NBA Trade Deadline: Goran Dragic Unlikely To Be Traded

Here is a bold NBA Trade Deadline prediction.  Goran Dragic will not be traded before Thursday’s 3 pm, deadline. How can I make this bold prediction?

While researching possible trade partners with potential interest in Dragic it is difficult to find any that:

1. Are not in direct competition for a Western Conference playoff spot.
2. Would be willing to sacrifice a first round pick for a rental player.

Two teams have been prominently mentioned in rumors as having interest in trading for Goran Dragic.

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly been interested in Dragic the entire season and are willing to offer him a max contract this offseason.  For that reason trading for Dragic doesn’t make much sense for the Lakers when they can just pursue him in the offseason.

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If the Lakers plan to offer Dragic a max contract anyway, why add to that cost be sacrificing what will most certainly be a lottery pick to get him a few months early. Especially considering their spot in the standings.

The Houston Rockets are also rumored to be interested in the Slovenian point guard.  Unfortunately for the Suns, trading for Dragic doesn’t make much sense for the Rockets either considering they are not guaranteed to have him beyond the end of this season.  Trading Dragic to the Rockets doesn’t even make sense for the Suns considering they could face Houston in the Western Conference playoffs.

As for other rebuilding teams looking for a point guard around which to rebuild their franchise, trading a draft pick for Dragic isn’t logical considering they can just pursue him in the offseason.

Rumor has it that the Suns are looking for a first round pick for their soon to be free agent point. As good as Goran Dragic is, the price is way to high for a rental player.  Even a sign and trade is unlikely.

Dragic will get a max deal if he goes to the free agent market so he won’t sign a contract for anything less just for the sake of being traded. That makes a sign and trade next to impossible, considering the cap space needed to make such a deal work and that kind of space is usually not available mid-season.

At this point the Suns are better off holding on to the talented guard and hope they have enough scoring to get them to the playoffs.  That is of course they are willing to accept far less than their original asking price.