Goran Dragic is one of those names that you forgot this season. Like many situations, he was a veteran that was moved to a situation with little room for his experience. Dragic was a centerpiece moved in an off-season deal that saw him depart from the Miami Heat to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Kyle Lowry.
The San Antonio Spurs made a move to trade Thad Young for Goran Dragic at the trade deadline.
After a quiet deadline themselves, the Los Angeles Lakers are buyout shopping. As expected, they are linked to Dragic, along with many others. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the list of possible suitors:
The San Antonio Spurs and Goran Dragic are expected to negotiate a contract buyout in the coming week, clearing the way for a formidable list of free agent suitors for Dragic that now include the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, sources told ESPN.
The Lakers and Warriors are planning to join several rivals, including the LA Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, in aggressive pursuit of Dragic, sources said.
Their pursuit will be met with much competition, as mentioned. At 26-30, the Lakers will need to work some crazy magic to convince a guy that’s likely looking for a championship shot. While the trio of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook are formidable on paper — they’ve struggled together on the floor. Perhaps a veteran alike Dragic could ease some of the troubles within the team’s play.
Dragic appeared in 5 games for the Raptors this season. At 35 years old, he’s been away from the team and working out on his own. If he lands with the Lakers, they’d have to hope he can show what he did during their 2020 NBA championship run. Dragic posted 19.1 points and 4.4 assists before succumbing to a foot injury in the NBA Finals against the Lakers.
