Goran Dragic will be a top 5 point guard in the NBA...

[JCSunsfan]

Here is some video

http://video.google.com/videosearch...m=1&sa=N&tab=wv&q=goran dragic&src=4&start=10

You can see Slovenia vs Turkey. Goran's only nba teammate is Nestoravic. They beat Turkey (Okur and Turkoglu) handily. They dominate Germany (Dirk is playing). T%hey beat France by 1 (Diaw, Parker, Turiaf, F. Pietrus). The clips from the Poland game have that nifty behind the back layup.

 

[Covert Rain]

Tau Ceramica brought new PG Marcelinho Huertas, who will probably get more playing time than Dragic. There is also Argentinian veteran PG Pablo Prigioni, so Dragic is basiclly 3rd sting PG. Dragic`s game is more NBA friendly, as he has good quickness, lenght and is tenacious. If he develops consistent jumpshot, he could be very good backup PG in NBA or fringe starter.

He is somewhat similar to D.J. Strawberry, perhaps a bit more advanced at the offensive end.

This is very troubling IMO. If we are getting a 3rd string Euro PG then I am more convinced then ever this guy will do nothing in the NBA. Most of their 1st string PG would have trouble making it in the NBA.

 

[Bayless2Budinger]

This is very troubling IMO. If we are getting a 3rd string Euro PG then I am more convinced then ever this guy will do nothing in the NBA. Most of their 1st string PG would have trouble making it in the NBA.

It all depends on the player. Most euros that come over arent playing miuch over in Europe. They are just picked on potential. Another thing is that some players just have games that translate better to the NBA and vice versa.

 

[Irish]

I get confused about things like the various leagues, junior leagues, lend out of players, and all kinds other stuff unlike the NBA. In any case, this is the stats:

http://www.nba.com/draft2008/profiles/GoranDragic.html

 

[Nate]

I get confused about things like the various leagues, junior leagues, lend out of players, and all kinds other stuff unlike the NBA. In any case, this is the stats:

http://www.nba.com/draft2008/profiles/GoranDragic.html

Then I will just try to clear it up a bit:

Goran Dragic is under contract with Tau Vitoria, this years Spanish league champion. Before the season started, Tau Vitorias management decided to loan out Dragic to the perennial Slovenian league champion Olimpija Ljubljana to let Dragic develop faster. Tau Vitoria is annually among the best teams in Europe and Taus management did not believe in Dragic being able to get enough playing time in Tau to develop his skills further.

• European club basketball is basically organized by the respective national basketball federations of all European countries. All clubs compete in National league systems, where the best clubs play in the first level league but can be relegated after every season to the lower level leagues. In the bigger countries, there are quite a lot of levels (up to 10/12), and every club has to qualify each year for his level again. Each national league plays out its national champion, and this national competition is the most important one for most clubs and their fans in Europe. Olimpija Ljubljana plays in the first level of the Slovenian national league and won that competition.

• Since Europe is divided in many smaller countries, some national federations agreed to establish an additional regional championship for the best clubs from their countries in order to have more difficult competition. One is the Scandinavian Basketball League, another is the Baltic Basketball League and then there is the Adriatic Basketball league for teams from the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia).

• Finally, there are three pan-European competitions: Euroleague, Uleb-Cup and FIBA Eurocup. The best European clubs compete in the Euroleague, for which they can qualify with finishing among the best clubs in their respective national league. The second-best competition is the UlebCup, where the teams play which basically finished between 4th and 6th in their respective national leagues. Then there is the smaller FibaEurocup for the next best teams from the respective national leagues. That is just a generalization of how it works, because qualifying criteria for the pan-European leagues change almost every other year and are different from country to country.

A good starting point for information in general on European Bball are the sites www.eurobasket.com and www.interbasket.net.

 

[leclerc]

Top 5?? I doubt it. In the NBA you won't be a great PG unless you can shoot.

Jason Kidd.

 

[Cheesewater]

This is very troubling IMO. If we are getting a 3rd string Euro PG then I am more convinced then ever this guy will do nothing in the NBA. Most of their 1st string PG would have trouble making it in the NBA.

Amazing that THAT holds such weight with you. This guy will do nothing in the NBA because Neven Spahija or Dusko Ivanovic and Jose Antonio Querejeta have him 3rd on the depth chart? Sounds like you've got your mind made up no matter what.

 

[Covert Rain]

Jason Kidd.

See later response. That's one example and the exception not the rule.

Amazing that THAT holds such weight with you. This guy will do nothing in the NBA because Neven Spahija or Dusko Ivanovic and Jose Antonio Querejeta have him 3rd on the depth chart? Sounds like you've got your mind made up no matter what.

How is it amazing? If a team has a player 3rd on their depth chart, usually it's not because "they feel like it". Usually it's because the guys in front of him are outplaying him. So, explain to me how that's not a valid observation?

Besides, I didn't say my mind was made up. I think the odds are stacked against this guy. I would like nothing more then this guys to be some guy never given a chance and he turns into a gem for the Suns. I am just not banking on it.

 

[Bayless2Budinger]

Rondo and a young Tony Parker are both examples of decent point guards who couldnt shoot.

 

[Cheesewater]

How is it amazing? If a team has a player 3rd on their depth chart, usually it's not because "they feel like it". Usually it's because the guys in front of him are outplaying him. So, explain to me how that's not a valid observation?

Besides, I didn't say my mind was made up. I think the odds are stacked against this guy. I would like nothing more then this guys to be some guy never given a chance and he turns into a gem for the Suns. I am just not banking on it.

There are all kinds of reasons for playing or not playing guys...not the least of which is incompetent team management. Or are you one of the folks who never criticized D'Antoni for playing the wrong guys or not playing guys?

"more convinced than ever this guy will do nothing in the NBA" reads like your mind is made up.

 

[Irish]

My impression is that European teams tend to use a kind of seniority system where the established player will start but the young hot shot has to work his way up by playing more minutes rather than replacing the top guy.

From a draft standpoint, NBA teams are faced with the same problem as with taking college guys based in part on how they project. But they have the added complication of their teams taking actions to keep from losing guys they like. Can you imagine the dratt if colleges could act to stop loving their best players?

My suspicion is that if there were no contracts in Europe and the NBA could add guys on an equal financial footing, a lot more Euros would be in the NBA. As the Olympics and World Championships have shown, there are a lot of outstanding players in Europe. The problem is that the guys who are available in the draft are not the elite players - at least not yet.

 

[Covert Rain]

There are all kinds of reasons for playing or not playing guys...not the least of which is incompetent team management. Or are you one of the folks who never criticized D'Antoni for playing the wrong guys or not playing guys?

"more convinced than ever this guy will do nothing in the NBA" reads like your mind is made up.

I criticized D'Antoni plenty. In fact, I called before the season that if there was no title by seasons end he should be done. His managing of players was a sore spot with me. However, I didn't see such blatant incompetence from D'Antoni that he had a potential starter in the NBA riding the bench and relegated to 3rd string. That level of incompetence would be pretty bad. His Euro team seems to be well respected so I find it hard to believe that argument that he was 3rd string because of incompetence.

Also, "more convinced" does not mean convinced. I have been pretty consistent all along that I think this guy is a long shot. Nothing I have seen on video or on scouting reports changed that. All the press statements in the world from the Suns won't either. A PG who can't shoot, who is not a starter in an inferior league and who will probably not wear a Suns uniform any time soon....is sort of hard to get a feel for let alone feel "giddy" about.

I will reserve final judgment for If and when the guy every suits up for the Suns. Until then just stating my opinion.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

I criticized D'Antoni plenty. In fact, I called before the season that if there was no title by seasons end he should be done. His managing of players was a sore spot with me. However, I didn't see such blatant incompetence from D'Antoni that he had a potential starter in the NBA riding the bench and relegated to 3rd string. That level of incompetence would be pretty bad. His Euro team seems to be well respected so I find it hard to believe that argument that he was 3rd string because of incompetence.

Also, "more convinced" does not mean convinced. I have been pretty consistent all along that I think this guy is a long shot. Nothing I have seen on video or on scouting reports changed that. All the press statements in the world from the Suns won't either. A PG who can't shoot, who is not a starter in an inferior league and who will probably not wear a Suns uniform any time soon....is sort of hard to get a feel for let alone feel "giddy" about.

I will reserve final judgment for If and when the guy every suits up for the Suns. Until then just stating my opinion.

Agreed, mystery counts for a lot, it's what drives people to back up QB's and 18 year old unproven Europlayers in the top 5 (Thank you Denver). But we can't make any calls on him until he plays... if ever, eitherway; he is a second rounder so he is low risk.

 

[Chaplin]

It could be possible that his European club could have brought in those other PGs in anticipation of Dragic going to the NBA.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Stop that ya big tease!

 

[DeAnna]

A lot of comparisons to Tony Parker, which is exactly what I thought seeing them both on the court in this series.