Impact of Goran Dragic Signing For Brooklyn Nets Ahead Of Title Run

Goran Dragic, Brooklyn Nets, NBA Rumors
NBA Analysis Network

The 2022 NBA buyout market has been slow this season and not many big names have been waived or bought out of their contracts yet, but veteran guard and former All-Star Goran Dragic was bought out of his contract by the San Antonio Spurs last week. 

Goran Dragic was traded from the Miami Heat to the Toronto Raptors before the start of the 2021-22 season in a sign-and-trade deal that sent Kyle Lowry to the Heat, but Dragic did not want to play in Toronto and the Raptors immediately began working on his future in this league. 

Leading up to the trade deadline, there was some level of interest from playoff-caliber teams in terms of trading for Dragic, yet no appealing deals ever came the Raptors’ way, which is why they settled on trading him to San Antonio for another veteran who can contribute now in Thaddeus Young. 

The Spurs are rebuilding, hence why they reached a buyout agreement with Goran Dragic, and on Monday, the veteran point guard decided to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania

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The Brooklyn Nets recently made a big move at the trade deadline, sending former league-MVP James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade package that included Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond and Seth Curry. 

Still in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Nets believe that they are in a better spot now without Harden to compete for a title than they were with him on their roster and with Kevin Durant on the mend from a MCL injury, the Nets should be at full-strength in a week or so. 

Adding as much depth as possible to make a championship run was essential for the Nets, which is why they made the move to sign Goran Dragic at the expense of waiving Jevon Carter. 

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Nets will incur a $3.9 million cap hit during the 2022-23 season as a result of waiving Carter, but Goran Dragic presents that Nets with a better path to the championship this season. 

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Now in his 14th NBA season, Goran Dragic brings a lot of experience with him to Brooklyn and will act as a “security blanket” for the Nets in the backcourt, especially since they have been unwilling to put all their faith in rookie Cam Thomas. 

For his career, Dragic has averaged 13.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and has shot 36.4% from three-point range. Being a reliable ball-handler and facilitator, Goran Dragic gives the Nets exactly what they need at the point guard position with the uncertainty surrounding Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving. 

Currently 6.5 games out of first-place in the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets have a lot of work to do during their remaining 23 games, but they certainly have a chance to get back inside the Top-4 of the conference and host a first-round playoff series. 

The Eastern Conference is loaded with playoff-caliber and championship-caliber teams this season, which is why there is very little room for error. 

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The writing was on the wall in terms of James Harden being moved and the Nets made out quite well in this trade with the 76ers. Ben Simmons, assuming he can contribute right away, will be a key upgrade to this team defensively and the additions of Seth Curry and Andre Drummond have given the Nets two key secondary upgrades. 

Goran Dragic is not going to come to Brooklyn and make the same kind of impact he made with the Miami Heat during the 2019-20 season, being one of their leading scorers and being their lead guard in the backcourt during their NBA Finals run, but he will provide much-needed stability. 

At full-strength, the Nets now have Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Patty Mills, Seth Curry, Cam Thomas and Goran Dragic in their backcourt. That is a pretty strong group of players that all bring something different to the table. 

Likely to play spot minutes based on matchups and injuries, Goran Dragic will definitely have a bigger impact in the locker room than on the floor for the Brooklyn Nets simply because of his experiences in this league. 

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Dragic has been to the NBA Finals before, he wanted to be a part of a championship contender this season and the Nets have quite a few young players that could learn a thing or two from someone like him. 

Not to mention, Goran Dragic has a strong relationship with Nets head coach Steve Nash, dating back to their days of playing with the Phoenix Suns together from 2008 to 2010. 

Likely to act as a player-coach in a way, Dragic is definitely a strong signing by the Brooklyn Nets and will provide more depth to a team that was very thin on the bench prior to the trade deadline.

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