Zoran Dragic Signing Likely All About Goran Dragic's Future with Phoenix Suns
Of all the contracts the Phoenix Suns handed out during the offseason, of all the decisions they made, none may be bigger than signing Zoran Dragic, the brother of star point guard Goran Dragic.
It came in a haze of activity, sandwiched between Eric Bledsoe's five-year, $70 million deal and the extensions of brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris, which the Suns announced early Monday morning. Zoran will earn slightly more than $4 million over the next two years, according ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
The deal itself is inconsequential. It's worth barely anything, so it won't drastically impede the Suns' ability to spend (Bledsoe's deal and the Morris extensions are different stories).
Zoran's arrival, however, is huge. Yes, it gives the Suns another guard they can add to their unrivaled collection; but he's also an asset they'll use to retain Goran, who can—and likely will—enter unrestricted free agency next summer.
How does one spurn the team that employs his brother? It's that simple.
"That is part of why Zoran is here," AZCentral's Paul Coro writes. "Goran is naturally a big part of it, with his ability to opt out of his contract next season and be an unrestricted free agent when Zoran will still have one more guaranteed season with the Suns."
There's more to it, of course. The Suns are not the New York Knicks. Zoran is not the Chris Smith of Phoenix. He's valued for his defense and is likened to a bigger, burlier version of his brother. But while there's NBA value in him, the Goran angle cannot be understated.
After making long-term commitments to Bledsoe, the Morris twins and P.J. Tucker, the Suns are going to be capped out after this season. They'll retain Goran's Bird rights and thus the ability to re-sign him no matter the cost, but if owner Robert Sarver imposes spending limits, there's a chance he can price himself out of the team's range.
Remember, Goran joined LeBron James as the only other player to average at least 20 points and 5.5 assists while shooting 50 percent or better from the floor last season. A repeat performance puts him in max-contract territory, increasing the likelihood he fields an offer Phoenix cannot afford.
Unless, you know, money is no object.
"We set it up cap-wise to have a lot of flexibility this summer," Suns general manager Ryan McDonough told Fox Sports 910AM in Phoenix of the team's financial situation following Bledsoe's deal. "There's still plenty of money to give to Goran next year."
Assuming the dollars and cents won't be points of issue, Zoran isn't some negotiating buffer the Suns hope results in a discount. It most certainly could, but that's not the primary play here.
More likely than not, the Suns are trying to come up with every possible reason for Goran to stay. Even after the season both he and the team had last year, his loyalty isn't a given.
Nothing is guaranteed when playing in the wild Western Conference. The Suns won 48 games last year and still missed the playoffs, and they've since hedged their bets on that exact foundation.
"Phoenix doubled down on this with deals for Eric Bledsoe and both Morris twins," Grantland's Zach Lowe writes. "The Suns might be overestimating their core after a magical season, and they’ll be capped out this summer."
Missing the postseason yet again could compel Goran to test the market. In that scenario, the Suns still wouldn't be good enough and would lack the financial plasticity to strengthen their cosmetic makeup, putting them at a severe disadvantage when other, more promising destinations come calling.
And they will come calling.
Point guard is a loaded position, but Goran has blossomed into the league's most underrated superstar (my apologies to Carmelo Anthony). If he hits the open market after another lottery-lost campaign—however promising—teams are going to use that in free-agency pitches. They'll sell him on the idea of extensive resources and the opportunity to contend for a title. They'll promise things Phoenix cannot.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one such organization.
Stein previously revealed they would target Dragic next summer if he reached free agency. Though their core isn't as put-together as Phoenix's, the chance to help headline one of the NBA's most storied franchises bears consideration.
Would Dragic really pass on that pitch to remain with the Suns? What if it's another high-profile team talking him up? What if it's the Houston Rockets? Or the New York Knicks?
Will he really walk away from those opportunities to stay in Phoenix?
Possibly, and not just because of Zoran.
Direction is important. If the Suns stand firm on theirs, Goran might not want to go anywhere. Zoran would have little to do with their direction in that sense.
Think of him as an added incentive instead.
Collective success and a stable core should speak for the Suns. In the event it can't, they have another deftly placed arrow in their quiver.
Phoenix understands the importance of family ties. It was on full display during negotiations with the Morris twins, according Coro:
"Because the twins' lives are so intertwined to the point of basketball unity, Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby first negotiated a cumulative figure of $52 million over four years for the Morris twins with their agent, Leon Rose.
Babby turned to them for how the money should be divided.
"
This situation is different. The Dragic brothers won't be splitting anything, and it's Goran who is far more important to the Suns' future than Zoran.
But the Morris twins attest to the significance of actual brotherhood. If Goran and Zoran are even half as close, they'll want to keep playing together—a matter the Suns have entrusted to their development and advancement, as well as the link between two brothers that extends beyond the basketball court.
"It's an unbelievable feeling, an awesome feeling that we're going to spend a year together and hopefully do some damage to other teams," Goran said of Zoran's arrival, via Coro.
Should all go according to plan—Phoenix's obvious and creative master plan—that feeling won't soon go away.
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