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Goran Dragic, who sent the Heat to the Raptors as Kyle Lowry, said: Toronto is not my favorite destination. I have higher ambitions. We will see.
Dragic, via Michael Grange from Sportsnet:
“My message to all Toronto fans is that I would like to apologize. It didn’t come out the right way. I know they love their team, and they should be proud, this is one of the best organizations in the NBA. They’ve won a championship before and I haven’t, so what I said was really not appropriate, ”said Dragic.
“I was in the center of town and the reporters were there and I was asked about Toronto and it was basically taken out of context.
“I told them I spent seven years in Miami and that would be the preferred destination for me because my family is there and everything, not Toronto.”
“I love basketball, I love to play and I will give 100% wherever I play. At the moment i am [with] Toronto and that’s my main thing to think about.
In 2015, Dragic publicly lambasted the Suns as he pushed for a trade with the Heat. He then expressed regret for the tactics, but only after arriving in Miami.
It doesn’t look like Dragic is ready to return to scorched earth.
But it has limited leverage otherwise. He has a $ 19.44 million contract that is expiring and Toronto is not rushing to trade or buy it back.
That said, the Raptors also know that Dragic (35) doesn’t match their long-term vision. They should be looking to trade him for a team that values him more, which would almost certainly be a team closer to winning big.
However, Dragic could help Toronto advance to the playoffs. The younger Raptors core of Scottie Barnes (20), OG Anunoby (24), Fred VanVleet (27) and probably / maybe Pascal Siakam (27) are way too good to be tanked. Dragic could slip into Lowry’s place in the lineup.
For what it’s worth, Dragic can’t return to Miami this season by rule because the Heat just traded him. But it doesn’t look like Toronto is his second choice.
Yet he tries to make a non-ideal situation at least tolerable.
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