The Vujanic Factor

[George O'Brien]

The Suns draft strategy will be heavily influenced by whether they expect Vujanic to sign and contribute. Drafting a PG would be a sure sign they don't think he will come over.

I think he might. He just turned 25 a few months ago, so if he hopes to make it in the NBA the window is closing. The Suns will thave their full MLE and their "million dollar exemption" (assuming the rules don't change). Unless there are further contract hangups with Skpper, I would expect he could be had for a bit over $2 million to start.

Would he be able to help? Everyone is all over the block on him. This season he is shooting 54% from the field (only 38% for three which is surprising since he shot very well last season). Since Delfino is now withe Pistons, Milos has been forced to carry more of the scoring load and is averaging over 25 ppg in league play. Here is the Eurobasket

Height: 190cm / 6'3''
Position: Guard
Born: 1980
Team: Climamio, ITA (2003-05)
Nationality: SCG
Agency: Olsta Sports Previous teams:
Partizan (SCG)
Crvena Zv. (SCG)
Current Stats




Milos Vujanic (Photo: Legabasket)

Career / Comments:
Born: Nov.13, 1980
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Outlook:
Good and strong psychic abilities for the playmaker position. Extremely perspective player, explosive and fast with great technique. A possibility for developing his talent and ability for the playmaker exists.
Outlook by Assaf Hadar:
He is a dream of Several scouts and coaches in the NBA: A point guards with scorer mentality….one of the best players in Europe this season with more than 25 points a game… A scorer Machine who has done his break out this season… a point Guard with a Mentality of a scorer who can play also as a SG…has been showing so far this season that he can Deliver In the highest level in Europe...this guy is only going up….extremely developed his Offense game… he is a winner
Has good body frame size with nice athletic abilities with Quickness…. A Scorer and A shooter (improved his shooting stroke this season) good shoot behind the arc but inconsistent(most of his years so far 35- 40% from the 3 points)…Very difficult to guard him- Uses many skills on Offense but his best weapon is his first quick step handling ball…. Very good ball handling…Excellent on drives (can dish the ball to an open player)… good court vision… likes the ball in his hands in the money time… Draws a lot of energy from his opponents in D- draws almost 10 Fouls a game… Has mutilated his points average in Euroleague this season from 13.5 to more than 25 a game…He is one of Europe's top first step (amazing quick first Step) with the ball in his hand, has the ability to control his body in any situation…. has quick hands (stealing the ball) but needs to improve his Defense game (more aggressive attitude)… it seems that often his Defense game is influences by his ability to score…. Excellent from the FT…he is consistently improving.

There is some doubt about his ability to play against aggressive Guards especially in the NBA(O and D),He must bulk up and be more aggressive in his floor game…. He is not a pure PG and sometimes forget his PG mentality…. Must become more consistent IN Spite of the fact that has been working on this point for the last season (and has shown great improvement)….He has shown a great Character this season with Partizan grew up this season, Developed his game and his mental ability a level up.
A guy how can be there in Money time – A clutch player in Europe like to take the game on his back- doesn’t afraid from anything- kills his opponents on Offense.
Can play in the NBA as a replacer, must improve his weakness (aggressiveness and bulk) he is a clutch player for getting quick points.

I'm not sure how up to date this profile is but I think he has a lot of potential.

 

[Chaz]

Seems like he could be a better PG prospect than Barbosa.

I see Barbosa as a scorer like Tony Delk or Bobby Jackson with some good open court defense.


Vujanic can already hit the jumper and from what little I saw he is pretty fluid with the ball. With the defense having to respect his jumper the two man game is much more effective.

Hopefully we will see him this summer so we can see if we have a PG of the future. I agree though if Vujanic is not coming a backup PG is a priority this of season.

 

[PhxGametime]

Milos Vujanic's contract ends after this year with his team - unless something happened I don't know about...


I'd still like Vujanic and then Hunter resigned. Draft Pick, there's still a long way to go...

 

[binkar]

I would love to have him come over. However, it isn't only if the Suns want him here, but if he wants to be here. He has made it known in the past he doesn't want to be a backup.

 

[Chaz]

I would love to have him come over. However, it isn't only if the Suns want him here, but if he wants to be here. He has made it known in the past he doesn't want to be a backup.

Being a backup to Charlie Ward and Howard Eisley is one thing. Being the primary backup to Steve Nash on a winning team could be a little better prospect.

 

[Joe Mama]

Being a backup to Charlie Ward and Howard Eisley is one thing. Being the primary backup to Steve Nash on a winning team could be a little better prospect.

That's absolutely correct. He would be the primary backup on one of the best teams in the NBA playing his style of basketball. Not only that, but he would be backing up a guy who should really not be averaging more than 34 minutes per game, especially in the next couple of years. I could also see D'Antoni playing a Nash & Vujanic backcourt for a few minutes per game.

What Vujanic said about the New York Knicks is that he didn't want to be a third string point guard behind mediocre players. I'm not sure if he will actually come over or even if the Phoenix Suns really want him here, but I wouldn't think his role with his team would be a big problem.

That Scouting report makes it sound like Vujanic is a scoring point guard in the mold of Marbury. When I saw him he reminded me of Steve Nash with the Dallas Mavericks. In Dallas Nash distributed the ball, but he was more of a scorer than he is now. I think Vujanic could be a mix of last year and this year's Steve Nash. I'm not saying he's going to be anywhere near as good as Steve Nash. I do think he could play that style though.

Vujanic would not have any problems running the basketball. In the 4-5 games I saw he pushed the ball every time he got the chance. He was very, very good at finishing and finding the open man with a great pass. In the half-court I think he could place and more style to Nash penetrating and drawing the attention of the entire defense until he found the open man. Lastly he is perfect for the pick and roll his team thrives on.

As I said the other day if the Phoenix Suns used their mid-level exception to bring over Vujanic and re-sign Hunter I would be happy. They could use their draft pick in a trade for another veteran or to trap the best player available. Of course this is also assuming they re-sign JJ.

Joe Mama

 

[Gaddabout]

Given D'Antoni's European street cred, I think Phoenix is one of only two teams who could make a credible pitch to Vujanic (Dallas being the other one).

I've never seen him play, but he sounds a lot like Barbosa. If he's got a long ways to go to being an open-court PG, I'm not crazy about spending a lot of money on him. That said, if he's an effective PG in spurts (i.e. can find the open man in court, play two-man game), it might be worth a few million on the cap to have someone who can play this kind of game off the bench.

 

[coloradosun]

I think it is one or the other, Barbosa or Vujanic. Vujanic will want minutes and LB might prevent that from happening. If Vujanic wants to come over, I would trade Barbosa to make room. If Vujanic wants to start in the league, I would trade his rights to move up in the draft. SA may be interested in swapping for our 2005 first rounder so they hide a contract in Europe instead of taking on two first round selections. They seem to have good scouts in Europe and may make a good team for him to end up with, at 25 I don't think he wants to play for a non contending team.

 

[joshstmarie]

imo barbs and milos games are moons apart.
milos can run an offense, barbosa obviously cant. i dont know where you heard they were the same type of player but that couldnt be further from the truth.

if i had to choose between the two id take milos because of the fact that his game reminds me of nashs. how many steve nashs are there in the nba??? 1

how many LBs are in the nba??? hundreds. now im not saying he is a steve nash clone but i think he has a good chance to be.

 

[coloradosun]

At this point in time and with our salary cap situation as it is, I would rather go after a back up point guard in the draft instead of Vujanic. He will probably command or require 2M or more a year for 5 years, just guessing.

Our slot a present in the draft with Chicago's selection requires an escalating rookie salary starting at 1M at #17. If we talk our way into SA selection of our pick at #29 the salary associated with that pick is 700K escalating rookie contract. Or if we could negotiate our way into GS early second rounder it would cost a lot less and only guaranteed for 1 year with the team option for the 2nd.

Any of these are better options than bringing Vujanic now or at anytime.

My solution is trade Vujanic to SA for rights for our 1st round selection in 2005. It eliminates a rookie contract for the Spurs to absorb. Or trade Vujanic to GS for that pick, it is close to the slot where he was originally drafted by the Knicks.

 

[George O'Brien]

At this point in time and with our salary cap situation as it is, I would rather go after a back up point guard in the draft instead of Vujanic. He will probably command or require 2M or more a year for 5 years, just guessing.

Our slot a present in the draft with Chicago's selection requires an escalating rookie salary starting at 1M at #17. If we talk our way into SA selection of our pick at #29 the salary associated with that pick is 700K escalating rookie contract. Or if we could negotiate our way into GS early second rounder it would cost a lot less and only guaranteed for 1 year with the team option for the 2nd.

Any of these are better options than bringing Vujanic now or at anytime.

My solution is trade Vujanic to SA for rights for our 1st round selection in 2005. It eliminates a rookie contract for the Spurs to absorb. Or trade Vujanic to GS for that pick, it is close to the slot where he was originally drafted by the Knicks.

I am not convinced that any of the draft available PG's are capable of making a big splash next season for the Suns. From every report, Vujanic is very good in the open court and a great pick and roll guard. I could be wrong, but he looks like he could conribute immediately.

If Vujanic was the only addition, he would replace LB in the rotation. This would give Leandro more time to mature as a player and particularly as a defensive stopper, but not have to rely on him as a PG.

I know this sounds like a radical concept, but I actually like having bench players who can actually play.

 

[devilalum]

The thing I always think about Vujanic is if he was ready to contribute the Suns would be pulling strings etc. to get him here.

From what I can tell they don't have all that much interest.

If he was an experienced vet with NBA experience it might make sense to try and pick him up for a playoff run. Since that's not the case he will need a summer and a training camp at least to adjust to the NBA game. If he is ever able to adjust.

 

[coloradosun]

I know this sounds like a radical concept, but I actually like having bench players who can actually play.

Great concept and I agree. But with the purge we had on young talent hurt, at sometime you do need to restock the stable.

3 or 4 years of starting in college is much more experience than Barbosa had and may be equal to what Vujanic has acquired in Europe. The return on investment that say Redick or Diener can deliver may be greater to what Vujanic will bring with his Euro background because he will be less out of pocket costs.

 

[scotsman13]

3 or 4 years of starting in college is much more experience than Barbosa had and may be equal to what Vujanic has acquired in Europe. The return on investment that say Redick or Diener can deliver may be greater to what Vujanic will bring with his Euro background because he will be less out of pocket costs.

milos has been playing or practicing 2 times a day for years now. playing for his country and all around playing basketball at a level that is at least as high or higher then what any us player is getting in college (granted there is a differant game but we are going to be moving more and more into the european game then the game in the us.) as far as the draft why not work on getting depth in a big position and not worrying about a position that we already have some depth at (barbs and milos) .


something to remember is that the suns system isnt a system that is easy to learn or something that everyone can do well. it counts on the point guard coming down the court and reading what the defense gives them and then making sure what is there is moved upon. players that dont have a lot of experance with having the choose in their hands have a very hard time with our system.