NBA Draft Rumors: Should Teams Be Hesitant to Select Real Madrid's Luka Doncic Because of the Possibility He May Remain Overseas?

Doncic recently stated he is still not sure if he will be done playing in the EuroLeague after this season

By John Paul Sunico, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, May 19, 2018

The 2018 NBA pre-draft season is shaping up to be an intriguing one, especially with a difficult decision needing to be made at the top.

Currently, there's a debate surrounding who the draft lottery winners, the Phoenix Suns, should take with the number one overall pick.

Should they take the Arizona Wildcats' DeAndre Ayton or go with Real Madrid's Luka Doncic?

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The Suns don't need to make a decision until June 21, but something that happened recently could lead them to take one prospect over the other.

Speaking recently to members of the media during the EuroLeague Final Four press conference, Doncic said some interesting things about his basketball future.

Per this report from EuroHoops.net, Doncic indicated that he's still not sure about leaving the EuroLeague after the Final Four. Doncic said that he has not made his decision yet, though he hinted that he could provide one after the season.

It was widely expected that Doncic would move to the NBA next season, but his recent comments have unsurprisingly cast some doubt on that.

Still, should these recent comments from Doncic really discourage teams from potentially taking him in the draft since there's a chance that he may not move stateside right away?

To answer that question, it's first worth examining what Doncic may have been trying to do when he offered those comments.

As The Ringer's Paolo Uggetti pointed out, given that Doncic provided those comments during the EuroLeague Final Four press conference, he may just have been trying to avoid answering a question about his potential NBA future while he's still playing for Real Madrid.

For what it's worth, Doncic's other comments during that press conference were also about the Final Four, so maybe his mind at the moment really is just focused on the remainder of Real Madrid's current season and nothing else.

There's also a case to be made that a franchise that wants to draft Doncic should do that regardless of whether he will move to the NBA next season.

The Suns, Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and several other teams in the lottery portion of the upcoming draft need elite talent more than anything else and Doncic is a player who possesses that. Even if Doncic decides to stay with Real Madrid past this current season, that still means that the franchise that drafts him will be able to add him to their roster eventually.

Doncic is a talent worth taking high in the draft and worth waiting for even if he decides not to play in the NBA right away.

The Suns' situation is a bit different because there will be increased pressure on them to just take Ayton if it becomes clear that Doncic will remain overseas, but the teams picking after them will have no ready-made excuse for passing over a player who is widely considered to be one of the two best prospects in the draft.

If a franchise believes that Doncic can be a special player in the NBA, then the 19-year-old's recent comments should not dissuade that team from taking him.