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Dragic headed to Phoenix
Paul Coro - Aug. 17, 2008 02:30 PM
The Arizona Republic
Suns second-round draft pick Goran Dragic reached a buyout agreement with Spanish club Tau Ceramica and is en route to Phoenix to sign a contract to play for the Suns this season.

Dragic ended more than seven weeks of negotiations with the Spanish club by signing a buyout agreement Saturday night, his agent, Rade Filipovich, told The Arizona Republic on Sunday. Dragic is on his way to Phoenix with a verbal agreement that he will sign a four-year contract early this week with the Suns, Filipovich said. The deal's fourth year will be a team option.

Dragic, a 22-year-old Slovenian, is pegged to become the backup point guard to Steve Nash, 34, this season and the Suns brass sees him as the franchise's point guard of the future. The Suns considered the idea of drafting Dragic with their 15th overall pick in June if Robin Lopez, their eventual first-round pick, was not available. They ranked Dragic second only to the top overall pick, Chicago's Derrick Rose, among all point guards in the draft.
"From Day 1, he wanted to end up with Phoenix," Filipovich said. "It was very important for us to put him with the team this year.

"He's very excited. People in Phoenix are going to be very happy. He's going to be a very good player for several years. The Suns fans are getting an excellent player and should be very excited because he's playing great basketball and he's a great young man."

The Suns privately were optimistic about the chances of bringing Dragic aboard this season even though his contract with Tau did not provide for a buyout until next summer.

Phoenix secretly had flown Dragic in for a workout four days before the draft and he returned to Slovenia without meeting any other NBA team.

There were hurdles to overcome for a buyout, including a court case that Dragic's former Slovenian team won against Tau to ultimately give it rights to a percentage of any buyout. Filipovich said Dragic became nervous last month that he would not be able to join the Suns this season.

Dragic would have had to pay a $1.5 million buyout to leave Tau next summer. The Suns are allowed to contribute $500,000 to a buyout. Dragic must pay the rest, driving up the price of his starting salary with the Suns. Terms of the buyout or his impending Suns deal have not been disclosed but Dragic was expected to make nearly $2 million in his first season.

"Think of all the NBA players that went the opposite direction this summer," Filipovich said. "It was very important. He's like a top-10 pick."

After initially targeting Tyronn Lue to be the backup and have Dragic come into a low-pressure role, the Suns changed plans when Lue chose a more lucrative offer with Milwaukee. The Suns wanted Dragic to be their backup point guard and chose to wait for resolution on his buyout patiently. They figured it was more beneficial to Dragic and the team to have him join Phoenix immediately rather than choose one of the available free agents who would be willing to take a veteran's minimum offer with the Suns.

"When I was a kid, it was my dream to play in the NBA and it's come true," Dragic told The Arizona Republic days after he was drafted by Phoenix. "It was my wish that the Suns pick me."

Dragic, a lefthander who is 6 feet 4 and 181 pounds, was property of Tau but was loaned to play in the Adriatic and Slovenian leagues last season. He has a 37 1/2-inch vertical leap and a 6-foot-7 wingspan.

"He's unusual," Suns Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said in late June after Phoenix traded a second-round pick and $500,000 to San Antonio to move up three spots and take him 45th overall. "He's lefthanded and very athletic. He attacks the rim with a sort of abandon and is polished with a good feel of the game. He could be erratic as a shooter but is mechanically sound and we feel we can work with him on the rest."

Dragic's addition puts Phoenix's roster at 13 players, the minimum number they are required to keep. The Suns are not expected to exceed 13.

jlove_26 wrote:Before anyone says anything about the article saying we only have 12 players under contract, that was earlier, which mean the Suns after getting Dragic on board picked up the option on DJ.

The article has been changed accordingly. Now at the end of the article it say "Dragic's addition puts Phoenix's roster at 13 players, the minimum number they are required to keep. The Suns are not expected to exceed 13.

franchise's point guard of the future

eastsidecrossover wrote:Im not high no the kid as the future at all.

eastsidecrossover wrote:

franchise's point guard of the future

Thats a good one. I personally do not see it in Dragic. I see an ok PG, but no "Franchise PG" in him. To me, this is Kerr putting his usual spin on his moves. Like last year, Marks could be the MIP, and good solid rotation player etc. He was a back up in spain at 22, and most likely, he is not going to be an amazing PG like Kerr thinks.

But thats me. Im not high no the kid as the future at all.

eastsidecrossover wrote:

franchise's point guard of the future

Thats a good one. I personally do not see it in Dragic. I see an ok PG, but no "Franchise PG" in him. To me, this is Kerr putting his usual spin on his moves. Like last year, Marks could be the MIP, and good solid rotation player etc. He was a back up in spain at 22, and most likely, he is not going to be an amazing PG like Kerr thinks.

But thats me. Im not high no the kid as the future at all.

MaryvalesFinest wrote: The Suns considered the idea of drafting Dragic with their 15th overall pick in June if Robin Lopez, their eventual first-round pick, was not available. They ranked Dragic second only to the top overall pick, Chicago's Derrick Rose, among all point guards in the draft.

BurningHeart wrote:Nice!

Now, is it Dra-gich or Dra-jich?