FEBRUARY 22: The Nets have officially signed Dragic and waived Carter, the team announced in a press release.
Dragic’s rest-of-season contract will pay him $728,742 and will have a cap hit of $460,463. Since Brooklyn is well over the tax line, the club’s end-of-season tax bill will further increase as a result of the signing.
FEBRUARY 21: After being bought out by the Spurs last week, point guard Goran Dragic has made a decision on his next team, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Dragic will sign with the Nets.
Dragic, who was traded from Toronto to San Antonio at this month’s deadline, had reportedly been considering a handful of suitors, including the Bucks, Warriors, Bulls, Lakers, and Clippers.
Dallas, where Dragic would’ve had the opportunity to team up with fellow Slovenian Luka Doncic, had also been considered a potential landing spot earlier in the season. However, the Mavericks weren’t said to be in the mix for him following his buyout, having acquired another point guard (Spencer Dinwiddie) at the trade deadline.
In Brooklyn, Dragic should get the opportunity to share point guard duties with Patty Mills. Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, of course, will be in the mix as well, but Irving is ineligible for home games as long as New York City’s vaccine mandate remains in place and it’s unclear when Simmons will make his Nets debut.
The move to Brooklyn will also give Dragic an opportunity to reunite with head coach Steve Nash, who played in Phoenix when Dragic first entered the NBA as a Sun. Marc Stein reported on Sunday that Nash was very involved in the process of recruiting his former teammate.
Dragic averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 3.4 RPG on .432/.373/.828 shooting in 50 games (26.7 MPG) for the Heat in 2020/21. However, he appeared in just five games for the Raptors this season after being sent to Toronto as part of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade. He hasn’t played since November, having taken a personal leave of absence from the Raptors up until he was traded to San Antonio.
The Nets have a full 15-man roster and will have to waive a player in order to officially sign Dragic. That player will be guard Jevon Carter, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The team will have the option of stretching Carter’s guaranteed $3.925MM salary for 2022/23 across three seasons. His current $3.65MM salary will remain on the ’21/22 cap.
Brooklyn used its full mid-level exception to sign Mills in the offseason and doesn’t have its bi-annual exception available, so Dragic will sign a minimum-salary contract with the club. The exact value of his deal will depend on when he officially signs, but the 35-year-old will earn $15,182 per day.
Luka is fine with this. Davis Bertans is totally enough. It’s not like he was waiting all season for this buyout.
Nets can still beat any team in the East
If Irving is allowed to play
If 76ers are not able to win the East this year, the trade is the worst in the nba history
If the Lakers vs nets . League will suspend Irving
Who are they gonna waive now?? Better be Jevon Carter
Didnt the Suns trade him because nash and him had off the court drama?
Like 10 years ago? Wonder if they’ve resolved it by now considering Nash was the one pitching him on BK…
Don’t try to create drama and controversy where there is none.
I think we slept with his wife
Speak for yourself
We? You were involved in a threesome?
Lol he*
Can confirm with CBA’s first comment
That’s was Jason Richardson
Called it. Yw
Or were you lucky? Okay Nostradamus who’s the next buy out guy and where is he signing?
Yeah you wish!
I’m surprised James Johnson isn’t getting the boot
I am a bit, too, because I didn’t think they’d eat a contract with luxury tax considerations, but Johnson has shown some flashes lately and would probably get more PT than Carter.
wish it was JJ.. he’d be a great pickup for my Heat right now lol
That’s around 15M$ wasted in salary stretch + tax for a 3rd option PG, what a dumb move if KI becomes eligible for home game
I understand the point, but I’m not worried about Joe Tsai here.
Not a money problem from a fan point of view it’s just Dragic fit i find weird with so much ball handler in this roster …
They probably aren’t stretching Jevon I would he surprised if they do. and Dragic would be the backup PG they need another ball handler.
Goran is a very good player. Getting him make the nets better. On top of that even if juries can play all games getting goran keeps him away from the bucks and warriors etc, which keeps ur competition from getting better. The Chinese people who own the team have unlimited money. They make knicks ownership look like paupers. They could care less about price if it means they get a title and this move no doubt gets them closer to a title.
Godamit!
Sincerely,
Rockets fan
Huh? lol
Rockets are want the Nets to continue losing so they can get a better pick. Dragic is gonna be a big help for the rest of the season
I thought PHX might get him (although they never appeared to go for it). BKN with Nash makes sense too. I never heard of there being any issue between Nash and Dragic. Nash spoke highly of him publicly at least. But it was a starter / one position backup situation.
BKN can use another G who can both facilitate and score within their system. Simmons isn’t a G for this purpose. The three G’s they have are light on facilitation.
Jevon Carter returning could be a temporary option, even though Shamet will be back, because Paul will be out 6-8 weeks.
When Paul was out 6-8 weeks I thought this too… but he left them very bitter and felt betrayed. Wasn’t the current leadership that did it to him, but probably very bitter still.
Goran is a gamer and had plenty time to get healthy. He might even be better than Harden in the postseason!
He’s so much of a Gamer that he sat home and pouted instead of playing for The Raptors…
Players get their way now, haven’t you been paying attention lately?
He may literally be.. if he’s playing 35 minutes and the offense goes through him (a la the Heat in the 2020 bubble where he was their top scorer)… but in reality he will be playing 15minutes tops and probably gonna ride the bench in favor of Curry and Kyrie … let alone Simmons and Mills on top of that.
Hes finished. Mets know Simmons is useless in the 4th and at crunch time. Mets know curry is soooooo streaky.
I don’t think either will break into the lineup as position players if the lockout ever ends… Oh, I get it and think they will fit in fine in Brooklyn (not with the Cyclones) once the team gets closer to full strength.
This is a good signing for them. He’s a solid 3rd/4th option at this point in his career. Loved him in Miami and hope he returns next season to us.
What a mistake! I hope he likes bagels
He’s washed up. Will probably do nothing.
I said it. Nash and Dragic go back to Suns. He learned from Nash. Truth is with Kyrie situation. “The Dragon” will get plenty mins. Good move by Nets
Brooklyn Nets keep trying to buy this year’s NBA title. But there’s only 1 ball so someone has to sit. Nets remind me of the Lakers who bought one title. Maybe the Nets will this year too but I hope not. Throwing $ to win? Yuck.
Yeah well as long as you pay to watch they get paid to play sorry to break it to ya
A minimum contract is buying a title? Even if you count eating a year plus of Jevon Carter’s contract with luxury taxes, that’s not buying a title. They still have to earn it and hope the pieces fit together well. I think they will.
You can’t “buy a title” in the NBA.. they have a salary cap. This isn’t baseball where they could out spend everyone (otherwise the Knicks wouldn’t suck every year lol)… convincing vets to join on the minimum is something every team in the NBA has done. Every team has the same salary cap and luxury tax threshold.
So much for @jeremyn drumming on & on that Dragic would end up in MIA… now he can cry in peace & quiet!
Nope.. not crying. He 1000000% wanted to be in a heat uniform and him signing with an east team means the heat never spoke to him. Sad sentimentally.. but he would have been a 4th-5th option on the current Heat team and I understand why the heat didn’t want to do that him. He would have helped the bucks much more so I’m glad he didn’t go there.
Kyrie x ~20 games + Dragon x ~20 games % 2=___________?
For those thinking there was beef with Nash / Dragic.. you’re completely wrong. In fact Nash was Dragic’s mentor in PHX…. it was when Nash left for LA that drama occurred, PHX brought in Eric Bledsoe and Isiah Thomas rather than let Dragic become the full time starting PG (that Nash groomed him for). Dragic was asked to become an off ball SG and it drove him nuts. He felt lied to and by 2014 he was on the Heat….. all that being said. He just went to a sinking ship team.. unless Ben Simmons suddenly learned how to shoot and Kyrie stopped being a lunatic… the Nets aren’t going anywhere this season. Also.. this buries Seth Curry to oblivion for no apparent reason.
Dragic was traded in 2015.
2014-15 season* sorry lol.. to be semantical… they brought in Bledsoe in 2013 and Thomas in 2014.. both were met with frustration from Dragic. When they tried to move him to off ball that’s when he ended up on the Heat.
Not a winning player. Should fit right in with a bunch of his new teammates.
You’re absolutely insane with this comment. I bet you think the bubble heat were Jimmy Butler’s team right? WRONG.. the leading scorer and ball handler.. was Goran Dragic. In fact, if Dragic doesn’t break his foot in game 1 of the finals.. the Heat probably win that series. (they won 2 games without him and lost game 6 when he tried to play on the broken foot)… saying Dragic isn’t a winner is insanity to me.