Dragic not done yet
September 18th, 2008, 9:17 pm · 2 Comments · posted by jerrybrown
Each night, Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr goes to bed thinking tomorrow will be the day Goran Dragic officially becomes a Sun.
So far, he’s been wrong every time.
Everything is done but the paperwork. The twisted buyout deal with Tau Cerimaca has been agreed upon, and the Suns have their fingers crossed that it is now a matter of hours, not days, until the final stamp is applied.
Dragic has been in Phoenix most of the month but hasn’t taken part in any of the five-on-five scrimmages. He’s been restricted to running and working out on the sidelines and watching. And as soon as the deal is finalized, he will have to return to his native Slovenia to complete the work visa process - which could also involve the typical red tape.
Everyone still expects the deal to be completed before training camp begins Sept. 30 in Tucson. It’s disappointing that an opportunity for Dragic to mesh with his teammates and begin the adaptation process on the court has slipped away, but it’s not likely to have much impact provided the deal is resolved quickly.
September 19th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Kerr has a lot more than a visa to worry about. If this team bombs, he will have to explain why D’Antono is in New York and why the arena is empty. He might even have to miss one of his son’s basketball games in San Diego. Half court boredom, how will he explain that to Nash and the rest of us? The Suns will be playing 85 point games just like San Antonio. That will make Kerr happy.
September 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
D’Antoni is in New York because he is proud and stubborn. As a player he barely cracked an NBA rotation and made his mark overseas. Kerr, Porter, Cartwright and Majerle have the perspective of players who had respect for all aspects of basketball, not just offense, and all of them have finals appearances or rings to prove it. D’Antoni woke people up to real team basketball and fast past offense again, but he is not balanced and he stubbornly declined the opportunity to swallow his pride and develop some of the other qualities that championship teams do so well. Make a monument to the D’Antoni Suns and move on. Buy a Shaq voodoo doll and take it out on him if it makes you feel better.