By Dustin Krugel, Suns.com
Posted: June 26, 2003

After weeks of speculation, the Phoenix Suns did what most expected them to by selecting Serbian forward Zarko Cabarkapa with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft.

“This was one of the worst-kept secrets on the planet over the last three or four weeks. You can thank (XTRA Sports 910 AM host) John Gambadoro,” said Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo shortly after announcing the pick to over 500 season ticket holders at the Fox Sports Grill in Scottsdale Thursday night.

Gambadoro was the first to predict that the Suns had fallen in love with the 6-11, 235-pound forward, who has a sweet shooting touch and rare ballhandling skills for a big man.

“Long, big hands, he’s growing into his body,” Suns international scouting consultant Tim Shea glowed of Cabarkapa, who he has scouted for five years. “Reliable outside shot. He does play within himself. He's under control. He knows how to play. He sees the floor. He's fast for his size. He's not afraid to mix it up. From what I know, he's a great teammate and he's got a great first name, Zarko.”

Suns Head Coach Frank Johnson said with Cabarkapa’s size and perimeter skills, he could envision a potentially dynamic frontcourt of Cabarkapa, All-Star Shawn Marion and 2002-03 NBA Rookie of the Year Amaré Stoudemire.

“With the team that we have, we called it small ball at times. (Assistant coach) Mike D’Antoni said, ‘It’s not small ball, it’s skill ball.’ Now that we have a 7-0 skill guy we don’t necessarily have to go with guys who are 6-7 and under,” Johnson said. “Now we have that 7-0 guy who can go out and do some of those things.”

While the 22-year-old is more experienced than most of the international prospects in this year’s draft, Shea said he wouldn’t develop overnight.

“Patience, patience, patience. Don't expect too much,” Shea said of Cabarkapa, who was a member of the gold-medal winning Yugoslavian team at the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, although he was the 12th man on a deep squad. “He's got to fit in. We talked to the coaches about how they really have to fit him in to what they're trying to do and make him understand the construction of the team and the attack, and take advantage of it.

“It's like a good-looking woman. She's going to highlight her assets and she's going hide her defects, like all players. Plus, be patient because he's coming to a new culture. He's coming to a culture that's dominated by rich young millionaires, from a culture that takes three-hour afternoon naps.”

Approximately one hour later, the Suns acquired the draft rights to Leandro Barbosa (28th overall pick) from San Antonio in exchange for a future protected first-round pick. The 6-3 point guard satisfies an immediate need for the Suns, who had coveted a backup behind All-Star playmaker Stephon Marbury.

“We've given (our coaches) two new people to take and work with and mold,” Colangelo added. “Two more balls of clay to work into the system. We've got a young athletic team. When you have 6-11 athleticism and you have 6-3 athleticism with a 6-9 wingspan, you've got some pretty interesting things out there from a defensive standpoint alone, but we're talking about two guys who can score.”

The two newest Suns are expected to arrive in the Valley on Friday and be introduced to the media during an afternoon press conference. Log on to Suns.com Friday afternoon for a full report.