Getty Goran Dragic reacts during a 2021 game between the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets.
Fans and pundits alike have been musing about Goran Dragic making a triumphant return to the Miami Heat ever since he was dealt to the Toronto Raptors for Kyle Lowry in 2021. So, when Dragic was sent packing by the Chicago Bulls last week, the baller became a hot topic on Heat Twitter.
Much as he did after being released late last season, though, Dragic has opted to join a team that appears to be in a better position to compete for an NBA championship.
Per an announcement from the club on Saturday, the former Heat star has come to terms on a rest-of-season deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 36-year-old Dragic hasn’t played in a game since logging a forgettable 11 minutes on February 13 against the Orlando Magic. In total, Dragic made 51 appearances for the Bulls, averaging 6.4 points, 2.7 assists and 1.4 rebounds per game while connecting on 43% of his shot attempts from the field and 35% from deep.
Goran Dragic Is the Latest Heat Alum to Be Added to Bucks Amid Team’s Title Push
After adding Patrick Beverley to the mix as a fill-in for the injured Lonzo Ball, the Bulls eventually made the call to waive Dragic, whose release just beat the league’s deadline for playoff eligibility. To that end, landing the Bucks job was probably his best-case scenario.
Milwaukee has been the hottest team in the Association for the last month-plus. Before their jaw-dropping, fourth-quarter collapse against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Giannis Antetokounmpo and his crew had reeled off a whopping 16 straight wins.
Their incredible momentum and favorable position in the standings notwithstanding, the Bucks clearly aren’t resting on their laurels. Rather, they’ve been been working feverishly to improve the back end of their roster — and those improvements have come in the form of former Heat starters.
First, Jae Crowder found his way to Milwaukee via a deadline trade with the Phoenix Suns. More recently, Meyers Leonard was plucked from the ether for big-man depth. Flash forward to now and Dragic is joining the squad, too, a move that Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is hyped about.
“He’s a great point guard, can score and set the table,” Budenholzer said on Saturday, via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski “He’s competitive, smart, so we’re excited to add him to our group.”
Added Woj: “The Bucks believe Dragic’s tough-minded leadership and abilities can help them off the bench in their championship pursuit… Dragic has 60 games of playoff experience.”
Bam Adebayo Sounds Off on Win Over Atlanta Hawks
The Heat got back on a winning track on Saturday, dropping Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks 117-109 at FTX Arena. For his part, Bam Adebayo had his best game in nearly a month for Miami, dropping a game-high 30 points on 10-of-12 shooting and adding 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.
In the immediate aftermath of the victory, though, the baller was more concerned with his team’s bounceback ability than his own.
“We got perseverance, we got resilience,” Adebayo said, via Bally Sports Sun. “That’s one thing I love about my team — we all we always keep our optimistic mindset and positive vibe. So… just keep chipping, this might be a domino to run off a couple more [wins].”