Veteran point guard Goran Dragic remains away from the Raptors on personal leave and if he has his druthers, he won’t return, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Instead, Dragic would prefer to play for the Mavericks, a franchise to which he’s continuously been linked, Winderman reported.
“Dragic would reportedly like to play with fellow Slovenian Luka Doncic,” RealGM wrote. “Dragic is also happy to accept a bench role with the Mavericks.”
He has played just five games with Toronto, with his last appearance coming on Nov. 13, when he scored 16 points vs. the Pistons. He was traded to the Raptors as part of the Kyle Lowry deal with the Heat.
Dragic, 35, is 6-foot-3 and averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 assists in 50 games with the Heat last year. Barring a trade, he could potentially have his contract bought out before the end of the season.
“The feeling all along has been the team would hold on to him hoping to deal him to a contender,” wrote Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun.
Regardless, his future with the Raptors appears very much up in the air, per Marc Stein of Substack.
“This will undoubtedly ramp up speculation about Dragic making his way to Dallas to team with countryman Luka Doncic, or another team closer to title contention, but league sources maintain that there has been little change (yet) in the big Dragic picture,” Stein wrote last week. “It likely remains too early in the season for the Raptors and Dragic to entertain a productive buyout discussion.
“Toronto continues to cling to hope that it can still find a trade home for Dragic’s $19.4 million expiring contract between now and the Feb. 10 trade deadline. Dragic would undoubtedly love the chance to become a free agent and pick his next team at age 35, but a buyout becomes more palatable for him financially closer to (or maybe even after) the trade deadline.”
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