How Goran Dragic made his way to the Brooklyn Nets
The Nets’ season always has been focused on an end point this spring, but no one could have anticipated the numerous roster detours on their path to the playoffs.
The latest found its way to practice on Wednesday — and likely soon to an actual game — in the form of Goran Dragic, a veteran guard who gives the Nets more flexibility, more depth and another non-Kyrie Irving option.
At 35, he is past his peak, but he was recruited by coach Steve Nash, a friend and former teammate who is convinced Dragic will be a good fit.
"I chose Brooklyn because I think they have a really good chance to win a championship, especially to play alongside KD [Kevin Durant], Kyrie, Ben Simmons, [LaMarcus] Aldridge," he said after practice Wednesday.
Dragic, who did not play Thursday night against the Celtics, said six teams had interest in him and that he opted for the Nets in part because of his relationship with Nash.
The two played together with the Suns when Dragic was a young player and Nash a veteran.
Asked if he finds it weird to call Nash "Coach," Dragic said, "Yes. Definitely, yes. We are friends. But it’s all business. He’s ‘Coach.’ He’s been my mentor and he’s my mentor again, basically."
Dragic played for the Heat from 2015 to 2021 and was an All-Star in 2018. He was traded to the Raptors last August, then left that team in November after five games.
On Feb. 10, he was traded to the Spurs, who bought him out five days later. He signed with the Nets on Monday.
Asked what happened with the Raptors, Dragic said, "Unfortunately, we couldn’t get along in Toronto. They said they want to go young. They didn’t see me to be part of that team. In the end, they were really correct toward me.
"We talked and they said, ‘Look, we’re going to trade you and do what’s best for your career,’ and we kind of agreed that I go home to be with my family, with my kids, until everything resolves, and it did."
His role, like that of most Nets this season, will be a work in progress, one that will depend in part on whether Irving plays in any given game.
"If they need me to run a second unit, I run a second unit," he said. "If I’m going to play five minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, I’m here because I want to win. This is my 14th year; it’s all about winning at this stage of my career."
Said Nash, "Kyrie in or out, Goran adds a point guard to our roster. He adds experience, IQ, skill, toughness. He’s definitely a player who’s not afraid to step up and make plays in big moments and in big situations."
Dragic was playing pickup games in Miami twice a week but is not sure when he will be in NBA game shape. For his career, he has averaged 13.9 points and 4.8 assists in 27.9 minutes.
He said he did all he could to soak in knowledge while being around Nash early in his career. He said the chance merely to be around Nash was the reason he made the jump from Slovenia to the NBA in 2008.
Nash was 34 and a two-time NBA MVP then. He referred to Dragic as "my rookie. Hopefully I took him under my wing."
Among the lessons Dragic learned from Nash was how to take care of his body by working out and eating right, and how to be a leader.
"At that time, I didn’t understand a lot of those things that I understand now," Dragic said. "It was great having him as a mentor."
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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