Goran Dragic Appreciation Thread

[Cutter]

I hope the Heat max Dragic at 100/5. That contract will so cripple that franchise it will improve our odds of getting a good pick from them down the road.

[bwgood77]

I hope the Heat max Dragic at 100/5. That contract will so cripple that franchise it will improve our odds of getting a good pick from them down the road.

Even if he gets that much, that won't be a terrible contract once the cap goes to $85-$90 and since Bosh has a max through 2019, and Bosh is probably about the best type of pick-n-pop player that Dragic could possibly be paired with, I don't think it's that bad.

What would cripple them is if they give Wade a huge contract again. He has a player option next year, but Bosh is the only guy under contract long term so they'd still have tons of cap space.

Also depends on whether or not Whiteside gets a huge contract and stays and if Bosh can come back healthy.

But I think having a team of role players around Dragic and Bosh, with one of those role players being Whiteside, in the east, isn't bad.

But obviously I think Dragic is a really good player when he is a primary ball handler, and especially when he plays with a guy like Bosh.

[Revived]

I hope the Heat max Dragic at 100/5. That contract will so cripple that franchise it will improve our odds of getting a good pick from them down the road.

Even if he gets that much, that won't be a terrible contract once the cap goes to $85-$90 and since Bosh has a max through 2019, and Bosh is probably about the best type of pick-n-pop player that Dragic could possibly be paired with, I don't think it's that bad.

What would cripple them is if they give Wade a huge contract again. He has a player option next year, but Bosh is the only guy under contract long term so they'd still have tons of cap space.

Also depends on whether or not Whiteside gets a huge contract and stays and if Bosh can come back healthy.

But I think having a team of role players around Dragic and Bosh, with one of those role players being Whiteside, in the east, isn't bad.

But obviously I think Dragic is a really good player when he is a primary ball handler, and especially when he plays with a guy like Bosh.

^this. I think Dragic will live up to his contract until at least the last year of his extension.

People don't realize that EVERYONE in the NBA is goin to get overpaid like crazy in 2 years. $20M/yr for Goran will look like a bargain at that point.

[Cutter]

$20 million is 25% of an $80 million cap. You don't tie up 25% of your cap in a player like Goran Dragic if you are serious about getting deep into the playoffs.

[bwgood77]

$20 million is 25% of an $80 million cap. You don't tie up 25% of your cap in a player like Goran Dragic if you are serious about getting deep into the playoffs.

Things like that are easy to say, but they didn't have much luck last offseason finding anyone. Quality players can be hard to sign. They were lucky to get Bosh to come back. The couldn't get anyone else.

Believe me, they are happy to have gotten Dragic and will be very happy to keep him. He might not even cost that much. I don't know what kind of bidding war there will be for him.

But there are only a handful of guys in the league who will move and get paid that much. They will have to go into the tax if they sign him AND Dragic and especially if Deng picks up a player option. I think a Dragic/Wade/Deng/Bosh/Whiteside lineup would have a good chance next year at being pretty good though.

I know many think Dragic sucks, so I can understand why they wouldn't want to pay him that much, and I can understand why it doesn't make sense for the Suns to pay him that much. The Suns obviously couldn't even make the playoffs with him. So even if they take a step back and go younger, it makes sense as tough as the west is, and that pretty much the entire team is young.

But a team like Miami, who is barely a playoff team without him, but he could potentially be a missing piece that gives them backcourt stability and allows Wade time to rest, it makes total sense.

I'm surprised so many people here don't think so. Obviously the Miami FO and fans think so since they are willing to trade two picks for him and pay him what they need to in the summer.

Pat Riley seems like a pretty smart guy. He usually knows what he is doing.

[Cutter]

$20 million is 25% of an $80 million cap. You don't tie up 25% of your cap in a player like Goran Dragic if you are serious about getting deep into the playoffs.

Things like that are easy to say, but they didn't have much luck last offseason finding anyone. Quality players can be hard to sign. They were lucky to get Bosh to come back. The couldn't get anyone else.

Believe me, they are happy to have gotten Dragic and will be very happy to keep him. He might not even cost that much. I don't know what kind of bidding war there will be for him.

But there are only a handful of guys in the league who will move and get paid that much. They will have to go into the tax if they sign him AND Dragic and especially if Deng picks up a player option. I think a Dragic/Wade/Deng/Bosh/Whiteside lineup would have a good chance next year at being pretty good though.

I know many think Dragic sucks, so I can understand why they wouldn't want to pay him that much, and I can understand why it doesn't make sense for the Suns to pay him that much. The Suns obviously couldn't even make the playoffs with him. So even if they take a step back and go younger, it makes sense as tough as the west is, and that pretty much the entire team is young.

But a team like Miami, who is barely a playoff team without him, but he could potentially be a missing piece that gives them backcourt stability and allows Wade time to rest, it makes total sense.

I'm surprised so many people here don't think so. Obviously the Miami FO and fans think so since they are willing to trade two picks for him and pay him what they need to in the summer.

Pat Riley seems like a pretty smart guy. He usually knows what he is doing.

I agree. I find it unlikely Goran would get $20 million per year, but sometime crazy offers are made by a desperate team. Also, I agree that teams at times find themselves in need of signing a "name" player to keep fans in the seats, even if it requires an overpay of some sort. A declining Wade, and uncertain Health Bosh, and I could see Goran sort of defaulting into the role of "the man" on the Heat.

I wish him good fortune and hope he does well, except when playing the Suns.

[TeamTragic]

$20 million is 25% of an $80 million cap. You don't tie up 25% of your cap in a player like Goran Dragic if you are serious about getting deep into the playoffs.

Things like that are easy to say, but they didn't have much luck last offseason finding anyone. Quality players can be hard to sign. They were lucky to get Bosh to come back. The couldn't get anyone else.

Believe me, they are happy to have gotten Dragic and will be very happy to keep him. He might not even cost that much. I don't know what kind of bidding war there will be for him.

But there are only a handful of guys in the league who will move and get paid that much. They will have to go into the tax if they sign him AND Dragic and especially if Deng picks up a player option. I think a Dragic/Wade/Deng/Bosh/Whiteside lineup would have a good chance next year at being pretty good though.

I know many think Dragic sucks, so I can understand why they wouldn't want to pay him that much, and I can understand why it doesn't make sense for the Suns to pay him that much. The Suns obviously couldn't even make the playoffs with him. So even if they take a step back and go younger, it makes sense as tough as the west is, and that pretty much the entire team is young.

But a team like Miami, who is barely a playoff team without him, but he could potentially be a missing piece that gives them backcourt stability and allows Wade time to rest, it makes total sense.

I'm surprised so many people here don't think so. Obviously the Miami FO and fans think so since they are willing to trade two picks for him and pay him what they need to in the summer.

Pat Riley seems like a pretty smart guy. He usually knows what he is doing.

You mean players want to be on a team with Lebron? Shocking

[bwgood77]

You mean players want to be on a team with Lebron? Shocking

Who you talking about? Ilgauskas, Mike Miller and Ray Allen?

Did you know LeBron plays for Cleveland now?

Did you know Bosh signed with Miami before LeBron?

[TeamTragic]

You mean players want to be on a team with Lebron? Shocking

Who you talking about? Ilgauskas, Mike Miller and Ray Allen?

Did you know LeBron plays for Cleveland now?

Did you know Bosh signed with Miami before LeBron?

I'm saying that when he was playing on Miami everyone wanted to play with him. Now that he went back to Cleveland that hasn't changed (Love/Marion/Mozgov/etc). Bosh/Wade were expecting him to sign with Miami.

[bwgood77]

You mean players want to be on a team with Lebron? Shocking

Who you talking about? Ilgauskas, Mike Miller and Ray Allen?

Did you know LeBron plays for Cleveland now?

Did you know Bosh signed with Miami before LeBron?

I'm saying that when he was playing on Miami everyone wanted to play with him. Now that he went back to Cleveland that hasn't changed (Love/Marion/Mozgov/etc). Bosh/Wade were expecting him to sign with Miami.

No, Bosh and Wade were surprised he signed with Miami. But anyway, I get it. You don't think Pat Riley is a smart guy.

[phrazbit]

I think Riley was smart when he maneuvered Miami to pull off that coup back in 2010, but the Goran trade is a move made by an older GM with very little thought for the future in a desperate attempt to get a mediocre team to be relevant again. Miami right now is where the Suns were about 5 years ago. They should be blowing it up and starting over, but instead they've doubled down. Now whoever takes over for Riley in a couple years will be running an old team with several rough contracts and a terrible situation in regards to draft picks.

It would have been all well and good if in the mean time they'd built a contender, but they didn't, not even close. Well under .500 in the East. They might not even make the playoffs.

[jcsunsfan]

I think Riley was smart when he maneuvered Miami to pull off that coup back in 2010, but the Goran trade is a move made by an older GM with very little thought for the future in a desperate attempt to get a mediocre team to be relevant again. Miami right now is where the Suns were about 5 years ago. They should be blowing it up and starting over, but instead they've doubled down. Now whoever takes over for Riley in a couple years will be running an old team with several rough contracts and a terrible situation in regards to draft picks.

It would have been all well and good if in the mean time they'd built a contender, but they didn't, not even close. Well under .500 in the East. They might not even make the playoffs.

They are already committed to Bosh. You know they have to try to keep Wade. So Dragic is sort of a reinvention on the fly.

[phrazbit]

I think Riley was smart when he maneuvered Miami to pull off that coup back in 2010, but the Goran trade is a move made by an older GM with very little thought for the future in a desperate attempt to get a mediocre team to be relevant again. Miami right now is where the Suns were about 5 years ago. They should be blowing it up and starting over, but instead they've doubled down. Now whoever takes over for Riley in a couple years will be running an old team with several rough contracts and a terrible situation in regards to draft picks.

It would have been all well and good if in the mean time they'd built a contender, but they didn't, not even close. Well under .500 in the East. They might not even make the playoffs.

They are already committed to Bosh. You know they have to try to keep Wade. So Dragic is sort of a reinvention on the fly.

I get why they did it, but its a tonic for a team with a terminal illness. They might be happy about it next year (but thats still a big "might") but in 2-3-4 years... the fans and whoever replaced Riley, they're going to be screwed.

The media treats certain teams and GMs differently, Pat Riley is a media darling. If the Knicks had Miami's same roster and did the same move, I expect they would have been roundly mocked "there goes Dolan, spending like a dope with no regard for the future and an an illusion that his team is competitive"... as Miami should have been. A bad team doing a serious mortgaging of the future for a guy they're going to have to pay through the nose to keep.

Seriously. Its an old roster, 8 games under .500, barely clinging to the playoffs in an awful conference. They just traded two future firsts with almost no protection for a 29 year old, free agent to be, who's biggest claim to fame is a 3rd team all-NBA appearance. This would be like if the 2010/2011 Phoenix Suns had traded their first round picks in 2013 and 15 for Kevin Martin.

[Cutter]

I think Riley was smart when he maneuvered Miami to pull off that coup back in 2010, but the Goran trade is a move made by an older GM with very little thought for the future in a desperate attempt to get a mediocre team to be relevant again. Miami right now is where the Suns were about 5 years ago. They should be blowing it up and starting over, but instead they've doubled down. Now whoever takes over for Riley in a couple years will be running an old team with several rough contracts and a terrible situation in regards to draft picks.

It would have been all well and good if in the mean time they'd built a contender, but they didn't, not even close. Well under .500 in the East. They might not even make the playoffs.

They are already committed to Bosh. You know they have to try to keep Wade. So Dragic is sort of a reinvention on the fly.

I get why they did it, but its a tonic for a team with a terminal illness. They might be happy about it next year (but thats still a big "might") but in 2-3-4 years... the fans and whoever replaced Riley, they're going to be screwed.

The media treats certain teams and GMs differently, Pat Riley is a media darling. If the Knicks had Miami's same roster and did the same move, I expect they would have been roundly mocked "there goes Dolan, spending like a dope with no regard for the future and an an illusion that his team is competitive"... as Miami should have been. A bad team doing a serious mortgaging of the future for a guy they're going to have to pay through the nose to keep.

Seriously. Its an old roster, 8 games under .500, barely clinging to the playoffs in an awful conference. They just traded two future firsts with almost no protection for a 29 year old, free agent to be, who's biggest claim to fame is a 3rd team all-NBA appearance. This would be like if the 2010/2011 Phoenix Suns had traded their first round picks in 2013 and 15 for Kevin Martin.

Sums up the situation nicely.

[TeamTragic]

Who you talking about? Ilgauskas, Mike Miller and Ray Allen?

Did you know LeBron plays for Cleveland now?

Did you know Bosh signed with Miami before LeBron?

I'm saying that when he was playing on Miami everyone wanted to play with him. Now that he went back to Cleveland that hasn't changed (Love/Marion/Mozgov/etc). Bosh/Wade were expecting him to sign with Miami.

No, Bosh and Wade were surprised he signed with Miami. But anyway, I get it. You don't think Pat Riley is a smart guy.

Incorrect. Wade has said multiple times that he was sure Lebron would sign another contract with the HEAT. Bosh was even waiting to make the numbers work and he was willing to take a paycut. When that didn't happen Riley had to max out Bosh to retain him because he was about to leave for the Rockets. Wade signed a contract right after Bosh. Lebron was the supposed to be the first domino and Riley got cocky.

[bwgood77]

I'm saying that when he was playing on Miami everyone wanted to play with him. Now that he went back to Cleveland that hasn't changed (Love/Marion/Mozgov/etc). Bosh/Wade were expecting him to sign with Miami.

No, Bosh and Wade were surprised he signed with Miami. But anyway, I get it. You don't think Pat Riley is a smart guy.

Incorrect. Wade has said multiple times that he was sure Lebron would sign another contract with the HEAT. Bosh was even waiting to make the numbers work and he was willing to take a paycut. When that didn't happen Riley had to max out Bosh to retain him because he was about to leave for the Rockets. Wade signed a contract right after Bosh. Lebron was the supposed to be the first domino and Riley got cocky.

Oh, I was talking about the first time LeBron signed there.

[JTrain]

Wrong thread. Thanks, Gogi.

[bwgood77]

I think Riley was smart when he maneuvered Miami to pull off that coup back in 2010, but the Goran trade is a move made by an older GM with very little thought for the future in a desperate attempt to get a mediocre team to be relevant again. Miami right now is where the Suns were about 5 years ago. They should be blowing it up and starting over, but instead they've doubled down. Now whoever takes over for Riley in a couple years will be running an old team with several rough contracts and a terrible situation in regards to draft picks.

It would have been all well and good if in the mean time they'd built a contender, but they didn't, not even close. Well under .500 in the East. They might not even make the playoffs.

I don't know...that lineup, if healthy next year.....Dragic, Wade, Deng, Bosh and Whiteside will be a force to be reckoned with. I think a big deal for Wade might be ill advised, but they will give him some sort of deal I suspect. Too many teams blow it up these days that a team like that blowing it up right now with seriously solid pieces....not the approach I would take with that team.

[phrazbit]

Its a paper tiger. We're not talking about a team that is 30-20 trying to make the leap to contender, those Heat were 22-30 with a LOT of old players. Will they be better next year? Maybe, if guys stay healthy, and the odds of that seem dubious. But will they be better enough to actual contend for anything of significance? Almost certainly not.

I'm not saying they need to tank, but that team wasnt being honest with itself when they pulled that trade. If you're giving away multiple future first with almost no protection then you better believe you have a serious shot at a title, and there is no world where a sub .500 team in the East is a Goran Dragic away from winning it all.

[TeamTragic]

I think Riley was smart when he maneuvered Miami to pull off that coup back in 2010, but the Goran trade is a move made by an older GM with very little thought for the future in a desperate attempt to get a mediocre team to be relevant again. Miami right now is where the Suns were about 5 years ago. They should be blowing it up and starting over, but instead they've doubled down. Now whoever takes over for Riley in a couple years will be running an old team with several rough contracts and a terrible situation in regards to draft picks.

It would have been all well and good if in the mean time they'd built a contender, but they didn't, not even close. Well under .500 in the East. They might not even make the playoffs.

I don't know...that lineup, if healthy next year.....Dragic, Wade, Deng, Bosh and Whiteside will be a force to be reckoned with. I think a big deal for Wade might be ill advised, but they will give him some sort of deal I suspect. Too many teams blow it up these days that a team like that blowing it up right now with seriously solid pieces....not the approach I would take with that team.

If Bosh can stay healthy and Dragic is used properly then they are a playoff team in the East. That isn't saying much because Duffy/Dragic want $100M/yr over 5 years and if they don't get close to that I think I think Dragic throws another tantrum. Dude was a locker room cancer in Phoenix.