Goran Dragic has proven his worth when he joined the Miami Heat after the February NBA Trade Deadline but does that translate into Dragic deserving a max contract offer?
Dragic is one of the many players that will be available in the open free agent market though it seems that he is content on staying with the Heat.
It will be recalled that numerous teams are interested in getting Dragic, the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks in particular. Both teams are expected to make a go at Dragic who ironically mentioned before joining the Heat that he was looking to sign long-term contracts with either the Lakers or the Knicks.
But all that was before he arrived in South Beach where he seems to be pretty satisfied.
However, will the Heat try to keep him and max out their salary cap? Together with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, the team will have little chances of signing up other talents since the salary cap angle will come into play.
So is Dragic worth a maximum contract? The answer to that could be at the hands of president Pat Riley. Will he stick with the trio (Bosh, Wade and Dragic) or take his chances on someone else?
Dragic fills in the point guard position perfectly and he has proven that inside the 26 games where he played for the Heat. But a long-term plan is another matter though there were semblances that Dragic could blossom more if he is able to properly adapt to the system of coach Erik Spoelstra.
The Heat can offer Dragic a fifth year and an extra $25 million if they choose to do so, dousing any plans from other teams on wooing him out of South Beach. But the question now is on whether the Heat have enough resources to help themselves get back on the winning track.
