DarkHawk wrote:Nash was a pass-first PG who played off the ball after he passed and was a willing shooter if the opportunity came up.
Dragic is a scoring guard. He needs the ball to be successful.
Phoenix had plenty of time to decide if they wanted him and they chose to 'want' him. Goran felt differently. He claims there were issues for a long time but waited last minute to demand a trade.
The team DID care. They tried putting pieces around him. When it didn't work out, they talked to him and even suggested dealing Thomas but he had his foot out the door already.
And to say he didn't want to play with Bledsoe too was selfish. It proved he didn't care about winning and just wanted to be the man. You can't win a title with Goran as your primary option.
The Suns brought in his brother to make him happy and would have probably matched the highest offer he got this coming summer. He knew he was going to get paid regardless but went the direction he did instead.
People have the right to rank on him if they want. This is the Suns team forum and not the NBA board where your lecture is more appropriate.
Goran never claimed there were issues for a long time. He never said he didn't want to play with Bledsoe either. This is vague second hand information twisted by the front office to save face. It's amazing how many people believe this BS.
Dragic said, during last year, when they were bringing in Bledsoe, he was wondering what the future held for him. Then he said he then realized the plan and was happy and it worked well. He continually said in the offseason that he would check free agency (smart) but he imagine he would be back in Phoenix. The IT signing, and the fact that he RARELY EVER ran the offense, is what obviously bothered him. He looked unhappy this year. He didn't look unhappy last year. If you didn't see this you are lying to yourself.
Both Bledsoe and Dragic played plenty of minutes when the other rested last year and ran the offense. That rarely EVER happened with Dragic this year and he was taken off the ball. He is MUCH more valuable with the ball, as evidence here...
Pelton: Dragic is worth the money
After news of Dragic's desire to be traded broke Tuesday night, I tweeted "buyer beware," noting that Dragic will be 29 by the time he becomes a free agent this summer, and his 2013-14 performance looks suspiciously fluky compared to the rest of his career. But a funny thing happened when I went to find evidence for my argument: It turns out I was completely wrong, at least about whether Dragic's return to earth is better explained by regression or the Suns' glut of point guards.
Part of my logic was that relatively few of Dragic's minutes have come with Thomas; he mostly has played with Bledsoe, the same starting lineup as last season. This is true; according to NBAwowy.com, nearly two-thirds of Dragic's minutes have come next to Bledsoe with Thomas on the bench. However, that is a change from last season. Because of Bledsoe's knee surgery and coach Jeff Hornacek's ability to offset the minutes of the two point guards he then had on the roster, Dragic played more than twice as many minutes with Bledsoe on the bench as on the court, according to NBA.com/Stats.
Moreover, the difference between Dragic's performance with and without Bledsoe is staggering. Basically, Dragic's All-NBA nod can be attributed entirely to how he performed as Phoenix's lone point guard. Check out a comparison of his numbers by backcourt:
Dragic 2013-14 Performance
Role P36 A36 Usg TS% Win% WARP
Lone PG 22.1 6.9 .257 .622 .658 9.1
W/Bledsoe 18.2 4.4 .226 .565 .505 1.7
With the ball in his hands more frequently, Dragic created more of his own offense and set up teammates more frequently. Yet he also defied the typical relationship between usage and efficiency by improving his true shooting percentage dramatically as well. When Bledsoe was on the court with him, Dragic was about an average player. (League average for win percentage, the per-minute version of my wins above replacement player [WARP] metric, is .500.) With Bledsoe on the bench, Dragic had the league's 11th-best winning percentage.
This season, that issue has been exacerbated by Thomas' presence. It's no longer possible for Hornacek to stagger minutes so only one point guard is on the court at a time -- Dragic has played barely 100 minutes all season without either Bledsoe or Thomas alongside him, per NBAwowy.com.
Dragic 2014-15 Performance
Role P36 A36 Usg TS% Win% WARP
W/Bledsoe 17.2 4.0 .216 .563 .504 2.1
W/Thomas 15.5 3.4 .204 .517 .420 0.0
W/3 PG 14.4 3.5 .172 .614 .416 0.0
Lone PG 20.9 7.4 .245 .666 .598 0.4
Dragic has played about the same with Bledsoe as he did last season. But next to Thomas, a more ball-dominant point guard, Dragic's per-minute ratings drop to replacement level. He's been relegated to spotting up, sending his usage rate plummeting -- particularly with all three point guards on the court together. In the few opportunities Dragic has had the point all to himself, he's generally performed like last season, with the exception of a small-sample spike in his turnover rate. Dragic's per-36 averages as the lone point have been All-Star-caliber. Per Basketball-Reference.com, just three players are averaging at least 20.0 points and 7.0 assists per 36 minutes this season: Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
Whatever team acquires Dragic can't expect this level of performance for the life of his next contract. His age is still a concern. Players rated as similar by my SCHOENE projection system saw their WARP totals drop by more than 20 percent between their age-29 and age-30 seasons. A four-year deal for the maximum salary would likely prove an overpay, even with the cap due to rise dramatically.
The right fit also will be crucial. Dragic won't be able to dominate the ball playing next to Kobe Bryant with the Lakers or in the Knicks' triangle offense, creating some of the same issues produced by the Suns' current glut of point guards. But if Dragic gets a chance to play primarily with the ball, the rest of the league should beware.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/ ... orth-moneyHe was smart to get into a situation where he will likely handle the ball MUCH more. Sure his usage rate hasn't been really high yet, but he is learning their offense and he will run the team when Wade rests and perhaps retire in the future. Miami wanted to utilize him correctly and allow him to start at pg. Wade has learned to play off the ball quite a bit the last few seasons, so it will likely work well for him.
