Suns Head Coach Frank Johnson met with reporters at the Fox Sports Grill in Scottsdale on Thursday night, shortly after selecting Siberian forward Zarko Cabarkapa with the 17th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. The following is a transcript of that media availability session. Check back later tonight for Johnson's thoughts on Leandro Barbosa, the Brazilian guard the Suns acquired in a draft night deal with the San Antonio Spurs.
Question: Can you talk about your first pick, Zarko Cabarkapa?
Johnson: Zarko is a guy we have watched. He was here at the Desert Classic (in 2001) and we’ve watched his progress. (Suns President and GM) Bryan Colangelo and (Suns Assistant Director of Player Personnel) David Griffin have been over to see him this year. They’ve certainly liked what they’ve seen. He’s a 7-0 guy who can go inside-outside. When you talk about basic fundamental basketball, we always talk about dribble, pass and shoot. He can handle the ball for a seven-footer. He can get in there in terms of penetration. He can certainly shoot the ball. On top of that, he can pass the ball.
With the team that we have, we called it small ball at times, (assistant coach) Mike D’Antoni said, ‘It’s not small ball, it’s skill ball.’ Now we have a 7-0 skill guy that we don’t necessarily have to go with guys who are 6-7 and under. Now we have that 7-0 guy who can go out and do some of those things.
Now is he going to come in right away? No. We have some good veteran players that certainly know how to play and can do some things. With the coaching staff we have here we feel his upside is going to be very good. We can teach him how to play this game and to play our style, which is getting up and down the court because he runs very well. Having a seven-footer on the weak side, he can block some shots.
Question: How much do you expect him to contribute?
Johnson: A lot of times that is hard to say. How many players at the 17th pick have made a big contribution? Not many? Hopefully, we’ll have him here (Friday) and we’ll work him out all summer long. We’ll have our (summer league) training camp starting on July 14 and we’ll watch his progress. He’ll have a chance to play a lot this summer.
Question: How do you seem him fitting in with the frontcourt of Shawn Marion and Amaré Stoudemire?
Johnson: In the West you certainly have length, but with the exception of a few guys, particularly (Shaquille O’Neal), there are not that many centers. You put him and Amaré together and (Cabarkapa) can space the floor. That’s pretty exciting because he can shoot it from three-point range. He can put it on the floor as well. That’s very exciting for us.
He was a guy that when he came in I didn’t know that much about him. I certainly talked to our scouts and once he came in he was shooting the basketball, and doing some things. We had him out there defensively. He was certainly impressive being able to do those things. I think he can fit in very well with those guys. He’s a young who we certainly like his upside.
Question: What about his size? He’s really tall, but thin.
Johnson: The one thing we know is he never has really worked in terms of lifting weights. He hasn’t had the proper physical training and for that matter, the coaching, too. We feel very good with our staff and that our guys can teach him even more.
Question: What position will he play?
Johnson: I think he can go 3,4,5 and not necessarily against Shaq. There’s no question about that, but you know Amaré has the body to go against some fives in the West with the exception of Shaq. A lot of teams are now playing power forwards at center. He is a guy that can possibly space out the floor and if you put a five on Amaré, he can certainly use his athletic ability and quickness.
Question: Is he definitely coming over next season?
Johnson: No. He’s coming. We’ll see him (Friday) and then you (reporters) can ask him. There’s a good chance he’ll have a press conference (Friday).
Question: Is there a player in the league that you can compare him to?
Johnson: No. There’s not one guy. He’s a 7-0 guy that can certainly shoot the basketball very well. He can drive. He has huge hands. We put him in the box and his jump hook was very impressive over his left shoulder. He can turn over his right shoulder and shoot. He’s seven-foot tall and when he extends, it’s like no one can get to him. His wingspan is 7-1 and his reach is 9-1.
Question: Is he like Pau Gasol, Toni Kukoc at all?
Johnson: He has taken the ball off the boards and brought it down. I like Kukoc. He reminds you of Gasol, certainly in terms of his length. If you look at him, he has narrow shoulders, but he’s very thick from front to back. Gasol is a little wider, but he’s narrow. The guy has never been on any weightlifting program. I think he’ll be able to add something there. He’ll get a chance to work with him a lot this summer.
Question: Was there any point when you guys got nervous that someone would take him?
Johnson: Yes. We thought Boston wanted (Marcus) Banks and when they didn’t get Banks we thought they might be the one team group that would probably throw a monkey wrench into our plans, but it didn’t happen. They took Troy Bell and the rest is history.
Question: Does he speak English well enough to communicate?
Johnson: Don’t know? Box, defense, block, pass, and shoot - all those simple terms - I don’t think he has to worry.
