NBA trade rumors: Miami Heat not trading Goran Dragic
By Wes Goldberg
The Miami Heat have not made point guard Goran Dragic available as the league approaches the NBA trade deadline.
On his podcast The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe talked briefly with ESPN’s Marc Stein about Goran Dragic’s availability in a trade. According to Stein, the Miami Heat haven’t been aggressive in shopping him.
Here’s what they said, right around the 40 minute mark:
"Stein: I keep waiting for Dragic to blip on to the radar quietly here at the end, but I’m still getting signals of ‘no, no, no’ they’re not trading Dragic.Lowe: No, I don’t think that’s going to happen.Stein: You know Miami, too, they’re also stealth and decisive. When they move, they move quick.Lowe: That’s true. I’m not sure there’s a deal out there for them to do."
Dragic’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors since the summer, particularly after Dwyane Wade left for the Chicago Bulls and Chris Bosh was ruled out for the season by the team. He’s mostly been connected with the Sacramento Kings and Orlando Magic.
However, that was mostly before the Heat went on a 13-game win streak and entered the playoff conversation in the Eastern Conference. It seems more likely now that Miami and Pat Riley will stand pat with this group and ride it out for the rest of the season, waiting for next summer to make decisions about the team going forward.
Stein does hedge just a bit, mentioning Rilesburg’s (Pat Riley and Andy Elisburg. Let’s make this a thing.) tendency to act swiftly when they make a deal. With just a few days until the deadline, the Heat have reasons to make moves. Do you they part with a rotation player, allowing them to dip back into the lottery waters, or try to acquire an extra piece to make a playoff run?
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The Heat, for better or worse, just don’t have many assets. Dragic is one of their most valuable, but he’s also been their best player this season. Trading him would be a decisive move in a direction Riley and the team have worked all season to avoid.