Bust or No Bust: 2018 NBA Draft Edition
(Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
The NBA Draft is a night filled with jubilation and the euphoria of fulfilling the lifelong goal of making it to the NBA. There’s a hope that their favorite teams make the right selection for the fans that can secure success for years to come. Of course, over the years, those have been good and bad decisions. For instance, in the 1984 Draft, the Portland Trailblazers took Sam Bowie with the 2nd overall pick, which allowed the then National Player of the Year, Michael Jordan, to fall to the Chicago Bulls the third pick. Granted, they needed a big-man at the time, but 6 championships later (for Chicago), it’s clear to see that they missed out.
Draft Night trades have also been a way for teams to get what they need or want without actually the pick. Just like any other trade, there have been many hits and misses with players like Kobe Bryant (drafted by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac), Dirk Nowitzki (drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and traded to Dallas Mavericks along with Pat Garrity for Robert Traylor) and Kawhi Leonard (drafted by the Indiana Pacers and traded along with Davis Bertans and Erazem Lorbek to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill).
In some cases, you can tell right away that a team has made a mistake making a trade on the Draft night, and then others will come to light in years to come. However, for the big trade that took place during the 2018 NBA Draft initially, it looks as though the Atlanta Hawks made a bad decision. Atlanta traded their 3rd pick, Luka Doncic, for Trae Young (from the Dallas Mavericks - 5th pick) and a future 1st-rounder.
Coming into the Draft, there was huge hype behind 19-year old EuroLeague MVP (’17-’18 season), Luka Doncic, who was ready to make his NBA debut. Like other European players, there were some concerns on whether or not his game could/would translate over to the NBA. Some of the bigger busts in the league have been foreign players taken high in the draft, with the biggest being Darko Milicic (Taken 2nd overall in the 2003 NBA Draft over Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.
While it may be way too soon to know for sure if that trade was a mistake, it looks like Luka Doncic is a star in the making, and the Hawks are going to regret trading him. He’s made his impact felt almost immediately and has put the league on notice, while Trae Young is going through some growing pains like that of an actual rookie. Coming out of the University of Oklahoma, there were talks about Trae Young being comparable to Steph Curry because of his long-range shooting and court vision. However, none of that has really been on display consistently. According to Amin Elhassan, maybe the hard sell was that the future first-round pick; if so, will it make up for whatever becomes of both players?
As of now, Luka Doncic is averaging 20.0 ppg 5.0 apg 6.7 rpg with a PER of 18.74.
Trae Young is averaging 15.7 ppg 7.2 apg 2.9 rpg with a PER of 12.82.
Again, it’s too early to tell but the eye test and statistics says otherwise.