Losing Goran Dragic to Free Agency Would Be a Disaster for Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns have a host of young prospects, a boatload of point guards, a number of highly-skilled scorers and one franchise face.
No matter how much talent exists around him, combo guard Goran Dragic is the most important piece of this puzzle.
Taking him out of the equation would be like pulling the foundation out from under a house. The Suns' towering ceiling would come crashing down before these players ever had the chance to push toward it.
It's a terrifying possibility, and one perhaps not nearly as easy to dismiss as it first seemed.
Dragic has a $7.5 million player option for next season. Early into the 2013-14 campaign, it was universally understood that pay grade no longer fit with his production.
The Suns, assumed by many to be among the league's bottom-feeders, reeled off 48 wins, their most since Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire powered them to 54 in 2009-10. Head coach Jeff Hornacek unlocked his offense with an uptempo attack, and nearly the entire roster responded with career years.
But The Dragon's rise was the most dramatic of all.
Dragic led the Suns in points (20.3), assists (5.9), three-point shooting (40.8) and player efficiency rating (21.4). His 50.5 field-goal percentage trailed only that of center Miles Plumlee (51.7).
For his efforts, Dragic took home both the NBA's Most Improved Player award and an All-NBA third-team selection.
Clearly, this was not a $7.5-million-a-year player.
No one needed to tell that to him, though. Word leaked over the summer that he had already decided both to decline his option and to work out a longer, more lucrative deal to stay with the Suns, per Bright Side of the Sun's Dave King.
Really, neither decision was surprising. His salary hadn't kept pace with his developing skill set, and the desert still seemed like the right home for the athletes around him and the offensive creativity of the coaching staff.
However, we finally have a twist to this tale.
According to Sporting News' Sean Deveney, Dragic's free-agency future has not been predetermined. Once he hits the market, he'll look around and see what's out there:
"Dragic will have an 'open' free agency, league sources told Sporting News. When Dragic opts out and becomes a free agent next July, he will be a sought-after commodity, and while Phoenix would get the first hearing, Dragic will have options.
Among those options, according to sources, would be Houston — the team Dragic left in order to sign with Phoenix in 2012.
... The Lakers also figure to be a potential landing spot for Dragic, a source said.
"
Now, that doesn't mean Dragic's days in Phoenix are limited. He could still opt to stick around next summer.
But, as Deveney notes, Dragic staying is not a foregone conclusion:
"There are three main factors which will determine whether or not he stays in Phoenix: The contract that the Suns end up offering, his happiness with his role on the team, and his level of satisfaction with the way this year unfolds," wrote NBC Sports' Brett Pollakoff.
The Suns can't afford to let Dragic out of their sights.
He is the key ingredient of the Suns' success. When he plays well, the team plays well.
It's been that way since last season.
| Win (13-14) | 45 | 21.0 | 53.3 | 46.2 | 6.1 | 124 | 107 |
| Loss (13-14) | 31 | 19.2 | 46.5 | 33.3 | 5.6 | 112 | 114 |
| Win (14-15) | 6 | 17.2 | 51.3 | 45.0 | 3.8 | 121 | 104 |
| Loss (14-15) | 5 | 13.8 | 43.1 | 17.6 | 2.4 | 92 | 117 |
Phoenix has a deeper collection of point guards than any team in the league. In addition to Dragic, the Suns have Eric Bledsoe (who received a five-year, $70 million extension this summer), Isaiah Thomas (who arrived over the offseason with a four-year, $27 million deal) and rookie Tyler Ennis (the 18th overall pick in June).
Having that much depth might appear to make Dragic expendable. It actually makes him even more essential.
The Suns don't have another player like him. The 6'4" Dragic is significantly taller than the 6'1" Bledsoe and the 5'9" Thomas. He also owns a better career three-point percentage (36.3) and the highest single-season mark (40.8) of the three.
Dragic is crafty with the basketball. In 2012-13, his first season as a starter, he had a 35.7 assist percentage. Thomas' personal best is 32.2. Bledsoe's current 27.5 is the highest his has ever been.
His teammates can pass to open targets, but Dragic has the gift to open up players with his passing.
Considering he was a 20-point scorer and a steady free throw away from being a 50/40/90 shooter last season, it's not like defenses can simply protect against the pass. Dragic has enough in his arsenal to keep defenders in pick-your-poison scenarios.
"He's got the whole package and that's what makes it difficult for guys to guard him," Hornacek said last season, per Paul Coro of AZCentral Sports. "They don't know what to take away."
Thomas and Bledsoe aren't easy covers, either, but their skills tend to overlap a bit.
Thomas uses his quickness and fearlessness to break down defenders and slip inside the lane. Bledsoe is an intimidating physical presence with tremendous explosiveness and the strength to finish plays at the basket. Both are streaky shooters from the perimeter.
Dragic's talent on its own demands a significant commitment. The uniqueness of his ability on this roster only increases his worth. With plenty of financial wiggle room moving forward, the Suns should not be worried about getting priced out of his market.
But money isn't the only concern. Dragic needs to be sold on the direction of this team and his role in it.
That could be a tricky negotiation. The Suns haven't exactly exploded out of the gate, and Dragic told Coro that chemistry has been hard to find for a pretty obvious reason:
"Because there's only one ball and we're all point guards. That's an easy answer.
It's hard. That's sacrifice. If Isaiah's playing well, he's going to stay in. Me and Eric, it depends who is playing better and who is going to be on the court. The other guy is going to be on the bench. It's the way it is. We need to embrace that.
"
After finishing last season eighth in offensive efficiency, Phoenix currently holds the category's 16th spot. All three point guards have taken statistical hits in terms of quantity. While this group could still discover tremendous quality, there are only so many touches to go around.
And Dragic's suitors will surely remind him of that.
He'll need to continue to sacrifice if he plans on staying in Phoenix.
It's up to him to decide whether that's reason enough to search out a new home. The Suns are still loaded with potential, and he might have the chance to do something special with this time. Having his brother, Zoran, on the roster could sway him toward staying.
But Goran will have plenty of options available. And it's not impossible to imagine them looking better than his current digs.
The Suns need to do everything in their power to convince him otherwise. They might be in possession of a three-headed monster now, but they cannot risk losing the most pivotal piece of that triumvirate.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
