The Dragon could have probably squeezed the Miami Heat for a nine-digit extension this summer.
After all, the 29-year-old point guard with a knack for perpetually putting pressure on the defense had some leverage. A plethora of big-market teams had cash to spend and the Heat gave up two first-round picks to acquire him at last season’s trade deadline. Riley was invested and everyone knew it.
Instead, Dragic’s name was never so much as tweeted in the same sentence with another team. No games. No DeAndre Disasters.
“It was an easy decision for me,” Dragic said of signing the reported five-year, $85 million contract, “because when I got traded here the first thing I wanted to see was how this organization works.