Dawn of the Dragon, Goran Dragic as a Purple and Gold?

Goran Dragic, aka the Dragon, is the dynamic combo guard for the Phoenix Suns who will also be a free agent by the end of this year. Basketball experts and enthusiasts, like yours truly, can't get enough of the Dragon since he is highly capable at running a squad. Not only that, but he's a dangerous scorer whose unbelievably efficient, and most importantly he has an extremely high basketball IQ. With the prospects of Jeremy Lin slowly fading away in Los Angeles, fans should look for the Dragon to hopefully address our point guard misfortunes.

Dragic is averaging 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. That stat line is insane when you consider that he's playing with Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas, both of whom are ball dominant scoring point guards. But, in case you're still unimpressed by those numbers let me throw out some more numbers at you. Since 2011 till now Dragic's numbers have escalated drastically in all categories, most notably his field goal % and points per game.

Season	Age	Tm	Lg	Pos	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2011-12	25	HOU	NBA	PG	66	28	26.5	4.2	9.1	.462	1.0	3.1	.337	3.2	6.0	.525	2.3	2.9	.805	0.8	1.7	2.5	5.3	1.3	0.2	2.4	2.5	11.7
2012-13	26	PHO	NBA	PG	77	77	33.5	5.2	11.8	.443	1.1	3.6	.319	4.1	8.2	.497	3.2	4.2	.748	0.8	2.3	3.1	7.4	1.6	0.3	2.8	2.8	14.7
2013-14	27	PHO	NBA	SG	76	75	35.1	7.3	14.4	.505	1.6	3.9	.408	5.7	10.4	.542	4.2	5.5	.760	0.9	2.3	3.2	5.9	1.4	0.3	2.8	2.7	20.3
2014-15	28	PHO	NBA	SG	49	49	33.4	6.6	13.2	.499	1.3	3.7	.346	5.3	9.6	.558	1.9	2.5	.762	1.0	2.6	3.6	4.0	1.0	0.2	2.2	2.3	16.3

Dragic's statistics from 2011-present

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/dragigo01.html#per_game::none

Considering if Dragic does decide to sign with the Lakers, fans should not be concerned about consistency, particularly because Dragic has become accustomed to playing off the ball. Meaning he can still remain efficient while Kobe has the ball in his hands. However, the biggest hurdle that Dragic will have to encounter while playing with Bryant is his tendency to improvise plays rather than adhering to traditional half-court sets, which is why Phil Jackson's triangle offense was so lethal with Bryant as the focal point. 

Earlier this season analysts questioned the addition of Isaiah Thomas to the Phoenix Suns, foreshadowing that having 3 ball dominant point guards on one team would disrupt the Suns exciting fast action play. Although the team had a bumpy start in their first 26 games, with 12 wins and 14 losses, since mid-December the Suns have teared through their competition earning themselves a coveted 8th seed in a highly competitive Western Conference, which has the top 7 teams playing above .600% (teams will complete roughly 41 games mid-point through the season, a season has total of 82 games).

Throughout this season the Lakers have reported that they were interested in Dragic. By the end of the year the Lakers will have an estimated $27 million to spend during the 2015-16 off-season, which will be more than enough to sign Dragic. It's unlikely that the Lakers can trade for Dragic, especially since they do not have viable trading assets; the trade deadline will end on Feb 19th at 3PM EST.

As the All-Star weekend approaches we should expect to see teams move and tinker their rosters. Particularly this year, since there are no heavy favorites to win the championship, although the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzles, and the Cleveland Cavaliers may argue otherwise. With that said, Lakernation is desperately hoping to maintain their draft pick (Lakers can only obtain their pick if it is a top 5 pick, otherwise the pick would go to the Phoenix Suns via the Steve Nash trade). Until then, we'll have to wait and see. Brace yourself, this is going to be a wild race to the finish.

Jeremy Lin and Linsanity...is it over? According to Byron Scott it is.

This past off-season when the Lakers acquired Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets, Laker fans assumed Lin would address the point guard inefficiencies that had plagued the Lakers for far too long. Lin is a proven point guard who excels at driving to the rim, can dish out assists, can shoot beyond the perimeter, and most importantly he's a true team player and all-around good guy on and off the court. Recently, however, Byron Scott's statements in regards to the end of Linsanity had me questioning some of his coaching methods, considering that Scott hasn't given Lin a fair shot to showcase his skill set.

Scott was displeased with Lin's lack of consistency when he started alongside Kobe Bryant and the rest of the starters. Not only that, Lin's defense has been virtually non-existent. As a result, Scott relegated Lin to the bench, having Ronnie Price take over his starting minutes. Since the switch Lin's confidence and value has plummeted, and several times throughout the season Lin had vented his frustrations in accordance to the changes.

Having Price start over Lin was a questionable move that left me wondering why Scott had such an affinity for Price. Although Price was a slightly better defender he provided no spark offensively, and his high-risk, high-reward style of play normally ended with the opposition gaining the upper hand.

Lin's ability to get to the hole and get the Lakers' big men involved was his greatest strength, and he performed well enough when he led the squad. Unfortunately when Bryant was on the court Lin's main weapons were taken away, forcing him to become a catch and shoot player. To make matters worst Lin's minutes have been horrendously erratic; some games he'll play 20-25 minutes, other nights he'll only log 10-14 minutes, and there have been a handful of games where Lin was listed on the DNP list ("did not play").

I understand Scott's frustrations with Lin, especially since Lin is the second highest paid player on the roster, making a cool 14.9 million dollars. It's interesting to consider whether or not Scott would have treated Lin differently if he was payed less. Perhaps Scott's expectations would be more reasonable. Nonetheless, Scott appears content with leaving Lin on the bench. Now, Lin's new replacement is the rookie guard, Jordan Clarkson, who has shown tremendous potential.

What does the future have in store for Lin? Lin spoke with the media expressing that his options are still "open" and that it's too "early" to make any decisions. However, I'm confident that Lin will pursue another team that will cater to his skill set. Maybe Lin can revive his career in San Antonio! Playing behind Tony Parker would be a monumental opportunity. Or we might see Lin as a Clipper. The Clippers have struggled to find a note-worthy replacement for Darren Collison, who now starts for the Sacramento Kings.

Undoubtedly, Scott's opinions in regards to Lin have been bold, proclaiming that the days of Linsanity are over. Personally I do not agree with Scott, given that he never trusted Lin to take on the starting role. Since the beginning Scott has kept Lin on a very short leash, and as a result their relationship has become toxic, similar to how D'Antoni mistreated Gasol. Consequently, the Laker fan base may never get a chance to experience the phenomena known as Linsanity, but I can guarantee that Lin will carry his talents and his fan base else where next season.