By Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
Goran Dragic will be available in the free agency once it starts and the Slovenian guard is looking to stay with the Miami Heat, although he will keep his options open.
“The main thing for me is to get respected. I put a lot of hard work in this, in my game and I think I play hard. Of course, I know Miami wants to bring me back and I’m hoping we can finish this championship run next season. But I know this is a part of the business and there are a lot of options here. We’ll see. I’m open to all suggestions and from there on, we’ll see which one is the best for me and my family. Miami is up there, they were great to me and hopefully, we can make a deal,” he told Shams Charania.
The Heat made a deep run into the postseason, reaching the Finals but an unlucky injury kept him sidelined.
“It was really tough, I wanted to be out there. I was dreaming as a kid to be in the Finals and unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance or at least the ability to play how I would play. I was doing everything I can to come back and I did but that was not it. The pain was still huge” Dragic said and noted he has recovered fully. “I feel good. No more pain. I can move freely, I can run and everything, so, it’s behind me.”
Dragic turned 34 years old in May and the age along with the injuries impacted coach Erik Spoelstra’s decision to use the Slovenian veteran off the bench as the sixth man.
He didn’t accept it easily but he was full of understanding and eventually accepted it. “When you play for so long as a starter… it was tough to accept that but at the same time I knew I was coming off an injury, I’m not young anymore and maybe this was something I need to take in and try to do it.”
Besides, he was on the floor when it mattered the most, in crunch time. “The most important thing to me was that I was finishing the game. When the game was on the line, I was out there and producing and helping my team.”
Goran Dragic sits down on @Stadium: Leadership and sacrifice, revealing he is now fully recovered from the plantar fascia tear he suffered in the Finals, desire to stay in Miami while listening to offers in free agency and more. pic.twitter.com/k3IY8JoaNI
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 13, 2020