San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Bruce Jenkins:
Doncic brings Hawks’ pick into question.
Travis Schlenk left his executive post with the Warriors last year to become the Atlanta Hawks’ general manager, and he’s made a number of moves that suggest a bright future. His call on Luka Doncic, however, appears to be a damaging misfire.
Doncic is looking like a runaway winner of the Rookie of the Year award, at the expense of Trae Young and two or three others, and that’s a problem in Atlanta. The Hawks drafted Doncic with the No. 3 overall selection, only to trade his rights to Dallas for the fifth pick, which the Mavericks used to take Young. The Hawks also picked up a first-round draft pick in the deal, giving them the potential of three first-round choices in 2019 (depending on lottery protection in the final standings), but if you’ve seen Doncic in action, you can understand Atlanta fans’ regret.
There’s nothing terribly wrong with Young, who basically arrived as advertised: inlimited shooting range, clever on the drive, inventive passer, slightly undersized (6-foot-2) but aggressive and undaunted. It’s just that Doncic does all of those things better — and he’s 6-7. “An authentic original,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters this week. “He’s truly unlike any specific player that I’ve ever seen.” Coming out of Oklahoma, Young was billed as the next Stephen Curry — never a good call. You don’t compare a budding guitarist to Jimmy Page, or a big-splash young comedian to George Carlin. Young has a Curry-like thirst for the ridiculously long shot, but so far this season, he’s shooting a miserable 24.8 percent from threepoint range. That’s likely to improve, but Doncic owns a numbers package only a few NBA players can match, averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, shooting 44.3 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent on threepointers.
It’s stunning to realize that Doncic is only 19, until you learn that he was a budding legend at 14 in Europe (Real Madrid), outplaying grown men who couldn’t wait to rough him up. By the end of the 201718 EuroLeague season, he was rightfully being called the most talented teenager ever seen in the international game — and as Dallas teammate Dirk Nowitzki said, “Like a veteran who’s been in the league for 10 years, that’s how he carries himself.”
Doncic is not particularly fast or athletic, but he has a connoisseur’s knowledge of footwork, deception, spacing and angles. The extent of his moves, and shot variety, seem unlimited. He controls games at his own pace, a bit like Houston’s James Harden ,butina far less tedious manner (interesting that Dallas handed the Rockets a 20-point loss on their home court Wednesday night). Perhaps best of all, he’s a natural showman. “I’ve never seen a guy enjoy the game so much during it,” teammate J.J. Barea told SI.com. “If he does something good, he can’t stop smiling. Even in practice.” How risky was the Hawks’ preference for Young? “You will never get fired for taking Doncic No. 3,” ESPN’s esteemed Zach Lowe said on his podcast. “You will get fired for trading down to 5 if Trae Young isn’t good and Doncic is awesome. And it will mar the rest of your career.”
Young had one of the worst nights of the season when the Hawks played at Oracle Arena last month (2-for-12 shooting, four points in 28 minutes), and he’ll be looking for atonement Monday night in Atlanta, the next stop on the Warriors’ road trip. A more intriguing date on the calendar is Dec. 22, when Doncic and the Mavericks come to Oakland. Could be holiday fare at its finest. The vastly disappointing Rockets have dealt with a number of injuries, but that’s nothing new in the NBA. This team has serious problems. Chris Paul has already missed games, and history suggests he’ll be sidelined again. Beyond the core of Harden, Paul, Clint Capela, P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon, not a single player on the roster can be trusted, coach Mike D’Antoni admitting the team’s depth is “a problem.” New owner Tilman Fertitta tightened the financial screws at a time when the team needed
to continue its all-out challenge to Golden State. General manager Daryl Morey, touted for his analytics wisdom, made glaring mistakes in acquiring Carmelo Anthony (now departed), Brandon Knight, Michael Carter-Williams, Marquese Chriss and (it appears) James Ennis. The defense has been atrocious. Harden is a scoring machine but is asked to do too much, and he committed 19 turnovers over a recent two-game stretch. This team needs to find its way back to respectability before worrying about the Warriors.
Joke making the rounds: Jimmy Butler is becoming the MVP of two teams. He’s been an instant hit in Philadelphia, notching two winning shots at the buzzer, and Minnesota has come to life — particularly in the case of center Karl-Anthony Towns — since the trade.
Willie Naulls died Nov. 22, leaving behind a legacy of excellence at UCLA and the NBA, with memories of a Boston Celtics franchise always at the forefront of integration. On a December night in 1964, at a time when several teams were reluctant to employ too many African American players, coach Red Auerbach fielded the first all-black starting lineup in league history, Naulls joining Bill Russell, Sam Jones, Tom Sanders and K.C. Jones. Auerbach said he had “no idea” he was creating an NBA landmark. He just went with the players he felt could help the Celtics win. Naulls played 10 years in the league, including a 47-game stint with the San Francisco Warriors in 1962-63. He made four All-Star teams and had three straight seasons of 20-plus points per game with the Knicks.