By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
One of the things that Goran Dragic wishes as he’s approaching the twilight days of his career is to play alongside Luka Doncic once more. Not on the national team, since the “Dragon” retired from the international stage years ago, but on an NBA club.
And there’s only one team where such a thing can happen: The Dallas Mavericks.
“Definitely,” Dragic said when he was asked if he’d like to play with Luka next season by Slovenian Planet TV. He more or less confirmed reports saying that Dallas is his most preferable destination, now that his run with the Miami Heat is over.
Dragic is reported to be one of the assets that the Heat will be giving to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Kyle Lowry. This, however, doesn’t mean that Dragic will stay with Toronto since the Raptors are widely expected to send him elsewhere.
A potential Dragic move to the Mavericks will prompt a reunion with Doncic for the first time since the EuroBasket 2017. Back then, Dragic’s leadership and Doncic’s raw talent led Slovenia to the gold medal after an undefeated 9-0 run in the tournament.
“I really enjoyed playing with Luka in the European championship,” Dragic said. “We know what kid of player he is, one of the best in the world. I’d very much like to play with him again, but my career is slowly coming to an end and Luka is still very young, he definitely has another 15 years ahead of him in his career. So I’ll definitely always cheer for him.”
It’s safe to assume that Dragic has been cheering quite loud recently for Doncic, his younger brother Zoran and the entire Slovenian national team that is one win away from its first-ever medal in the Olympics. Slovenia faces France in one of the two Olympic Tournament semifinals.
The other semifinal is a clash between Team USA and Australia. Dragic said he prefers Slovenia to play against USA in a potential battle for the first place since a win against Kevin Durant and co. will make that gold medal shine even brighter.
“I hope it will be the gold. The boys deserve to get to the Final but there’s only one match and anything can happen. I’d very much like to see a Slovenia – USA Final and that once in big competitions we beat USA. And that’s in the race for gold.”
Photo: FIBA