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Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, left, and guard Goran Dragic, right, talk during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, left, and guard Goran Dragic, right, talk during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)Kim Klement/Associated Press

Goran Dragic Jokes Jimmy Butler Pressured Him into Signing New Heat Contract

Blake Schuster
Nov 20, 2020

It turns out Goran Dragic had a pretty solid reason for returning to the Miami Heat as a free agent: Jimmy Butler jokingly suggested he'd attack him if he didn't.

Dragic announced his decision to re-sign with the Heat in a tweet posted one minute after free agency opened at 6 p.m. EST on Friday. He'll reportedly earn $18 million over two years, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. 

But it wasn't the money that kept him in Miami. It was a phone call from Butler, per Reynolds: 

That wasn't the only tactic the Heat took with the guard. Miami also placed billboards in Dragic's hometown in Slovenia encouraging him to return to the team: 

While the team's method was a great look, it seems Butler's approach was more effective. 

Who Is Mark Walter?