Luka Doncic just won the EuroLeague championship for Real Madrid, and at 19 years old he became the youngest player to win the Final Four MVP and EuroLeague MVP. He has yet to announce if he'll be coming over from Europe to the NBA, but the assumption is that he will be in the playing in the States next season.
After dominating the game in Europe, he has the chance to go No. 1 overall and become the first European to be taken that high since Andrea Bargnani in 2006. Our Gary Parrish has him going No. 2 to the Kings in his latest mock draft following the combine in Chicago. However, if he isn't taken No. 1 overall then there's a chance he'll fall a few picks. According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Kings and Hawks, owners of the No. 2 and 3 overall picks respectively, are expected to target American frontcourt players.
Doncic's next destination was a focal point on many a conversation over the course of the weekend. It still remains to be seen which NBA team will elect to draft him. The growing consensus among NBA decision makers in attendance at Stark Arena in Belgrade is that the teams drafting behind the Phoenix Suns at No. 1, the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, are likely to pass on European prodigy in favor of American frontcourt players. The question remains whether a team will trade up into the top three to snag Doncic, or if he will fall to the No. 4 (Memphis) or even the No. 5 pick (Dallas), after being heavily scouted in the Euroleague playoffs against Panathinaikos, and mostly struggling.
Doncic is arguably the best prospect to ever come out of Europe, but critics of his are hesitant to prop him up because of questions about his athleticism and he doesn't have elite athleticism when compared to top college prospects. The Kings and Hawks might choose to pass on the point guard due to their reported desire for a frontcourt player.
It would be shocking to see a prospect as highly regarded as Doncic fall out of the top five picks of the draft, but crazier things have happened before. It all depends on what the teams at the top value and what they're looking for.
