FanHouse GoranDragic

A few weeks back, the Phoenix Suns held their annual Suns and Stars charity benefit, and there was talk amongst the players afterwards that Goran Dragic stole the show with his rendition of the theme from "The Greatest American Hero."

They weren't lying. Goran was amazing, and so were a couple of other Suns' players. Lou Amundson performed "Ice Ice Baby" with Shaquille O'Neal and Alando Tucker as members of his on-stage posse, and Robin Lopez deftly worked the mic while singing the theme from "Cheers."

The mythical video of all three of these incredible performances, after the jump.

Alright, so technically speaking, I can't just head on down to the US Airways Center today to try my luck against Goran Dragic in some shooting drills. But it almost seems like I could, given the list of potential backup point guard candidates that the team has invited in for a workout to try and fill their open roster spot.

The six-player list is full of players who are either long past their prime, or who are completely untested in the NBA, and looks like this: Dee Brown, Damon Stoudamire, Troy Hudson, Darrell Armstrong, Eddie Gill and Walker Russell Jr.

Bright Side of the Sun has a nice little breakdown of the players and what they might bring to the table. Because we already know what the Suns are likely to get from players like Stoudamire and Armstrong who simply can't play anymore, my vote is for Walker Russell Jr.

Besides the entertainment factor of people inevitably confusing his last name for his first, Walker (see, I just did it) is the current D-League leader in assists. At least that's something, and it's more than you're likely to get from any of the other workout participants, which is a big helping of nothing.

On the TNT pre-game show Thursday, Charles Barkley noted how tame the Rockets-Suns scuffle Wednesday actually had been and insisted it wasn't a "brawl" or "melee" ... it was a "scuffle" because no one really wanted to fight. That jives with Brett Edwards' live feelings on the matter. Edwards referred to it as a "prolonged shoving match" and said via email he thinks Rafer Alston deserves a two-game suspension and Matt Barnes should be given one game off.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports the league has finally handed down fines and suspensions: Barnes and Alston will sit for two games apiece, Steve Nash is gone for one game, and Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal face small fines.

The Rockets have two good teams on the docket this weekend: San Antonio and New Orleans. Of course, the Spurs are depleted. Aaron Brooks has played well, and Houston won't see much of a drop against San Antonio. The Hornets are a different story: you might expect Houston to lose to N.O. regardless of Alston's status.

The Suns, on the other hand, might see an easy win turn into a bad loss with Nash's suspension. The Suns visit Sacramento tonight. Sure, Shaq and Amare Stoudemire should be able to go big against Brad Miller and Mikki Moore. But we're going to see just a little too much Goran Dragic for Phoenix's taste. Dragic has been one of the league's worst performers early this year, with awful shooting (sub-38%), bad turnover figures and (by anecdote) uninspiring defense. Leandro Barbosa will also be missing, as his mother has died in Brazil. Dragic, Raja Bell, Grant Hill ... not the most inspiring wing line-up.

There isn't one member of the Phoenix Suns who would tell you that the officiating was the reason that they dropped their home opener to the New Orleans Hornets. And it wasn't. Phoenix started off in a mentally sluggish state, turning the ball over and missing shots, while New Orleans hit on their first six shot attempts, and jumped out to an immediate 14-2 lead. The Hornets took control from the opening tip and hit some big shots down the stretch to make sure the Suns didn't come all the way back. But the officiating, especially in the second quarter, was so brutal that it merits its own discussion.

The officials didn't start off unfairly making calls against the Suns; early on, Phoenix was simply committing a lot of fouls. The Suns were called for five team fouls in the first two minutes of the period, but a couple of those were iffy at best, and the team (along with the fans) were starting to get restless. Melvin Ely of the Hornets was subsequently called for traveling when all he did was pivot. This was a blatant (albeit brief) attempt by the officials to try to even things out with a make-up call, but the attempt at fairness would be very short-lived.

One of the things that the Phoenix Suns have been working on this preseason -- besides trying to have a full lineup available for a "dress rehearsal" in one of these games -- is figuring out who they should start at the small forward position. Grant Hill was the starter a season ago, but with the off-season acquisition of Matt Barnes, head coach Terry Porter has been weighing the option of bringing Hill of the bench.

I get the feeling that Porter would prefer to start Barnes, but he's been cautious not to make that decision without trying it out first. Also, since Hill has been a starter his entire career, it's a role Porter wants to make sure Hill feels comfortable in.

"I had talks with the staff, and with Grant, it's something totally new for him," Porter said. "He's never not been a starter in his whole career so it's definitely been a challenge and an adjustment for him, so I had to see if it was something he could fit fairly comfortably with. I think it's a good fit for our team, it's going to help us."

Coach Porter also likes the idea of Hill having a stabilizing effect while playing with the second unit, and thinks it will take some of the pressure off of Goran Dragic and Leandro Barbosa to make things happen.

For a team better known for pawning off draft picks to the highest bidder, it's been an odd summer watching the Phoenix Suns. Landing with the #15 in the first round, Phoenix didn't sell it ... they used it, on Robin Lopez. As TrueHoop's Henry Abbott notes, armed with a second-rounder, the Suns tacked on some extra dough to move up to grab the guy they wanted. That guy happened to be Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic, a big physical fellow which an imposing surname.

The Arizona Republic reports Dragic will sign a three-year, fully guaranteed deal with Phoenix. Most seconds get one or two years guaranteed at most; some, including high second DeAndre Jordan, don't get paid unless they make the team in October. Yet, because Dragic made a rather big financial commitment to leave Tau Ceramica, Phoenix had to pony up a large financial commitment of their own. Abbott:

Dragic had better be good. On that front, the Suns' brass has a lot of conviction. I love that. Identify the players you like and then -- everyone else's views be damned -- go get them.

One of the biggest problems sub-elite internationals face in the NBA is a lack of minutes. Sarunas Jasikevicius suffered this ... Vassilis Spanoulis, as well. All players -- from NYC or Ljubljana -- need minutes to get acclimated and get into some comfort level. If the Suns -- including Terry Porter -- believe in the power of Dragic, this hurdle will be skipped. Then, he has no excuse if he can't prove he belongs in the NBA.

Surprise! Not everybody is spurning the NBA for Europe. Despite previously indicating he was going to stay in Europe, Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic has reversed course and is finishing up the details on a buyout that will allow him to sign with the Phoenix Suns, who acquired his rights in a draft-day trade with the Spurs.

It's been a long process, in part because his agents have had to negotiate two separate buyouts: as Sean Deveney of Sporting News explains, Dragic's rights are technically owned by a team in his hometown of Ljubljana, but he's been on loan to TAU Ceramica of Spain. The NBA allows teams to contribute only $500,000 toward a player's buyout, with the difference coming directly out of the player's pocket.

That said, the Suns are expected to circumvent that rule by putting a little extra something in Dragic's pocket -- he was a second-round pick, so his salary isn't restricted by the league's rookie scale, meaning the Suns are free to use a portion of their mid-level exception to make buying out his European contract worth his while. You don't usually see teams bend over backward to accomodate a second-round pick, but the Suns were so enamored with Dragic that they actually considered drafting him in the first round with the 15th overall pick.

New Suns coach Terry Porter told me a few weeks ago that he'd yet to settle on a backup point guard, but Steve Kerr made it clear yesterday that Dragic is expected to be that guy, telling HOOPSWORLD he hopes "Dragic will back up Nash, play 17 minutes a game and develop in that position to the point where one day he's our starter."

Most of the Olympic men's basketball field has been set, with Argentina, Australia, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Angola, China, Spain and the United States preparing for the August Games. The top three teams in the Olympic qualifying tournament -- which begins today in Athens -- will also compete in Beijing. Here's a quick look at the tourney.

The Favorite: Greece. The Greek team famously beat Team USA in the 2006 World Championships, setting off the maelstrom of righteous indignation which promised to (but didn't) revolutionize the way USA Basketball chose its teams. Greece boasts no current NBA players, but could beat a half-dozen NBA teams. Guard play makes the Greeks the favorites. Theo Papaloukas should be well-known in America, and Dimitris Diamantidis is one of the best perimeter defenders in Europe. Add good size up front and home court advantage, and it'd be a surprise if the Greeks didn't win this outright.

The Contenders: Germany, Brazil, Puerto Rico. At least one of these teams won't make it (unless Greece crumbles). Germany famously boasts both Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman now, though little else. Brazil will be without Leandro Barbosa, but has Tiago Splitter and some good guards. Also, Brazilian two-guard Alex Garcia shattered a backboard in the pre-game lay-up line in an exhibition last week. Awesome. But never count out Puerto Rico, with an assortment of former and current NBA players like Carlos Arroyo, J.J. Barea, and Peter John Ramos, as well SACRAMENTO STATE! product Joel (pronounced "Joe .... El") Jones.

Most of the Olympic men's basketball field has been set, with Argentina, Australia, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Angola, China, Spain and the United States preparing for the August Games. The top three teams in the Olympic qualifying tournament -- which begins today in Athens -- will also compete in Beijing. Here's a quick look at the tourney.

The Favorite: Greece. The Greek team famously beat Team USA in the 2006 World Championships, setting off the maelstrom of righteous indignation which promised to (but didn't) revolutionize the way USA Basketball chose its teams. Greece boasts no current NBA players, but could beat a half-dozen NBA teams. Guard play makes the Greeks the favorites. Theo Papaloukas should be well-known in America, and Dimitris Diamantidis is one of the best perimeter defenders in Europe. Add good size up front and home court advantage, and it'd be a surprise if the Greeks didn't win this outright.

The Contenders: Germany, Brazil, Puerto Rico. At least one of these teams won't make it (unless Greece crumbles). Germany famously boasts both Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman now, though little else. Brazil will be without Leandro Barbosa, but has Tiago Splitter and some good guards. Also, Brazilian two-guard Alex Garcia shattered a backboard in the pre-game lay-up line in an exhibition last week. Awesome. But never count out Puerto Rico, with an assortment of former and current NBA players like Carlos Arroyo, J.J. Barea, and Peter John Ramos, as well SACRAMENTO STATE! product Joel (pronounced "Joe .... El") Jones.

The first domestic fan of Serge Ibaka I knew -- FanHouse alumnus Shoals of The Sporting Blog and FreeDarko -- picks up a somewhat funny but ultimately smart request from Ibaka and his agent Justin Zanek, which appeared on DraftExpress.

Basically, Ibaka has a deal to make some good bread in Spain for a few years, more than a set-in-stone rookie scale outside the lottery would pay him. There's no salary scale for second rounders, so the team which owns his rights could theoretically pay enough in a few years to make the transatlantic journey worthwhile for Ibaka.

Ibaka's not alone, though. Turkish big man Omer Asik -- who could be phenomenal in the right system -- either has signed or is about to sign a massive deal in his native country, and shouldn't be picked before #31 either. Nikola Pekovic of Serbia, Ante Tomic of Croatia, and Goran Dragic of Slovenia -- all lesser prospects, but good enough to be drafted -- are in similar situations.

It wouldn't be surprising to see all five of these internationals go within the first 10 picks of the second round. While the Euro Revolution has stalled, there should be enough of Luis Scola bump to lead some teams with full rosters to lock up these prospects' rights.