The Miami Heat are knee-deep in a playoff run, but with a break in the action, we look to the offseason. Would Goran Dragic take a similar deal to Lou Williams’?
The Miami Heat are in the midst of a run that could see them take what they have all the way to the NBA Finals. While that is getting a bit ahead of ourselves, as they just finished off their first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers, you would be doing yourself a disservice to not acknowledge the potential.
In any event though, the Miami Heat are currently in wait mode as they watch the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks continue to do battle over who has the right to advance and face the Miami Heat. With a break in their play for the moment, it has us wondering about the offseason.
Specifically, today, we are focused on an impending free agent, Goran Dragic. The question is this. Would Goran Dragic take the Lou Williams deal to stay in Miami beyond this season?
Back in 2018, Lou Williams agreed to a deal with the L.A. Clippers that banks him eight million dollars annually. Basically, a three-year deal that amounts to $24 million dollars.
The question again is this. Would Goran Dragic take that deal? He certainly is deserving.
When you look at Lou Will’s numbers, he has career averages of 14.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per contest. His numbers during the 2017-18 season, the year he signed the extension or new deal with the Clippers, he averaged 22.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.5 rebounds.
Goran Dragic has career averages of 13.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. His numbers this year were 16.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.
The Miami Heat have a decision to make this offseason. Hopefully, they do what they need to and bring Goran Dragic back.
They weren’t the same numbers as Lou Williams put up, but they were darn close, just as impactful, and all while Dragic averaged a rebound better. His career numbers, in totality, are better actually. But, what’s it all mean though?
First off, let’s add a piece of evidence to the conversation. Here is something that Lou Williams said, via a Los Angeles Times piece by Andrew Greif from 2019.
"“Being happy and comfortable with where I was in L.A. and where I was in my career, we took a deal that was kind of like, a lot of people were scratching their head,” Williams said during a recent appearance on a podcast with former NBA player Gilbert Arenas, discussing his thinking before signing the extension. “But … made me happy. At the end of the day that’s what it was about. My kids love it out here, I’m in a position where I can go out and hoop, go out and do my thing. Do I deserve more money? Of course I deserve more money. But I was happy at the time, so that was the conversation we had and that was the decision I made.”"
That was the piece of evidence or at least a little information for reference here. That’s important because of exactly what Williams says there.
He said that he felt like he was underpaid, but due to his family being happy and him being happy about where he would be playing the next few years, it was the decision to make. Sounds an awful lot like everything we have ever heard about Miami, the Miami Heat, and Goran Dragic.
Look, conclusively, you cannot say whether that is a fair deal for either side. The Miami Heat may think he deserves a bit less than Lou Williams because his numbers aren’t as good, only slightly.
Dragic may think he deserves the same or a little more, as Lou felt underpaid, but also Dragic’s importance to the starting and bench units may make him a bit more important to the Heat than Williams is to the Clippers, from some perspectives and probably his own most importantly.
That is why we don’t know. None of us do at the moment, not even the Miami Heat. At least, not at this exact moment they don’t.
So, with all that, I can’t say if he deserves the exact deal that Lou Will got. I can say this though. That would be the perfect place to start the negotiations.