Goran Dragic Re-Signs with Heat: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction
The Miami Heat acquired guard Goran at the trade deadline in hopes of securing him over the long haul, and they accomplished that on July 1 by agreeing to a five-year contract with the Slovenian star. The team announced the deal on July 9.
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, and the Heat came to terms on a deal worth $90 million.
Per Adrian of Yahoo Sports, the contract includes a player option following the fourth year.
opted out of his contract recently, but it didn't take long for Miami to bring him back into the fold.
Heat forward Hassan Whiteside was among those who were thrilled that decided to return to the Heat:
The 29-year-old lefty admitted that the Heat had an advantage over other teams because they could give him a bigger contract, according to Kurt of Pro Basketball Talk:
In addition to that, has had nothing but good things to say about the Heat organization and the city of Miami. Per Jason of the Palm Beach Post, he loves what the Heat have to offer:
"As long as I'm in a happy environment and a healthy organization, that's the most important thing. The next three, four, five years โ I want to spend it on this kind of team, like the Miami Heat. They have great players, great coaching staff and great training staff.
"
At the same time, the former NBA Most Improved Player made it clear money would be a significant consideration, according to :
"Of course, if you're gonna find the same (contract) language, then it's easy for everybody. It's hard to talk about that right now. We'll see. I need to sit down with my family and explore the options and see what option is the best, but the last two months that I was here was beautiful for me.
"
Many were skeptical regarding the Heat's ability to retain , but team president Pat Riley liked his chances of getting a deal done, per Surya Fernandez of FoxSports.com:
production dropped off a bit last season after averaging a career-high 20 points per game in 2013-14 for the Phoenix Suns, but he was still solid after being dealt to the Heat.
He put up 16.6 points along with 5.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per contest with Miami. In his first full season with the Heat, that production could go up, provided Chris Bosh returns to full health, Wade returns and first-round pick Winslow is as good as advertised.
The Heat could be on the verge of building something very special in the James era, and holding ontoย is a major coup in terms of competing in the Eastern Conference and potentially contending for a title.
Now that re-signing Dragic is out of the way, Riley can focus his attention on keeping longtime Heat star Dwyane Wade in Miami.
Follow @ on Twitter
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
