I think he’ll end up being a fringe All-Star, which is what I voted in the last poll. I think he’ll average something like 15 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds a night.

I think I answered this question yesterday. His raw physical tools comparable to Derrick Rose. And he’s already got a better jump shot. And he also has better court vision.

So I think his absolute ceiling could be a multiple all-star who may or may not head to the HOF (Deron Williams?), but if I take the expectation taken over all of his possible outcomes, I’d say fringe all-star

Ehh…if Dragic becomes only a very good player, but his team wins at least one championship anyway, then who cares how great he is individually? The 2004 Detroit Pistons proved that a team with no superstars can manage to win a championship.

work ethic – I would say he can and will reach his potential (I voted Fringe All-Star) and I wouldn’t be surprised if he even succeeded my expectations 5-6 years down the road.

The unpredictable and overly speculative factors that contribute to his rise to full potential are the only things that would make me hesitate; factors like injury and his maintenance of confidence. But I really am comfortable predicting (because of his work ethic and proven results) that he will continue to grow and become an extremely valuable point guard like a Mo Williams or a Jameer Nelson. His performances this year as the starting PG have been impressive and I wish we could see more of what he can do with a consistent 35+ MPG… but it won’t happen for at least a few years.

His size his length and his speed really give him a great advantage at PG both offensively and defensively and his perceived goofiness/anti-athleticism is also a deceptive tool that I he think can exploit as well as he establishes himself as an above average and solid player.

Should one of these types of posts about Robin Lopez, who I actually think has the potential to be more successful than Dragic.

In the off-season, I’d like to see Dragic work with an acting coach to get his face under control. Even when his game is on, he still looks like the scared rookie. He needs to narrow his eyes, unflare his nostrils, and keep his mouth closed.

Granted, this is cosmetic, but the kid needs a game face.

I don’t think Goran will be more than an average starting point guard. Now, first off that’s not a bad thing at all considering that would place him in the top 20 or 30 point guards in the world.

I don’t ever see him developing into an all-star caliber player. His game isn’t that flashy and he’s not that kind of dominant personality. He can be a VERY important part of a VERY good team but I don’t see him being the top one or two players on a good team.

All this talk about All-Star really had me baffled (which is why I posted the second poll). Yes he has been better than expected but he has not shown anything that says he’s a future star in the league. All the talk about second best PG was ridiculous last season and is just as ridiculous this season. Derrick Rose and Russel Westbrook are lightyears ahead of he who I cannot name (I’m going to call him HWICN for short) despite what Hollinger’s PER (which is a stat that I do really enjoy and find useful) say.

Suns fans have to realize that there is a HUGE difference between being asked to run the team as a starter from the day you enter the league and coming off the bench in a reserve role. Teams spend time figuring out how to attack you and exploit your weaknesses. Look at Jennings, he is an AWESOME PG but because he is playing so many minutes a game it is smart for teams to really figure out how to contain him for a whole game. Obviously with the Suns they are going to look more at figuring out how to stop Nash than they are with HWICN – we’re talking a HUGE difference. Not to mention that many times players off the bench will be going against players off of the bench.

Gentry has done well taking advantage of the HWICN’s talents while masking his flaws. Notice how different the offense flows when HWICN is in the game. Instead of letting him work from the top of the key on most possessions he will give up the ball and move as soon as he crosses half court. The motion offense works with HWICN, unfortunately a lot of times the ball will stick – especially if he is looking to get the ball into the post and the Suns will get in shot clock trouble.

Ultimately, I think HWICN will continue to improve and maybe be a solid starter but right now I’m thinking we are watching a guy that will excel in a 6th man role as the first guard off of the bench (a la Jason Terry) but who will struggle being the number 1 PG on a contending team. I think he can work in a triangle offense that puts less emphasis on the PG position and asks that the PG be able to shoot and space the floor more than be the head decision maker but in the Suns system I don’t see it working.

Everyone here knows that I have been down on HWICN since the 7th game of last season. Yes, I am still biased because I don’t like watching him play – personal thing, move on. But I think if you’re expecting him to be one of the top PGs in the league for years to come you may need to take a step back and really evaluate his situation. I was wrong about HWICN in a lot of ways and readily admit that he’s more than exceeded my expectations but that doesn’t necessarily say that he’s going to be the next Jerry West, Magic Johnson or even Derrick Rose.

I don’t think Westbrook belongs in the conversation. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but remove Durant from the team and he’s not getting nearly the same level of hype.

In fact, I would go so far as to say Dragic could suitably replace what Westbrook does on that team. It’s easy to be a point guard when you can hand the ball off to a player like Durant.

Don’t get me wrong watdogg – I like the Thunder too and I think Westbrook will be a great player as well… but you talk as if Dragic should mop Westbrook’s sweat from the practice court with his Slovenian sideburns…

Check out this graphic of the two players and their stats from this year – I’ve organized my comments (things I think should be pointed out) with pretty numbers and colors.

1. For the record Westbrook has twice the minutes as Dragic this year.
2. Dragic is shooting Westbrook out of the water this year – on less shot attempts, and especially from the 3pt line, Westbrook does not have long range (evidenced by his 3pt attempts and FTA, he drives the ball a lot more and gets more fouls called in his favor than does Dragic).
3. Westbrook has a good edge on Dragic in the Assists category – but more info/contributing factors on this in #4 and #6
4. Per 36 Min they have identical TOV numbers – yet while Westbrook averages more assists than Dragic it does not necessarily mean that the discrepancy is all Dragic’s fault – the players with which each PG plays with has a large effect on the number of assists shown in the box score at the end of the day. A quick check at 82games.com shows that the offensive efficiency and offensive ratings of the 5-man squads Westbrook commandeers is higher than that of the groups that Dragic leads as PG (Westbrook plays with mostly starters while Dragic plays with mostly Bench and maybe 1 starter when he is utilized as a PG) Taking this into consideration Westbrooks advantage in the assist department really isn’t “light-years” ahead of Frosty. Add to that the fact (as you have pointed out before watdogg) – Dragic is often instructed to dump the ball to a wing player to run certain plays, another contributing factor to his assist numbers being a little less than desired)
5. Dragic is more efficient offensively than Westbrook hands down.
6. This statistic is the Usage Percentage and reflects an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by the player while on the floor. Dragic is only 4.4% under Westbrook and Dragic plays a significant enough of his minutes as a SG (with Nash still on the floor) to explain any kind of lapse in his percentage of team plays run – meaning again, Westbrook is not ‘light-years’ ahead of the Dragon in his ability to run an offense effectively. In fact Dragic is quite competent and efficient at doing so.
7. Last – with Dragic’s better shooting percentages and offensive efficiency there is no question his offensive rating would be a bit higher than Westbrook – but its not nearly as noticeable and substantial as Dragic’s monstrous defensive rating compared to Westbrook.

I understand not wanting to get carried away with expectations for Dragic – but I don’t think it’s necessary to run him into the ground with regards to appreciating what exactly he is doing for this team. This year he is showing that by far he is the best back-up point guard we have had in the Nash era and is hanging right there with his contemporary PG buddies in filling the stat sheets and highlight reels.

May the Slovenian Sun continue to shine brightly.

or roughly the same level, in the public’s mind, that Nash was at in Dallas.

If Frosty stays in Phoenix, then whether he gets to play in all-star games will depend entirely on the respect afforded to him by coaches and other people who select the reserves.

He will not be voted in as a starter, imho, simply because his game isn’t that flashy, because he’s a white Euro, and because he plays for a team that doesn’t have the fan base to vote a player in.

You should also bear in mind that he hasn’t yet made the jump from Padawan to Jedi, under the tutelage of Master Nash, despite carrying us to a victory. HE still has much to learn, and I don’t think we’ve seen what he can truly do, yet.

With the right teammates, Goran will be good enough to win a championship. That’s all you can ask, I suppose.

i guess we can all agree that he was a great #45 pick though, right?

From a chat today:

Mike (Reno, NV)
Professor Hollinger. Where does the Dragon (Goran Dragic) fall in the most improved list? You were really down on him last year and now he at least is competent in your eyes yes?

John Hollinger
He is one of the most improved players in the league, without question. The change in his jump shot has been nothing short of amazing — last year he had this weird line-drive flick off his shoulder that had no chance; now all of a sudden his lofting high-arcing 3s with great form. I have no idea who worked with him or what he/she did, but that’s an impressive turnaround. My favorite moment — the Suns-Spurs game in early December; Spurs kept conceding 3s to him and then looking back at the coaches with puzzled expressions when he kept hitting them.