The Whiteboard: Must we slander 2018 NBA Draft prospects on Twitter?

It’s fine to not like a 2018 NBA Draft prospect’s game, but some of the negative tweets about Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic have gotten weird.

The 2018 NBA Draft is quickly approaching, and that means draft prospects are a topic of conversation for anybody with even a passing interest in the Association. This has generated some bad takes, of course, that much is to be expected.

What’s strange this time around is that the weird knocks on players have stopped having anything to do with how they play basketball at all. It started with a rumor that, as far as I can tell, is still completely unsubstantiated: somebody claimed Deandre Ayton does not–or at least did not–tip well.

Should Deandre Ayton tip better? Absolutely he should. Is this story real? It might be. Either way, this seems like something straight out of Draft Day 2. 

Kevin Costner (Cavs GM): It seemed like a slam dunk. We thought we had the ideal number one pick in the 2018 NBA Draft after we flipped four picks for the first pick. But then we had to flip that pick for seven more picks because we found a flaw.

Jennifer Garner (Cavs financial guru): I just finished re-doing the cap numbers… but why did you decide to move away from taking Ayton?

Costner: He doesn’t tip well. All of his college teammates stopped going out with him to restaurants because of it. I put a $100 bill in our playbook and he replaced it with a five and three ones. Plus, Trae Young no matter what.

Also, apparently Luka Doncic is bad at parking? I don’t know. I’ve parked badly before. We’re talking about 19-year-olds here. It already feels ridiculous to pick apart their basketball skills considering how young they are. Let’s not do the same to their character right now.

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