NBA Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns Should Strongly Consider Trading Goran Dragic

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By @Greg_Sacidor

Jennifer Stewart - USA TODAY Sports

Jennifer Stewart – USA TODAY Sports

Goran Dragic should be credited with the semi-resurrection of the Phoenix Suns; but just because he has brought the Suns back to relevance, doesn’t mean that he is off limits.

After trading future Hall-of-Fame point guard Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the 2012-13 NBA season, the Suns were left with a hole to fill at the starting point guard position. Since they missed the playoffs the previous two years, the Suns were eager to sign someone who they were already familiar with. Although they traded him to the Houston Rockets just a year and a half prior, the Suns brought back Dragic with hopes that he could lead them back to the playoffs.

In Dragic’s first season back, the Suns would struggle. They would part ways with their head coach Alvin Gentry in the middle of the season before finishing last in the Pacific Division with a record of 25-57. Before the 2013-14 season started, the Suns would make some wholesale changes: they would hire former Suns player Jeff Hornacek as the team’s new head coach, as well as acquire guard Eric Bledsoe from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Despite many experts predicting that the Suns would finish at the bottom of the standings, the new trio of Hornacek, Dragic and Bledsoe would make Phoenix one of the more surprising stories of the season. With Bledsoe missing 39 games due to injury, much of this credit fell on Dragic, as he put the young Suns team on his back for most of the season and led them to missing the playoffs by just one game.

Heading into the 2014-15 season, this was looked like something that could be built upon. In the offseason, the Suns would re-sign Eric Bledsoe to a five-year deal. They also would sign point guard Isaiah Thomas to a four-year deal, with the intent of having him back up their young duo of Dragic and Bledsoe.

In the early stages of the 2014-15 season, the Suns and coach Hornacek have experimented at great lengths with a three point guard system, where Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas would all be out on the court at the same time. Although having three ball handlers on the court at the same time may look good in theory, it has not looked good in execution. Since there is only one basketball, these three point guards have not been able to play to their maximum potential when they are all out on the floor together.

As a result, one of the three guards usually ends up on the bench, with coach Hornacek playing whoever has the hot hand at the time. In spite of all this, Dragic leads the team in points per game by averaging 15.3. In the time that he has been given, Dragic has shown the ability to play with the top point guards that the league has to offer. Because of this, there has never been a better time to trade him.

At the end of the season, Dragic will have the option of opting out of his current contract, making him a free agent. Like any other player, Dragic is likely to do this in order to see what the other 29 NBA teams have to offer. With teams such as the Lakers reportedly already expressing interest, there is no doubt that some team will offer Dragic a large contract that he simply can’t turn down. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense for the Suns to move on.

To be honest, the Suns are not going to win the NBA Championship this season, so why not get something back in return for Dragic, as opposed to nothing this offseason? The Suns also won’t have a void to fill, as both Bledsoe and Thomas could take over the starting point guard responsibilities. Shooting guard Gerald Green, who has seen a reduction of minutes due to the trio of point guards, could also help at the guard position, much like last season.

Like many teams in the recent past, moving Dragic in-season is far more productive than letting him walk during the offseason. Although he may have started the turnaround of the franchise, you always have to look towards the future. With it looking like he will depart for another city come the summer, the Suns must strongly consider moving Dragic immediately.

Greg Sacidor is a Philadelphia 76ers and NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google. 

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