ESPN analyst Tim Legler talks Goran Dragic, Phil Jackson and the NBA playoff picture with The Post’s Justin Terranova.
Q: What do you make of the Suns-Heat trade?
It’s a great deal for both teams. The Suns get two first-rounders and the Heat get a franchise point guard in (Goran) Dragic, who they’ll be in good position to re-sign. I don’t think it’s enough this year for the Heat to make a serious run in the playoffs, but the point-guard position is critical and they might be set for the next five years. And they’ll be a dangerous first-round opponent this year.
Q: What will the Knicks be missing out on by not getting Dragic?
He’s the complete package. He’s long, a leader on the floor, a good pick-and-roll player, he finds people, but he also can get you 20 [points]. At 28 years old, he’s still in his prime and has five or six years left. I’m a big Goran Dragic guy. I don’t know what a max player is anymore with some of the contracts guys are getting: I think top-10 player and a guy who can lead you to the NBA title as your best player. I don’t know if Goran Dragic fits into that category, but if you look at the contracts some of the elite point guards in the league have gotten, he’s definitely in that class.
Q: Have you lost confidence Phil Jackson will excel in this position with the way this season has gone?
They were never going to be good this year. Now, we are going to see if hiring Phil Jackson will pay off. Because what is his main role? It’s as a recruiter, a guy that can go out in the free-agent market and recruit great players to New York. If you’re going to be on the Knicks when we turn this around then you are going to own this city and that’s the selling point. You’re sitting there talking to free agents and you’ve got 11 rings clacking around on the desk. That’s what Phil Jackson’s real value is in all of this.
Q: Better chance to reach finals: Hawks or Warriors?
A: It’s definitely Atlanta, there’s just fewer teams to go through. Chicago is the one team in the East that has the most we have yet to see. I think Derrick Rose is cruising most of the time because he wants to get through the season healthy. But he’s starting to show more and more glimpses. … When they get to the playoffs, I expect him to put his foot on the gas.
Q: So, the Cavaliers haven’t convinced you they are contenders with their recent turnaround?
A: I think some of their defensive issues, and they have improved — [Timofey] Mozgov was a major addition for them, exactly what they needed — but overall I don’t know that the mentality of their coach [David Blatt] and identity as a team is to win games defensively. They have been so good offensively that it’s masked some of their defensive issues, but they still exist.