Is Goran Dragic As Good As Gone From The Phoenix Suns?

One of the hottest NBA trade rumors circulating has to do with Phoenix Suns point guard Goran Dragic. The Suns are reportedly being very active, with both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets being potential suitors. From what the team has said, they’re definitely looking to make some moves. Is Goran as good as gone?

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The 6-foot-3 lefty out of Ljubljana, Slovenia is averaging 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.0 steals with a shooting line of .501/.355/.746. He’s far from the focal point of the offense, with a usage rate (21.5) less than Gerald Green, Thomas, Bledsoe and Markieff Morris.

The Suns offense simply doesn’t allow for him to play on-ball as often as anyone would like. Combine that with the fact that the general manager of the Suns (Ryan McDonough) dropped this nugget on 98.7 FM in Phoenix:

"“I think our roster balance is a little off, and that’s my fault. We are a little too backcourt-heavy, especially in terms of guys who, you know, I think you’d define primarily as scorers in the backcourt.”"

You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out who the odd man out is here. The Suns are stuck between a rock and a hard place, with future of the franchise and potential superstar in Eric Bledsoe (five-year/$70 million) and cap-friendly sparkplug Isaiah Thomas (four-year/$27 million) locked up.

That leaves Dragic, who has said all along that he will opt-out to test the free agent market this offseason. As mentioned in this ESPN report by Marc Stein, the Lakers are preparing to make a huge push for Dragic, potentially offering a four-year deal worth as much as $80 million.

I’m as big of a Dragic fan as any and if this roster were situated differently, I could see the Suns deciding to pay Dragic that sum of money. However, there’s just no way they can give Dragic $20 million annually while keeping Bledsoe and Thomas on the roster.

SHOULD THEY MAKE A TRADE?

Here’s where the rock and hard place meet. Teams know that the Suns are wary of this offseason and what’s going to happen. Can you remember a time when a team got fair value for a star who was about to become a free agent? It doesn’t happen often.

The Suns have stated that they’d like a first-round draft pick for Dragic. Unless that pick lands high in the lottery, it’s nowhere near enough to directly replace Goran’s production. The Suns aren’t far from being a true contender in this league, so replacing Dragic with a role player or project late in the first round would be a disaster.

Instead, the Suns need to go after a playmaker that fills a very specific need. Are there any of those available in trade right now? Not from the Lakers or Rockets…so maybe the Suns could look at this a different way.

I’ve been drooling over the possibility of Kevin Love in a Suns uniform for years — and that’s where this trade scenario gets interesting.

The Suns won’t trade for Kevin Love with Dragic involved. I can’t see the Cleveland Cavaliers — who are steadily rising in the East — going after Dragic so that he can play off the ball for them. But, the thing that makes the trade scenario interesting is, if the Suns trade Dragic away and don’t take on any new salary, they’re going to have approximately $52 million in salary for next season — enough left over to make a serious play at Love.

Another very underrated aspect of trading for a draft pick is the potential to make a play for a superstar with a package that involves multiple first rounders.

…OR SHOULD THEY ROLL THE DICE?

The other option is rolling the dice on Dragic, waiting until the offseason to see if the Lakers or any other team are just posturing or if they’re serious about offering a huge deal. There’s the obvious risk of having Dragic leave for nothing, and there’s also the very possible risk of keeping Dragic in Phoenix, only to see the team stay in their playoff-but-not-championship contending status.

A big key to this scenario has to do with what you feel about the growth of Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris and Alex Len. If that trio can grow to the point where they can hold down the paint and control the defensive glass (better than they have), then the Suns can assume more risk here.

If the Suns have hit their ceiling as a team, trading Dragic is a no-brainer.

As much as I’d hate to see him go, I feel like the trade is the only thing that makes sense. Bledsoe is a difference maker on both ends of the court. Thomas is a huge offensive asset at a third of the cost. Len is a wildcard here. In games where he’s started and has scored more than six points, the Suns are 11-2. I’m not saying they should trade Dragic so they can build the offense around Len or anything, though.

The best scenario I see is the Suns getting a first-round pick and some cap relief for Dragic. They can then use that space to go after a big name free agent this offseason (Greg Monroe, perhaps). If they strikeout there, there’s still the option of using the stash of draft picks they have to go after a huge name via trade.

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