NBA Rumors: Goran Dragic Won’t Re-sign With Suns Following Season
Goran Dragic’s days in a Suns uniform are once again numbered.
According to a report from USA Today, the Suns guard told team officials during a meeting on Tuesday that he won’t re-sign in Phoenix this coming summer. Dragic will be an unrestricted free agent, meaning that he can sign with any team.
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This breaking news means it’s highly likely that Dragic will be dealt ahead of the Trade Deadline on Thursday afternoon. With this news being so fresh, what the Suns could get back in return for him remains to be seen.
Considering his brief history with trades as the Suns general manager though, you should expect Ryan McDonough to get a quality return though.
There are a few teams who would be interested in the 28-year-old, including the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and the Miami Heat, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks are among preferred destinations for Goran Dragic, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2015
For the season, Dragic is averaging 16.2 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds. Those numbers are down considerably from the totals he put up last season during a career year.
Obviously, this is huge news on several fronts. It means that Isaiah Thomas, who was also a part of many trade rumors over the past several days, will remain in a Suns uniform for the foreseeable future. His role should remain unchanged being the Suns sixth man off their bench.
It should also mean more minutes for the Suns youngsters off the bench, mainly Archie Goodwin. The former Kentucky guard hasn’t seen a lot of playing time during his sophomore campaign, but that should change here in the coming weeks ahead.
As a big fan of Goodwin’s, I view him being part of the rotation as a good thing. Phoenix’s depth at the guard position has really held his development back and he’s been outspoken about it on his Twitter account. He’s possibly the happiest person out of anybody for this news to break.
Obviously, this Dragic news is going to upset a lot of Suns fans. Dragic was the most beloved member on this roster and a great part of the community. Many fans wanted to keep him here for the next several years, no matter what the cost, but that was never a viable option.
This team should be fine going forward as they move on from Dragic. Eric Bledsoe and Thomas can more than shoulder the load in his absence and it provides more playing time for the youngsters on the Suns roster.