Getty Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Chicago Bulls’ roster officially stands at 15 strong following the signing of veteran point guard Goran Dragic, per ESPN’s Jordan Schultz. A one-time All-NBA selection, Dragic brings 14 years of experience to a position lacking playmakers behind starter Lonzo Ball.
Ball has been slow to recover from a bone bruise after surgery for a torn meniscus suffered in March.
Dragic’s arrival could also signal that Coby White’s time in Chicago is nearing an end.
The immediate result was a slew of fans on Twitter sounding off on the Bulls, and specifically center Nikola Vucevic, seemingly having more influence than Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
‘Nikola Recruitevic’
NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson confirmed Schultz’s report while adding that Vucevic played a big role in recruiting the Slovenian-born Dragic. That is also Doncic’s native country with the two sharing the floor for the national team.
Doncic even led an “MVP” chant for Dragic to celebrate the latter’s final game for the squad following their 97-69 win over Croatia on June 30.
Luka Doncic took the mic after Slovenia’s 97-69 win over Croatia to lead an MVP chant for Goran Dragic’s last national team home game.
Luka’s final line: 21 pts, 10 a, 8 reb, 2 steals in 31 mins
Instead, Doncic will see his countryman join Vucevic in Chicago.
The Bulls big man took to Twitter to celebrate his success sharing a gif playing off of his new teammate’s nickname, “The Dragon”, with a scene from the show “Game of Thrones“.
One fan, gave the two-time All-Star a new nickname, Nikola “Recruitevic”, due to his work landing Dragic after playing a key role in landing DeMar DeRozan last offseason.
Other fans let Doncic and the Mavs have it.
Doncic Loses Out, Hears About It
Dallas just lost point guard Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks without ever getting a formal meeting this offseason. Their strained relationship after failing to agree on an extension played a part in Brunson’s quick departure.
They return Spencer Dinwiddie to the backcourt after a fairly productive tenure after being acquired at the trade deadline.
But they have very little in the way of depth with a dwindling pool of reliable options.
The entire situation made for some hilarious dialogue from NBA fans who are never shy on Twitter.
Others began questioning Doncic’s sway within the Mavs organization for losing out on a long-rumored target to a surprise suitor.
Others still were quick to point the blame on the Mavs for not being able to complete what one user termed as another Mavs “L”.
@ShamsCharania @TheAthletic @Stadium How did my Mavs fumble the unfumbleable?
There is hope this is the last time they have to hear about this possible union that has never come to fruition.
@ShamsCharania @TheAthletic @Stadium Let this please be the last summer mavs fans get their hopes up that Goran signs with Dallas
Bulls Land a Playmaker but…
There are still several questions that need to be answered regarding this signing. What does it mean for Ball’s health and White’s roster spot? The Bulls still had other needs. Most notably rim protection and three-point shooting.
Dragic, who Johnson reports joins on a $2.9 million deal, does not help with defense or rim protection as a 36-year-old, 6-foot-3 guard.
The @EuroBasket MVP doing MVP things. 👑
18 points in 9 minutes. The Goran Dragic masterclass.
He is a career 36.4% three-point shooter.
But he shot just 27.4% from downtown last season, split between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. He averaged 7.5 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.1 rebounds on the year and joins Andre Drummond on what the Bulls hope is an improved bench unit.
This is also a surprising signing after it seemed they would be done in free agency in order to preserve some of their mid-level exception.