Yuma
Suns are my Kryptonite!
t's not just the stationary bike that has made Goran Dragic feel as if he was going nowhere despite his early arrival with the Suns.
Dragic agreed to a buyout with Tau Ceramica a month ago but has been confined to using a stationary bike as new teammates scrimmaged to prepare for training camp, which opens in a week in Tucson.
"I'm Lance Armstrong," he would declare to passers-by, repeating the ribbing he gets.
Dragic can ditch the yellow jersey for a reversible practice jersey today after being cleared Monday to sign his four-year contract with the Suns.
It was not a lost month. Dragic bonded with teammates, particularly Boris Diaw, whose "Dragon" nickname stuck on the Slovenian.
"He's a fantastic kid," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "He showed up in awe of the surroundings. He idolizes Steve (Nash). Meeting Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) and Amaré (Stoudemire) made it apparent that he's an NBA fan and wanted to be here."
He has worked out diligently with athletic trainers and Suns assistant coach Dan Majerle. He has shown a better-than-advertised outside shot.
"We are certainly encouraged by his work ethic," Suns Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said. "His individual workouts with Dan have everyone coming away impressed."
His true ability to shoot and more hyped abilities as a playmaker and defender won't show until camp and beyond.
It took a lot for the Suns to get Dragic, snowballing ideas of him as the Suns' point guard of the future into instant hype.
"In fairness to Goran, we did a really poor job of dampening expectations," Griffin said. "He'll play one day of five-on-five basketball before camp. He's going to have a lot of rust and he'll be behind the 8-ball."
The Suns gave money and a pick to take Dragic in the second round. Dragic must make a quick round trip to Slovenia this week for his work visa. The Suns gave him a contract worth nearly $8 million, including the fourth-year team option. He will start at about $1.7 million, a necessity because he owes $1 million of his $1.5 million buyout to Tau.
The Suns were willing because of long-term expectations, some of which became short-term when Phoenix did not sign a free-agent point guard. Kerr said Dragic will have to earn the backup point job with rookie Sean Singletary and Leandro Barbosa remaining possibilities. However much Dragic plays affects Barbosa, who averaged 16.8 points over the past two seasons.
"If LB's clearly better than Goran and Shaw, he'll do it," Kerr said.
Note
The Suns lost camp invitee Jiri Hubalek to a European contract, leaving 13 roster players and invitees Robert Hite and Trey Johnson.
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