Dragic To Stay In Europe

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

AZ Rep:

The Suns are expected to take a look at free agent point guards Damon Stoudamire and Mike Wilks if 2008 draft pick Goran Dragic opts to stay in Europe.

 

[elindholm]

Perhaps I haven't seen Pargo enough, but my take is that he's only very slightly more point guard than Barbosa.

I'd agree with that, but he has better court awareness and is a better ball handler.

 

[Mainstreet]

AZ Rep:
The Suns are expected to take a look at free agent point guards Damon Stoudamire and Mike Wilks if 2008 draft pick Goran Dragic opts to stay in Europe.

If Wilks and Stoudamire are the Suns choices for a backup PG (if Dragic does not come over), then the Suns aren't going anywhere. The Suns should just look for BPAs to fill out their roster and tell Boris he is a PG again.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

AZ Rep:

damon and wilks = EL VOMITO GRANDE!

 

[shazaam6]

Will Goran Dragic play for the Suns this year?
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ssanty/cgi-bin/eightball.cgi

I got "absolutely"

You must be registered for see images

 

[scXfreakX]

This circus is getting on my nerves. However, I still would rather get Pargo this year. I've liked his game and especially last year with the Hornets. However, I doubt we get him. Not much to choose from with 2 roster spots left. We will probably sign some crap. Thats pretty much for sure.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Will Goran Dragic play for the Suns this year?
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ssanty/cgi-bin/eightball.cgi

I got "absolutely"

You must be registered for see images

"Definitely!"

 

[JCSunsfan]

I see absolutely no point in bringing in Damon Stoudamire. He is no more a pg than Barbosa.

We would probably have better choices coming off the waiver wire at camp time.

 

[Irish]

I see absolutely no point in bringing in Damon Stoudamire. He is no more a pg than Barbosa.

We would probably have better choices coming off the waiver wire at camp time.

Considering our options, I'd say that is about right. I suspectt hat Cassell is over the hill and he may be the best of Vet Min guys (I think Pargo goes for more money) and I'm not sure he'd be that effective.

 

[Mainstreet]

We would probably have better choices coming off the waiver wire at camp time.

I agree, however, the thought of the Suns having to work the waiver wire for a PG sickens me. Wasn't filling the backup PG behind Nash listed a priority by Kerr? I do think some teams will be releasing some backup PGs that the Suns management couldn't find.

 

[arwillan]

Whatever the drama is, we should get a clear result soon. We can't wait him forever.

About Pargo, he did a relatively good job backup Paul in NO. Nearly 20mpg, acceptable stats, a good 3p shooter. He might be good enough for the job. But I would still prefer to trade for a better one ...

we can't afford to trade barbosa for just a backup pg .without barbosa, our bench is probably the worst in the league because we have no other steady offense on that bench. we can't trade diaw for one because his contract is too much for just about any team to want to take. even then, how many pg's do you know that are only backups but making 9m a year? if we lose diaw, our frontcourt depth turns into lopez, a totally unproven rookie. So there is essentially no way for us to trade for a backup pg at this point.

 

[arwillan]

I see absolutely no point in bringing in Damon Stoudamire. He is no more a pg than Barbosa.

We would probably have better choices coming off the waiver wire at camp time.

his career assist average is 6.1, nearly twice what barbs puts up in that category. he's much more of a pg than barbosa.

 

[AceP]

we can't afford to trade barbosa for just a backup pg .without barbosa, our bench is probably the worst in the league because we have no other steady offense on that bench. we can't trade diaw for one because his contract is too much for just about any team to want to take. even then, how many pg's do you know that are only backups but making 9m a year? if we lose diaw, our frontcourt depth turns into lopez, a totally unproven rookie. So there is essentially no way for us to trade for a backup pg at this point.

U r completely wrong on this one.

First of all, we have Diaw, who is a good offensive player. He actually averaged 14.6 points in the Spurs series, far more than Barbosa, with a very respectable 54.7%. And, ironically, a lot more assists, too.

Second. We DO NOT trust Barbosa to play PG at all! That's why we r here in this thread! By whatever way possible, we r going to get a real PG who can really play the point. That new guy is going to provide off bench offense, in a better way than Barbosa did.

I'm not suggesting we give up Barbosa for nothing! Delonte West averaged 10.8 points and 4.2 assists in last playoff. And he defends way better than Barbosa. U should also check Pargo's stats.

Third. We have been talking about developing young players. Tucker was great in summer league, scored a lot with great efficiency. Given necessary minutes and games to develop, there is a good chance he becomes a decent backup SG/SF. Or, u don't want to see that happen? Keep playing Barbosa for 30mpg and leaving Tucker and Strawberry as a bench warmer?

Fourth. We have been complaining about D'Antoni's 7 men rotation. We wanted to add depth. Barbosa was given consistent 30mpg to reach his 15ppg. IT IS DOOMED to drop, and maybe a lot. His role as main off-bench scorer is going to reduce ANYWAY.

Fifth. In order to win in playoff, we all know what change has to be made to this team. We don't need to remain as one of the highest scoring team in the league. We can afford to score a few points less every game. But if we don't upgrade our defence for a level or 2, we r going nowhere. And we also desperately need to balance the roster.

Sixth. We added Barnes, might move Hill to lead the bench. If so, the new PG + Hill + Diaw, I don't know which team has a bench better than this one.

After all, Leandro Barbosa is a typical fun to watch regular season wonder. BUT, he chokes on big stage. His career playoff stats is just 11.2ppg with 42.4 FG% and 34.0 3P%, look at the figures and accept the facts. More than that, he is absolutely one dimenson, does nothing else beside score. We r lucky there r GMs in the league like him. Sell him if there is something good on table!

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

More updates


http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9750

Evening Scoop: The Suns, Pargo, and Dragic

By: Bill Ingram Last Updated: 8/12/08 4:55 PM ET | 885 times read



It appears there will soon be movement on Goran Dragic, the Tau Ceramica point guard who is of great interest to the Phoenix Suns. There are conflicting reports coming out about whether or not Dragic will leave Tau to play in the NBA, but Suns GM Steve Kerr is confident he'll be able to make a deal in the next few days.

"Dragic would come to camp as our backup point guard," Kerr told HOOPSWORLD this afternoon. "We think he's got a ton of potential, but of course all rookies struggle when they first arrive. If he falters, we could move (Leandro) Barbosa back to that position for a while if we have to. But ideally Dragic will back up Nash, play 17 minutes a game and develop in that position to the point where one day he's our starter. That's the plan."

If Dragic does wind up in America, he couldn't ask for a much better situation to walk into. Playing under legendary point guard Terry Porter and with former MVP Steve Nash, Dragic would have the best of the best helping mold him into what Kerr and company hope will be the NBA's next star guard.

"Terry has only seen the kid on film, but he likes what he sees and he knows how important it is for us not to run Nash into the ground like we did last year," explains Kerr. "And Barbosa is ideally suited to be a 2, not a 1, so long term he's not the answer at the point. We think Dragic is our guy for the future, and it's just a question of how long it takes him."

Kerr admits he's seen reports of Dragic's unwillingness to come to the NBA, but is still hopeful that an arrangement can be reached. If not, there is still a Plan B. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Suns are also in the hunt for Janerro Pargo, who has an offer on the table from the San Antonio Spurs. One report even suggests that the Hornets may be back in the running for Pargo, though as of last week they had no intention of re-signing their reserve point guard according to agent Mark Bartelstein. The Suns' arrival on the scene would certainly explain why a deal hasn't been finalized with the Spurs.

Every other year each team gets what's called a bi-annual exception, which is basically $1.9 million they can offer a player to fill a spot. This is the spot the Spurs are offering Pargo, but obviously Bartelstein would rather find a few more bucks for one of the better reserve point guards in the league. The Suns still have their MLE, which is presumably what they would use to sign Dragic, but they could use it for Pargo instead. It would likely mean at least a half million more for Pargo.

​

I vow not to complain about this offseason for the remainder of this offseason if we land dragic OR pargo by the end of the week.

 

[Mainstreet]

Pargo or Dragic would be fine with me although I prefer Dragic because of his youth and the possibility he may develop into the point guard of the future. I must say, if Dragic were not available I would be thrilled with Pargo.

 

[SirStefan32]

I will take either. I'd rather have Pargo, because with him, we know what we are getting and he can play 15-20 solid minutes every night.

 

[Irish]

In any case, it certainly sounds like Kerr has the OK to pay some LT to get a backup for Nash.

BTW, some people say the Suns have not tried to deal with the backup guard issue. They have, it's just that it hasn't worked.

In 2005 the Suns had a choice of taking Josh Smith, Josh Childress, or Boris Diaw. They asked for Diaw in part because they thought he could play the point.

In 2006 the Suns tried to get Salmons and failed and then took Banks. That didn't work out either but there was hope he might get it together last year. If he could have done the job, the signing would have been great, but instead he was cap filler on a trade.

This year they drafted a PG and have done what they could to get the guy to come over. Maybe if they came up with the money earlier, then they'd have Lue.

I give them an A for effort and a D for execution.

 

[AceP]

Considering recent performance and the teams they served, Pargo is clearly better than Lue. It is likely our front office considers Lue worth no more than veteran minimal, while Pargo might get a part of the MLE. I wouldn't blame Kerr for missed Lue.

 

[leclerc]

Pay Pargo!!!

 

[Mainstreet]

I give them an A for effort and a D for execution.

It sounds like a management issue to me. I know one advantage the C's had is they could pull the trigger on a deal immediately. However, it seems like Kerr (perhaps through no fault of his own) takes a long time executing a trade or a deal. Maybe it's just the Dragic/ Pargo thing driving me crazy.

 

[The Commish]

In any case, it certainly sounds like Kerr has the OK to pay some LT to get a backup for Nash.

BTW, some people say the Suns have not tried to deal with the backup guard issue. They have, it's just that it hasn't worked.

In 2005 the Suns had a choice of taking Josh Smith, Josh Childress, or Boris Diaw. They asked for Diaw in part because they thought he could play the point.

In 2006 the Suns tried to get Salmons and failed and then took Banks. That didn't work out either but there was hope he might get it together last year. If he could have done the job, the signing would have been great, but instead he was cap filler on a trade.

This year they drafted a PG and have done what they could to get the guy to come over. Maybe if they came up with the money earlier, then they'd have Lue.

I give them an A for effort and a D for execution.

I don't think the Suns ever had the option of Josh Smith - that is just a pipe dream.

Secondly you're right in the sense that we've tried to get a backup PG, but the Suns logic of trying to convert Diaw & Salmons into PG's is seriously flawed. WE NEED A PASS FIRST BACKUP PG! We've seen how much our offense has to change when Nash is out. Hell, we drafted Spanish Chocolate then traded him for cash! They've had their chances...

 

[Irish]

You may be right. What was said was that the Hawks were very surprised the Suns did not even ask for Smith, not that the Hawks would have agreed.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

You may be right. What was said was that the Hawks were very surprised the Suns did not even ask for Smith, not that the Hawks would have agreed.

frankly george, i don't even recall hearing that. i don't think smith's name ever came up in conversation. i think it was all, always childress or diaw and the consensus was we took the wrong one but the suns preferred diaw (b/c of his "ability" to play the point - so you're accurate there).

 

[Irish]

frankly george, i don't even recall hearing that. i don't think smith's name ever came up in conversation. i think it was all, always childress or diaw and the consensus was we took the wrong one but the suns preferred diaw (b/c of his "ability" to play the point - so you're accurate there).

It's pretty difficult to track down the article and even if it was only Childress, the point is that the Hawks were very surprised the Suns took Diaw. The issue was that the Suns thought they were getting a point guard rather than a center.

 

[nowagimp]

Considering recent performance and the teams they served, Pargo is clearly better than Lue. It is likely our front office considers Lue worth no more than veteran minimal, while Pargo might get a part of the MLE. I wouldn't blame Kerr for missed Lue.

Yup, Pargo is >>> lue and also pargo is >>> Dragic. Dragic may someday be the best of the 3, but this year nash will get the most rest with pargo as backup. Pargo has some serious quickness, good handles, and is a clutch shooter. I'd really like that signing and Kerr would move up big time as a GM in my eyes with that move. Steve Nash with no backup has gone on too long, something has gotta be done about it. NO MORE LB at the point, NO MORE!