The Miami Heat have been communicating with veteran guard Goran Dragic this offseason, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson.
“There have been conversations between the Heat and the representation for free agent guard Goran Dragic, who would welcome a return to the team,” Jackson wrote. “Any Heat decision on Dragic likely would come later in the summer.”
Dragic has said that he’d like to finish his career with the Heat, and he had some of the best seasons of his NBA career in Miami.
During the 2022-23 season, Dragic played for multiple teams. He began the campaign with the Chicago Bulls, but he was waived and ended up signing with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat actually knocked Dragic and the Bucks out of the playoffs in the first round last season.
The one-time All-Star played in 51 games in the 2022-23 season in a bench role for the Bulls. The veteran guard averaged 6.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from 3-point range with Chicago before joining the Bucks.
For the Bucks, Dragic appeared in just seven games during the regular season, averaging 5.6 points in 11.9 minutes per game.
Dragic came to Miami during the 2014-15 season in a trade with the Phoenix Suns.
The veteran guard immediately became an integral part of the team’s rotation and remained with the franchise through the 2020-21 season. He averaged at least 13.4 points per game in each of his seasons in Miami.
The Heat traded Dragic to the Toronto Raptors in a sign-and-trade deal for Kyle Lowry following the 2020-21 campaign. It was certainly a tough decision for the team, as Dragic was an important piece when Miami made the NBA Finals in the 2019-20 season.
Miami played the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 Finals, and things may have turned out differently had Dragic not suffered a foot injury that limited him in that series.
The Heat could look to bring in Dragic as a veteran voice, especially since Udonis Haslem retired following the 2022-23 season. Miami also has a bit of a need at the guard spot after Gabe Vincent signed with the Lakers in free agency this offseason.
While there is no guarantee that Dragic ends up back in Miami, it appears there is at least a chance he reunites with the franchise ahead of the 2023-24 season.