Suns still confident they can land Dragic

Despite more comments from Goran Dragic that he will remain in Europe this season, the Suns still remain confident of their chancesto bring their second-round draft pick to Phoenix this year. The team should know for certain by the end of the week.

A few weeks after telling Spanish reporters he would remain with Tau Cerimaca this season, the 22-year-old Slovenian point guard told the Web site Marca.com that he's not coming to the Suns.

He said he will stay with Tau, where he has two years remaining on his contract with a buyout for $1.5 million at the end of this season.

"I need to play basketball (with Tau), to train hard under the orders of (coach) Dusko Ivanovic and improve my game," Dragic said in a translated quote.

But after speaking with intermediaries, the Suns are convinced Dragic is still looking into working a buyout with Tau - a deal that would cost in excess of the $1.5 million figure already agreed to after this season.

They also expect a final decision soon since Tau's training camp will open in a few weeks.

The Suns can only contribute $500,000 to the buyout, meaning that the remainder would have to be made up with a contract much higher than the league minimum and subject to the dollar-for-dollar league luxury tax.

If Dragic stays in Europe, Phoenix might make a play for free agent Jannero Pargo, the backup to Chris Paul last season in New Orleans.

He won't return to the Hornets and is reportedly mulling a $2 million-a-year offer from San Antonio.

But that offer has been on the table for more than a week, and the situation in Phoenix might be one reason why he hasn't closed the deal.

Pargo's agent, Mark Bartelstein, refused to disclose whether the Suns are in the running, but Pargo is known to be a favorite of Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr.

The team might be convinced to spend the $2 million-plus it was going to spend on Dragic this season on Pargo to give the Suns a solid backup to Steve Nash at the point.

If Dragic stays in Europe and Pargo proves too expensive, former Sun Sam Cassell and former University of Arizona star Damon Stoudamire are available.

When Jason Williams signed with the Clippers last week, it meant Los Angeles had cut ties with budding star Shaun Livingston, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2004 draft.

Livingstonhasn't played in the NBA in a year and a half after suffering a severe knee injury. He also still isn't cleared to play basketball, and the idea of him playing a key role on any team to start the season appears a long shot.