That's what I figured. Like I said, I'm that familiar the site. It might be shady. If mods are deleting it, it'd be nice if they let me know.
The near lottery guarantee comes from that, if they make the playoffs, they need to not just be 8th seed, but the east needs 4 teams with a better record because of the downside protection, the 8th seed in the west got the 21st pick this year, and that pick only conveys if it's 19 or better.
I suppose I don't consider him only a PG. I don't think the Suns do either. Look at how we ran our guard combos last season. The two guard slots have become almost interchangeable; does it really matter which one you're slotted to? As their SG - even a ball-handling one - he had his best numbers ever. He practically made himself their franchise player (I know, he's not) last season. They don;t dump that unless they are getting serious assets. I just don;t see our serious assets.
He was not their shooting guard.... Dragic didn't really take off until Bledsoe got injured and he become a permanent point guard (before that they ran 2 point guards, technically probably just as 2 guards with no positional designation, determining each game on matchups basically), then they left him as the point when Bledsoe got back. Bledsoe was the better player in their combo system though, which is why it doesn't surprise me in the slightest if trying to make something happen for him is holding things up, and also why Phoenix would be prioritizing him (Bledsoe is also a much better closer).
Or we could just wait 12 months and sign him when he opts out. You're missing the fact that Dragic is GONE as a $7.5m player. He is soon to become a max player. Double max backcourt with a side of backup PG at $7m/ year? And that's assuming Dragic WANTS to re-sign with Phx - he will be unrestricted and can go where he pleases. The safer option (for PHX) is to get something in return for him, rather than let him walk for nothing. Unless you are convinced that their long term championship strategy is to have 2 max contract PGs with a $7m backup (ie nearly $40m in the backcourt)? Bledsoe is the better option for them, max him, he has 'franchise potential'. Work out some kind of package for Dragic that will give you the chance to upgrade another position in the future.
NO pick is literally guaranteed lottery if we make the pick next year. Morris twins are tweeners. PHX could use a traditional big man to compliment their style. Dragic can definitely run point. He's probably their two guard because of defensive match ups. Bledsoe at 6'2 wasn't going to guard shooting guards. Dragic was playing so well that they couldn't take him out of the starting lineup. So they moved him over to the two. He's a lot like Harden. It would be awesome to have those two in the same team. So many lineup and rotation possibilities. NO pick is a good pick. Better than our own. NO still has to put it together. All while playing in the toughest division in the NBA. They'll improve, but it isn't out of the question that their pick is between 4-19. Probably likely in fact. Don't forget our euro stashes also. Jones or DMo, NOP pick, non guaranteed contracts, youngns (Johnson, capela, Canaan) and euro stashes (Llull, Papanikoloau) are great value, especially to an owner like the suns have
And what is their incentive to move NOW? Why not wait until the trade deadline? If Dragic plays well - like he did last season - then it helps them to wait, yes? Does he not become more valuable at that point than he is now, midway through the offseason after all of the other stars have tumbled?
