The problem isn't Dragic - it's management

Phoenix Suns' Goran Dragic, right, of Slovenia, drives past Charlotte Bobcats' Stephen Jackson during the final quarter of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Phoenix. The Bobcats won 114-107. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Phoenix Suns' Goran Dragic, right, of Slovenia, drives past Charlotte Bobcats' Stephen Jackson during the final quarter of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Phoenix. The Bobcats won 114-107. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Dragic for Brooks?

Don't like it but I'll get over it.

Dragic and a 2nd round pick for Brooks?

Somebody's asleep at the wheel, swerved and caused an accident.

DRAGIC AND A 1ST ROUND PICK??

I stared at my e-mail this afternoon in absolute disbelief. This is a classic case of covering up an embarrassment with a screw up.

I had this crazy dream in 2010 that the Suns bench was actually feared. It must have been a drunken stupor I was in while watching last year's bench actually win games. I remember traveling with Morgan Freeman last year through a wormhole and I saw the Suns sweep the Spurs behind Goran Dragic taking over.

The problem this year wasn't Dragic. There was a vacuum of basketball intelligence between the kicking to the curb of GM Steve Kerr/VP David Griffin and the hiring of President Lon Babby/GM Lance Blanks. In the vacuum 3 marginal players were signed to 12 years and $82 million dollars worth of contracts.

If you were listening to the show during that time, I went on a 2 month rampage against the organization for losing Kerr/Griffin and then compounding their mistake by signing 3 average to worthless players. The king of bad signings was the Hedo contract. There's a big difference between owning a basketball team and knowing basketball.

Just because you've heard of Hedo and saw him play well in the playoffs doesn't mean he's a good fit for your team. Hedo plays well if the offense is run through him as a point forward. He creates a match-up problem because power forwards can't guard him up top and get into foul trouble. Small forwards get out-muscled on his way to the basket. Surround him with a good shooter and a big man -- insert Magic reference from the playoffs 2 years ago -- and you've got a serious playoff threat.

If everyone in basketball knew Hedo can only play with the ball and doesn't move well without the ball, why would a team with one of the greatest point guards of all time sign him? Unless you try to fool the defense by playing with two basketballs, you're going to diminish the effectiveness of either Nash or Hedo. The only place for Hedo to go was to run the second unit and that's how the Suns screwed up Dragic.

Dragic came into the season feeling more confident than at any point in his life. The Suns completely screwed with that confidence the second they moved Hedo to the bench. Dragic had no idea what he was doing. Dragic looked like a tourist with a bad map on offense. As you saw in the Terry Porter years, Dragic's age and origin parlayed into a lack of confidence. Last year Alvin Gentry brought out everything Goran had and it was magnificent. This year the management vacuum destroyed him and injury made the recovery painful.

If you want to give up on his upside, go ahead. I can actually understand some people wanting a little more known commodity and hoping Brooks can do some of the things he did last year. Including the draft pick is outrageous.

We were told last June by owner Robert Sarver the Suns were going to start building through free agency and put less stock in the draft. So far the team is destroying itself through free agency and won't have a draft to worry about.

Doug Franz co-hosts Doug & Wolf, 2-6 p.m. weekdays on Arizona Sports 620. He can be reached with your questions and comments by e-mail here, you can follow him on Twitter @Doug620, or you can be friends with him on Facebook. All of Doug Franz's past columns.

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  • 1st round pick
    CactusJack99 (February 25, 2011 7:36 am)
    Are there two non-lottery players in this draft worth picking?
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  • Doug
    5kracer (February 25, 2011 8:01 am)
    stick to what you know and basketball is not it. Who's worth taking in this draft?? Why keep a guy on the team who when he makes a mistake always is looking at the coach to see if he's getting Yanked!! Love the deal!!
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  • incompetent front office and coaches
    esc R. (February 25, 2011 10:46 am)
    It goes to show how incompetent this front office is. They make stupid moves to appease an aging nash. They have no patience to develop their youth. The Mike Dantoni mentality is still ramped in this organization. Yes, this draft is not one to get all excited all over, but you have to be smart about REBUILDING YOUR TEAM for 2012! If that is what they are looking towards, who the heck is going to come here?
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  • Agree
    Russ R. (February 25, 2011 11:04 am)
    I agree with you 100% Doug, but every time I talk to someone about it, they look at me like I have 3 eyes. I don't understand the trade at all. I think the main reason for disagreement, is that I tend to give Dragic more credit for his game and potential, while others don't. Its the only thing I can figure.
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  • I agree but another ?
    speedracer92lx (February 25, 2011 6:04 pm)
    Gave up on Dragic way too early. Why do the Suns seem contempt on building around an aging core of players? The Suns should have a future replacement for Nash on the roster NOW. What is our identity anymore? It looks like this team is confused between old run'n'gun and a traditional team
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  • Sarver & front office
    hugUhbear (February 25, 2011 7:44 pm)
    Denver in a similiar position with melo as we were with Amare; look at how they handled it and all the picks/players they got. Now if they had not traded Melo, they would have been Sarver'd. Also, N.O.'s traded a Dragic like player to Sac and they got Landry!!
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  • from best to even better
    joncohen (February 25, 2011 9:11 pm)
    The Suns had one of the best bench's in the league and it just got better. As an organization Phoenix has been HORRIBLE at developing players. Dragic is the only player you can consider being close to a success. They just traded a backup point guard (let's face it...Goran will never start for a team in the NBA) for a player that lead a team for an entire season.
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  • Your article is sad
    JW L. (February 27, 2011 7:18 pm)
    ...but true.
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  • Still?
    Tennisgrandpa (March 1, 2011 6:59 am)
    Well lets see, Brooks comes in last nite and hit 2 huge 3's in a row and a driving bank shot to boot. In just those 3 examples, Brooks exceeded anything Dragic's done this year. I liked Dragic but his confidence issues annoyed me. I'll say it again, YOU CANNOT LEAD A TEAM WITHOUT CONFIDENCE!!! Coaches cannot instill confidence in a player, that is an issue from the neck up and has little to do with basketball. I'm glad they dumped him.
    Dale
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