dId you even watch the Lakers last year when they had Nash and Kobe? they were still one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA.
I did. I'm also aware of Dwight's defensive impact in his Orlando days. It's quite obvious that he wasn't 100% healthy last year with the Lakers. He looked slower and not nearly as explosive. Regardless, Synergy stats still tells us that he was an effective defender last year and that the Lakers were better with him on the floor. Hopefully, healing and getting back to 100% health will take care of the rest and allow him to regain his status as easily the league's premiere defensive anchor.
What do we have to offer that they would want for Dragic? Ryan McDonough, their new GM, is a saavy guy who is trying to shed salary, not take it back. No reason to think that they'd do a Lin-for-Dragic deal or any deal that would involve taking back a bad contract.
Gogi is definitely available. All this BS from the Suns about playing Gogi AND Bledsoe in the backcourt doesn't make sense as they're both slashing guards that are at their best with the ball in their hands. For the very same reason, Gogi would not be the ideal mate to Harden as he's not a good enough knockdown shooter. He's better than Lin in that he's a much better defender, but otherwise, he's not the perfect fit for this team.
Lin has a higher ceiling than Dragic. Dragic would be, at best, a marginal upgrade to Lin. The better option would be to use Beverley as starting PG, get a good defensive backup PG for cheap, and use the extra salary for depth at the 2 and 3.