Phoenix adds Zoran Dragic to the backcourt mix on a two-year deal to join his brother in the NBA. What is the report on the younger Dragic?
On Thursday, just one day after keeping point guard Eric Bledsoe on a five-year, $70 million contract, the Phoenix Suns agreed to a two-year, $3.5 million deal with Zoran Dragic.
Who?
Zoran Dragic is the younger brother of Goran Dragic, who led the Suns in scoring with 20.3 points per game and was named to the All-NBA third team for the 2013-14 season. Zoran Dragic has spent the last two years playing for Unicaja Malaga in the Spanish ACB. In 29 games last season, Zoran posted averages of 10.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game in 18.1 minutes.
Zoran plays with a similar style and flair as his brother, though he does it almost exclusively from the wing. At 6-foot-5, the younger Dragic is two inches taller than his All-NBA brother, who operates primarily as a point guard. Like Goran, Zoran is left-handed, shoots the ball well from the perimeter, and can handle the ball in the half court and in transition.
Playing for Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup, Zoran stood out as a player who could successfully make the jump to the NBA despite going undrafted in 2011. At the World Cup, the younger brother shot over 42 percent from 3-point range en route to scoring 12.9 points per game. He pestered opposing ball handlers and read passing lanes to pick up 10 steals in the tournament (1.4 per game). Slovenia was, on average, 11 points per game better with Zoran Dragic on the floor in the six games at the World Cup not played against the United States.
While Zoran has been praised for his all-around ability, one has to be curious whether he can consistently perform against NBA athletes. The level of competition is higher in the United States, and he will be constantly asked to defend elite athletes on the wing. Similar doubts hung over his older brother when he came into the league in 2008 after being selected in the second round by San Antonio (his rights were traded to Phoenix).
Goran enters his seventh season in the NBA in 2014-15, and in reflection, one can see that it took him the full length of his first contract in the NBA to prove he was a starting-caliber player. He started only eight games during his first three seasons, and he was traded at the deadline in 2011 with a first-round pick for Aaron Brooks, who was forced to sign overseas soon after due to declining play. Realizing the mistake of trading him away, he signed with the Suns for four years and $32 million in 2012 to be the starting point guard in Phoenix. Coupled with Eric Bledsoe, he took a Suns team that was projected to finish with a miserable record to the brink of nearly earning a playoff berth.
Can Zoran be expected to step in immediately as an NBA starter, or is he destined to come off the bench in a reserve role like his brother had to seven years ago? The answer likely lies in-between, as he will be competing with all-around players PJ Tucker and Gerald Green for minutes on the wing in addition to the plethora of point guards Ryan McDonough has acquired.
After his quality play in the FIBA World Cup, Zoran Dragic should, at worst, crack the rotation as a shooter and change-of-pace wing off the bench. His chemistry with his brother will lead to easy baskets and quick defensive rotations, though his sample size of games playing against truly elite competition is still somewhat limited.
Can the Dragic Show lead Phoenix back to the postseason? Time will tell, but at the moment, this could be a steal of a deal for the Phoenix Suns.
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