I don't think that current Nick Calathes is more skilled than his 20 year old self. He has just learned how to better apply said skills in in-game situations. I was talking more about trancesdent skills/ability that can cross-over to any type of league, hence why elite shooting is grouped with explosive ability and elite length.
A A 19 year old that has been playing professional BBall since he was 16 is obviously a more rounded prospect than a 20 year old college player and has less room for growth in terms of applying his skills through experience. Is that really controversial ? Unless you think that the professional setting of top euro leagues is miles away from that of the NBA, in which case we are back to square one.
That's the thing. NCAA players are often judged during match-ups against elite fellow NCAA players, not against the average NCAA player. Many terrific NBA players fell through the draft due to skepticism caused by them playing in weak conferences or divisions. Curry playing in an obscure conference was one of the black marks against him despite him already showing strong hints of being an all-time great shooter.
With college players, you have to look at their fundamentals, athletic prowess, upper side potential, effort, and intangibles. You almost have to separate the system they play in and focus on their individual talent.
Sure he can. Has anyone looked at the past few euroleague MVPs? Not exactly nba all star players. Just saying. Doncic nba floor may be high but the NBA ceiling is still a question mark.
Have you looked at the past NCAA MVPs? How many have become scrubs in the NBA? There seems to be some double standard going on here if some dude gets MVP in a weaker league than the NCAA then he is a scrub because the competition isn't good enough but when the league is better than the NCAA suddenly his potential is exhausted wtf. Don't compare him to other Euroleague MVPs because other Euroleague MVPs weren't 19 yrs old! He is 6'8 and sufficiently athletic at least way more athletic than somebody like Trae Young. My money's on him being better than Bagley and Young, at the very least.
From Sportsday article: https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/da...ng-luka-doncics-rookie-year-even-know-nothing
^^ still super salty he ended up on the Mavs. But I'll be a fan either way. I know his long term upside isn't quite as high as Ayton, or even Bagley I guess, but I still would have taken him #1. Suns can't afford to keep losing for multiple more years.. and risk alienating Booker, and bigs that can't play defense have become so less valuable. Maybe Ayton learns to or starts to care about defense. I'm not saying this is ideal, but: Doncic, Booker, TJ Warren, Jackson would have been a very interesting 1-4 in today's nba.
Tell me about it man...first Dragić goes to Miami and then Dončić lands with Mavs, while Suns have our NT coach Kokoskov who knows Luka like no other coach except Real Madrid's one. So instead of watching Dragić/Harden and Dončić/Kokoskov (or even Goran/Luka/Kokoskov all on same team!), I have to resort to at least 2 Heat players handling the ball more than Dragić last season and Carlisle micro-managing Luka, killing his love for the game in max two seasons.
Lol. Well you've definitely hit on some downside potential. Butterfly effect though... Goran stays on the Suns, all kinds of things happen differently.
