Embrace Debate: Are You Starting Your Franchise With Luka Doncic Or The Field?

I know Perk gets a lot of shit for the outrageous things he says on television, but I'm not so sure this is one of those moments. Normally I'd say we're all just being a prisoner of the moment when it comes to Luka, but then you remember he basically threw up 30/10/10 during the year at 21 years old

Tthe question turns into how many guys in the league actually fit this exercise? To me, the list is pretty short. You could argue Luka has played his way into the top 10 conversation already, and that may even be a little harsh. When you're talking about a franchise starter you obviously have to factor in both skill and age. That's going to eliminate some ridiculous players like LeBron, KD, Harden etc. Those guys are clearly franchise talents, but they're too old. 

So when I say "the field" I'm mostly talking about guys like Giannis/Tatum/Zion/Embiid/Simmons/Morant etc. Guys that are the next wave of players who are going to shape this league moving forward. Would you take any of them over Luka? It's not that simple. To me, this is more of a Luka vs Giannis debate because before Luka entered the league it was pretty much unanimous that he was the next big thing in the league. He is 4 years older than Luka, but is also a 2x MVP and might even win DPOY already. You pretty much know if you have Giannis on your team chances are you're going to be historically good. I know it might be a top take, but starting a franchise with this

seems like a good idea. He does have holes in his game the same way Luka does, their defense is galaxies apart and we haven't seen Giannis get over the playoff hump just yet. To be fair, we haven't seen Luka do it either but if these playoffs are any indication it's only a matter of time. 

I thought long and hard about this and I looked at it in terms of who I felt impacts the game more. Right now that's probably Giannis because of what he does on the defensive end. But in 4 years I'm banking on Luka's defense getting better and I feel like I would want his playmaking. But then I realized that I might be over thinking it. At this moment, the answer is Giannis. Elite two way monsters don't grow on trees and are very very hard to find. I'm willing to roll with Giannis' defense over Luka's playmaking. The playoffs are all about matchups and I haven't seen someone be more of a matchup problem than Giannis other than LeBron. 

So I'm rolling with the field. Having said that, I reserve the right to change my opinion if Luka carries the Mavs to the Finals or some shit and Giannis once again misses it while being an overwhelming favorite. Thank you for understanding.