Lakers Most Wanted: Goran Dragic?

News broke last night that the Lakers interest in Goran Dragic had passed the romance stage and was entering the possibility stage. Immediately, critics of Mitch Kupchak began their deconstruction, tearing down the idea of a point guard who is a driver and finisher, one who is not bothered by contact and is mentally tough. For a team with no talent, the acquisition of talent is suddenly reprehensible and a crime against the gods who have used their wrath to punish the Lakers.

So far, in this season of purgatory, things have gone according to plan for the Lakers and their retention of a top 5 draft pick, even if Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant had to be the human sacrifices to make it happen. By front loading the team with low talented players who could not win, the Lakers were admitting to defeat in the short term. Under the guise of trying to win but structured to lose, the Lakers developed Jordan Clarkson for a good stretch of games and have figured out by now he can’t run a team. They have gotten great effort from Wayne Ellington who deserves a shot as a role player next year. And they were not surprised that Robert Sacre is still Robert Sacre, meaning he is not very good at basic things, like scoring and rebounding, despite being seven feet tall.

Oct 29, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) stands alongside Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) during the home opener at US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Lakers 119-99. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Lakers one vulnerability, as has been demonstrated the last two years, is free agency. It is their great failure, a dark place with waters so cloudy everything they try to catch comes up empty. So many excuses litter the landscape as to why, but the basic truth is that veteran players want other veteran players they can trust, players with talent who are versatile and can do a variety of things on the court. Without a player in his twenties with NBA experience, free agent pitches turn into media shows or Twitter fights and nothing more. As valuable as Jordan Hill has been for the Lakers this season, his presence is not good enough to convince a free agent to come to town for four years.

The Lakers need a point guard.

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There are three available in the off-season who have proven themselves to be skilled, mentally tough and explosive. Brandon Knight (Milwaukee). Reggie Jackson (Oklahoma City). Goran Dragic (Phoenix).

Last season, Goran Dragic was a 20 point scorer, a career high. His numbers have dipped this season to 16 points a game as the Suns have played a three guard lineup (Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Isaiah Thomas). At times, Dragic is the point guard. Other times he is the shooting guard. It didn’t take him long to figure out this kind of basketball schizophrenia impacted his on-court production, creating doubt about his future.

For the Suns, the bigger issue is money. The inking of Eric Bledsoe to a $70 million dollar deal and Isaiah Thomas to a $27 million dollar deal made it unlikely and improbable that a small market team that ranks 22nd in attendance could afford Dragic in the long term. Even if they could afford him, Dragic’s presence in this guard-centric lineup has not lifted them to any form of grandeur.

The Suns are an average team, albeit an exciting one, that is terrible defensively, doesn’t rebound, doesn’t share the ball. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games with a losing record in the Western Conference. They are furiously trying to hold on to the 8th seed before Oklahoma City pushes them back into the lottery ghetto where they have existed the last few years and frankly where they belong. Trading Dragic makes sense. With him, the Suns are going nowhere.

But why would the Lakers want Dragic now when they can get him in free agency?

First, Dragic is not an unrestricted free agent. He has a player option. He may choose instead to play out the last year of his $7.5 million deal and cash in during the free-agency market of 2016 when the salary cap is expected to skyrocket, impacting players salaries to sickening levels. If Dragic opted-in, the Lakers could then sign a max player, have Dragic in tow plus Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and then pick up the option on Jordan Hill.

But if he does opt-out, because he is the Lakers player, they have the option of going over the cap to sign him. The preliminary numbers the Lakers are throwing out are unbelievably ridiculous, like someone in the front office has been hit by a truck: $20 million per year. According to Hoopstats.com, Goran Dragic is the 65^th best player in the NBA, ranked below Rajon Rondo (63) and Monta Ellis (60) and ranked above Ricky Rubio (67) and Brandon Jennings (71).

Dec 28, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) shoots against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Goran Dragic is 29 years old. His best game was in the playoffs when he was 24 years old. The Suns were playing San Antonio who were losers of the first two games in the series so game three was a must win game for the Spurs on their home floor. Enter Goran Dragic and his amazing fourth quarter. The Suns were trailing by one point, 72-73 when Dragic took over, scoring on drives to the rim and pull up jumpers and three pointers. In five minutes he scored 17 points, neutralizing Tony Parker and any hopes the Spurs had for a comeback. It ended the game and, for all intents and purposes, the series. The Suns went on to play the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. What Dragic remembered about that series was Kobe Bryant. “Grant Hill had perfect defense” Dragic said, “and still he could not beat him.”

These days the Lakers cannot beat anybody. It gnaws on them, this herculean task to fix this mess they created, and more importantly, to finally have a legitimate point guard in this point guard era. Not surpisingly, the Lakers are willing to risk criticism and wrath, volumes of it. The franchise was run by Dr. Jerry Buss the way a gambler plays cards in Vegas: trust your instincts. The Lakers instincts circle the truth. Goran Dragic makes them a better team.

Next: Lakers Trade Rumors 2015: 5 Deals Involving Jordan Hill

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