It was a great ride for Goran Dragic and the Toronto Raptors. He appeared in five games with Toronto after coming over in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade from the Miami Heat, rode the bench for three months, was sent to the San Antonio Spurs at the NBA trade deadline and later bought out.
Dragic is poised to be a sought-after commodity. The 35-year-old remains a composed ball-handler who can get inside off the dribble, score at an efficient level and facilitate for an offense. He’s an optimum pickup for an NBA contender.
Here are three ideal destinations for Goran Dragic.
3) Goran Dragic fills a void for the Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have been a well-oiled machine this season, but every Death Star has its weakness. For Golden State, that’s a lack of a true backup point guard.
Dragic would be Stephen Curry’s backup. The former would serve as the primary ball-handler for the second unit. It’s a unit that would presumably include Jordan Poole, Damion Lee and Jonathan Kuminga. That’s a lot of scorers who can go off on any given night.
- Goran Dragic stats (2021-22): 8.0 points and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 38.2/28.6/1.000
You can never have enough scoring in the NBA, and Dragic fits right into the Warriors’ ways. He’s a versatile scorer whose assisting knack bodes well for a team that generates a great deal of ball movement. Golden State has a lot of shooters who can also score off the dribble, whereas Dragic is an attacking scorer who can also stretch the floor; he adds offensive variety in his opposite strong suits.
All that said, the Warriors may feel having capable ball-handlers like Klay Thompson, Poole, Lee and a handful of others makes up for the lack of a traditional backup point guard. Plus, Curry will play heavy minutes in the playoffs, anyway.
2) Goran Dragic bolsters the Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks haven’t built on their 2021 run to the Eastern Conference Finals. On the bright side, they’re playing better of late and are a safe bet to at least appear in the Play-in Tournament. In other words, there’s reason for them to seek a rotation enhancement like Dragic.
The Hawks have a lot of talent and scoring. They don’t necessarily have facilitators or players who create for others outside of Trae Young, though. Dragic would play a considerable role off the Hawks’ bench, attracting some defensive attention and finding the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu and others in their hotspots.
Again: the Hawks have tantalizing talent across the board. What they need is stability. Dragic is a comforting backcourt player who makes a tangible difference for a team in the Hawks’ situation. They become more efficient and get a player who has been there, done that to help smooth matters over.
The factor that could stop the Hawks from signing Dragic, though, is them preferring to ride out the season with their current rotation and/or allocate more minutes to rookie point guard Sharife Cooper.
1) Goran Dragic to the Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers made a pretty big move last week, acquiring James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets for a package centered around Ben Simmons and Seth Curry. While a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference, the 76ers do have some holes. Dragic can fill one of them.
Harden handles the rock with frequency in the halfcourt. Meanwhile, Shake Milton can be the point guard for the second unit. That said, Dragic helps head coach Doc Rivers spread out and better utilize his backcourt pieces. Dragic moves Milton into an off-the-ball role, where he can get points out on the perimeter or by attacking the rack.
An underrated aspect of the Harden trade is that the 76ers swapped two ball-handlers (Simmons and Curry) for one (Harden), meaning another well-rounded point guard would come in handy. In time, Dragic could play his way on the floor in crunch time, where he can share a backcourt with Harden.
The 76ers are trying to win an NBA championship as soon as possible. Signing Dragic increases their chances of fulfilling that aspiration. He gives them scoring, facilitating and a seasoned veteran.