, but the key there is still being able to switch on defense.
Doncic has his fair share of flaws on the defensive end, but he’s nowhere near as flawed on that end as Deandre Ayton. If small-ball lineups can play Ayton off the floor, his innate physical gifts won’t do the Suns much good on the bench.
The 6’8″ Doncic, meanwhile, would be a perfect fit on offense in small-ball lineups, making life easier on Booker. Whether playing off the ball and spreading the floor as a shooter or feeding Book for easy looks out of pick-and-roll sets, Doncic and Booker would be a dynamite offensive tandem — and that’s without even factoring in Josh Jackson‘s slashing ability.
Doncic is already an exceptional ball-handler, pick-and-roll conductor, shot creator and cross-court passer. Pairing those skills with Booker would make for an unstoppable offensive duo, especially within Kokoskov’s offense.
Con: Defensive shortcomings
Doncic would be a tantalizing option to pair with Phoenix’s wings of the future, but there’d still be an undeniable need for defense at the 1-spot, because as we’ve covered already, Doncic is not a point guard and cannot defend point guards. He has point forward potential, but unlike a Ben Simmons, would struggle using his 6’8″ frame defensively to keep up with speedier 1s.
The Suns could address this issue in free agency with someone like Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley, they could trade for someone like Patrick Beverley, or they could simply look in-house with more underwhelming options in Brandon Knight and Tyler Ulis.
For the long haul though, finding another perimeter defender to pair with that Booker-Doncic-Jackson trio would be a necessity. Jackson may be able to defend 1-3 (or even 1-4 someday once he’d bulked up and has more experience under his belt), but asking him to guard opposing point guards in the West on a nightly basis would be unfair for the long haul, let alone as soon as next year.
Booker is a defensively flawed player, and though he should get better on that end, Doncic will also take his licks on defense. He’s a smart player and should be a passable defender in time, but at the moment, he’s not laterally quick enough to corral more athletic players. He’s particularly weak in the pick-and-roll, even if his off-ball defense and overall instincts have shown enough to suggest he’s clever and intuitive enough to make plays on that end.
Ayton’s defensive flaws are far more noticeable at this point, but Doncic is no lockdown wing defender either. For the NBA’s 30th-ranked defense last year, that matters.