Goran Dragic...... who?

[BillsCarnage]

This is who the Suns are trying to trade up in the 2nd round to get...

 

[SirStefan32]

This guy is horrible. I can't believe that a GM of an NBA team is talking about drafting this guy.

 

[dodie53]

how horrible is he?

 

[LV-Suns]

how horrible is he?

Pretty pathetic.

 

[hsandhu]

S.A. took him, what a horrible front office

 

[Proteus]

S.A. took him, what a horrible front office

The same front office who traded Scola to a team within their own division.

 

[SweetD]

Looks ok like a good prospect. He finishes with his left like Nash http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Goran+Dragic&search_type=&aq=f

 

[da_suns_fan]

Looks ok like a good prospect. He finishes with his left like Nash http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Goran+Dragic&search_type=&aq=f

He's left handed.

He sucks. Sorry.

 

[Gaddabout]

Dragic was one of the guys I picked as a sleeper in the sleeper thread. The Suns had him rated as the No. 2 PG in the draft.

The scouting report:

- A long 6-3.5, plays sound defense, giving Tony Parker fits in international play. He's long enough and athletic enough to guard 1s and 2s, and is good both man-up and playing the lanes. Instinctive thief away from the ball without being a gambler.
- Natural PG instincts, a great, unselfish passer, very accurate on the run when he makes up his mind (but not known for dynamic creativity in the halfcourt)
- 38.5" vertical, good athleticism, quick first step, but lacks explosive step
- The left-handedness is a problem because it plays into the strong side of right-handed defenders. He has found work arounds by showing a willingness to go to his right and can finish taking odd angles using his left hand
- Not a 3 pt. shooter and his current mechanics don't suggest he'll be one any time soon. He does, however, have a surprising and developing mid-range game.
- Scouts consistently use terms to describe they rarely use for Europeans: "strong," "tough," "persistent," "driven."

Here's your back-up PG. I'm pretty satisfied with the trade.

 

[TJ]

Dragic was one of the guys I picked as a sleeper in the sleeper thread. The Suns had him rated as the No. 2 PG in the draft.

The scouting report:

- A long 6-3.5, plays sound defense, giving Tony Parker fits in international play. He's long enough and athletic enough to guard 1s and 2s, and is good both man-up and playing the lanes. Instinctive thief away from the ball without being a gambler.
- Natural PG instincts, a great, unselfish passer, very accurate on the run when he makes up his mind (but not known for dynamic creativity in the halfcourt)
- 38.5" vertical, good athleticism, quick first step, but lacks explosive step
- The left-handedness is a problem because it plays into the strong side of right-handed defenders. He has found work arounds by showing a willingness to go to his right and can finish taking odd angles using his left hand
- Not a 3 pt. shooter and his current mechanics don't suggest he'll be one any time soon. He does, however, have a surprising and developing mid-range game.
- Scouts consistently use terms to describe they rarely use for Europeans: "strong," "tough," "persistent," "driven."

Here's your back-up PG. I'm pretty satisfied with the trade.

Sounds like Tony Parker with hops. If he lives up to the hype, this will be a great pick

 

[TBaslim]

Watching the clips, he looks good. Older rookie at 22 (point guards take awhile to mature), good defender, can run the team in open court, drive for fouls to the hoop, and feed the talent in second unit (Barbs, Diaw, GG if still here), has pro game experience, gives Tony Parker fits. I like it!

 

[HooverDam]

I like this pick. Obviously, I haven't seen the kid play much beyond high lights, but everything Ive read and seen on him seems very good.

Giving up a player(pick), future pick, and cash is a bit rough though. It would've been nice if it could've just been a future 2nd rounder and cash it would've be nice. Ah well, congrats to Sarver and Kerr for finally growing a pair between them and making a move that needed to be made.

 

[Slohoop]

This guy is horrible. I can't believe that a GM of an NBA team is talking about drafting this guy.

This is like i would say for you man, if you didn't ever seen to play him it's better to not talk about. Goran Dragic is Tony Parker's worse nightmare, very good defender and one of most talented youngsters in Europe

 

[SirStefan32]

This is like i would say for you man, if you didn't ever seen to play him it's better to not talk about. Goran Dragic is Tony Parker's worse nightmare, very good defender and one of most talented youngsters in Europe

I am European and follow Euro basketball as much as I can. Granted, I haven't seen him play much, but I've watched 5 games he played in in 2007. He was not good at all. I realize that his assist to turnover ratio is not really accurate as assists are recorder differently in Europe, but he is not a great passer.
He is a terrible shooter. While he is very aggressive going to the hoop, layups against Euro competition are easier than they will be against NBA competition.
I remember Hedo blocking him 3 times in one game. Imagine what Garnets, Howards, and Duncans of the NBA are going to do to him.

He is a decent defender for a European, much like Giricek. As far as Parker's worst nightmare goes- Parker has always had trouble against taller opponents who have length- Boris Diaw is very good against Parker. He is a good defender, but he is not a "Parker stopper" anymore than Raja Bell is a "Kobe stopper". Besides, in Europe he is allowed to get away with stuff on defense that he will not get away in the NBA.

Granted, I don't think I've seen him play this last year at all. Eurobasket was in 2007, right? Maybe he's improved and maybe he is a good player now, but last time I watched him, I was very disappointed.

 

[jandaman]

I am European and follow Euro basketball as much as I can. Granted, I haven't seen him play much, but I've watched 5 games he played in in 2007. He was not good at all. I realize that his assist to turnover ratio is not really accurate as assists are recorder differently in Europe, but he is not a great passer.
He is a terrible shooter. While he is very aggressive going to the hoop, layups against Euro competition are easier than they will be against NBA competition.
I remember Hedo blocking him 3 times in one game. Imagine what Garnets, Howards, and Duncans of the NBA are going to do to him.

He is a decent defender for a European, much like Giricek. As far as Parker's worst nightmare goes- Parker has always had trouble against taller opponents who have length- Boris Diaw is very good against Parker. He is a good defender, but he is not a "Parker stopper" anymore than Raja Bell is a "Kobe stopper". Besides, in Europe he is allowed to get away with stuff on defense that he will not get away in the NBA.

Granted, I don't think I've seen him play this last year at all. Eurobasket was in 2007, right? Maybe he's improved and maybe he is a good player now, but last time I watched him, I was very disappointed.

[1] He is a LATE 2nd round pick

[2] Suns like him a lot, ranked him 2nd in there PG list.

[3] He is a LATE 2nd round pick

[4] He obviously had qualities that the Suns liked, obviously, he needs to get stronger and improve his shooting, but defensively he is alread decent atleast.

[5] He is a LATE 2nd round pick

[6] Your opinion of him doesnt hold much, because I'm sure Suns management, and scouts who get paid 300K annual salary, who visit him and watch him work out conduct evaluations and study tapes after tapes have a better understanding of what he capable of, again he was ranked 2nd in Suns PG choice.

[7] He is a LATE 2nd round pick

[8] Suns was rumoured to trade for an early 2nd round or a late first round if he was to go around that time.

[9] Many teams were scared off by his buy-out status as he might not be able to play this season or after next.

 

[SirStefan32]

[6] Your opinion of him doesnt hold much, because I'm sure Suns management, and scouts who get paid 300K annual salary, who visit him and watch him work out conduct evaluations and study tapes after tapes have a better understanding of what he capable of, again he was ranked 2nd in Suns PG choice.

So, we are not allowed to offer our opinions on anything Suns do since we are not professional NBA scouts or GMs?

Whatever dude. This is a fan message board and we offer our opinions. If you don't like mine, that's fine, but don't give me that "You are not a professional scout so ****" crap.

 

[Mulli]

so we need three threads on this guy?

 

[Joe Mama]

So, we are not allowed to offer our opinions on anything Suns do since we are not professional NBA scouts or GMs?

Whatever dude. This is a fan message board and we offer our opinions. If you don't like mine, that's fine, but don't give me that "You are not a professional scout so ****" crap.

I agree. It's okay to give the benefit of the doubt to the scouts, but don't rip somebody for offering their own opinion. I would only question you being so strongly opinionated when you haven't watched him in a year and only saw him five times then. I'm not saying you're wrong, because I haven't watched him yet myself. I just think five Eurobasket games a full season ago was a little weak as evidenced to rip a late second-round draft pick.

This guy isn't going to be a good NBA point guard until he improves his shooting though. According to what I'm reading endless steps I'm looking at he's got a lot of work to do when his shot.

It seems to me that they should try and get him to play on their summer league team and then determine whether they even want to try to get him over here next season.

Joe

 

[hafey]

In the workout video the Suns posted, Dragic said he flew over from the Slovenian national team camp. We should hope they qualify for the Olympics. I'd like to be able to watch in some games in August.

 

[jandaman]

So, we are not allowed to offer our opinions on anything Suns do since we are not professional NBA scouts or GMs?

Whatever dude. This is a fan message board and we offer our opinions. If you don't like mine, that's fine, but don't give me that "You are not a professional scout so ****" crap.

Again, doesnt matter... heck my opinion of him doesnt matter too. Yes its a free forums for opinions thats all we have.

But I wasnt trying to offend you... well directly anyways... my point was the Suns management/scout spent a heck of a lot more time watching this player and making evaluations. They have access to videos, reviews and other evaluations.


You self admittedly said you have limited perception of Dragic, so thats even MORE SO that, your opinion of him is much less detailed and less viable than the Suns scout.


Again, not all scouts get it right, as they ommit the player's ability to adjust (mentally mainly) against bigger, stronger etc players. But again, it would be a safe bet that they did their homework on Dragic, since they offered cash incentive, a future draft pick for him.

The suns could of just sold the 2nd round pick.... but they didnt.

There's something about Dragic...

 

[Nate]

It seems to me that they should try and get him to play on their summer league team and then determine whether they even want to try to get him over here next season.

Wont happen. He is a member of the Slovenian National Team and they are playing in a worldwide competition for the last few places in the Olympic Basketball Tournament. This tournament will take place in Athens, Greece from the 14th to the 20th of July. Among the competing nations are also Greece, Germany, Brazil, Croatia, Puerto Rico and a few others.

 

[Joe Mama]

Wont happen. He is a member of the Slovenian National Team and they are playing in a worldwide competition for the last few places in the Olympic Basketball Tournament. This tournament will take place in Athens, Greece from the 14th to the 20th of July. Among the competing nations are also Greece, Germany, Brazil, Croatia, Puerto Rico and a few others.

I forgot all about this.

Joe

 

[jagu]

Reminded me of a smaller Ginobili. Looks sneaky.

 

[Chaplin]

Sure, his shooting needs some work, but even top 3 picks need to work on shooting as rookies. If the guy can improve his stroke (and there is absolutely no reason to think he can't) and develop a Nash-like vision of the court, then we're set with him. The potential appears to be there, it's just putting it into practice now.

I think it would benefit not only the Suns but Goran himself to get him over as soon as possible. He's already 22 and we need him to start working with Steve Nash right away and get him acclimated to his new teammates on the bench, like Robin, Diaw, LB and whoever we get to take the wing spot.

 

[Cheesewater]

Everyone wondering about Dragic should watch that draft day war room video on Suns.com... The room EXPLODES with high fives after Kerr hangs up with the Spurs. I think they are pretty confident about not only Dragic's skills but his availability. I don't see them getting so excited if there's a significant chance Dragic won't make it over here within the year.