Underselling Goran Dragic: Mavs Pitch Shows Lack of Roster Awareness
Despite being linked to the Dallas Mavericks numerous times over the last year, Goran Dragic signed a one-year deal this offseason with the Chicago Bulls. He recently explained that he chose the Bulls over the Mavericks because of the role he was being offered in Dallas’ pitch.
"[The Mavs] imagined that I would play one game, and sit the next five. I know that I can easily play 20 minutes a game," Dragic stated.
If you look at the guard depth chart for both teams, though, one could argue that Dragic playing around 20 minutes per game for Chicago is going to be easier said than done.
Here is the list of guards on the Bulls roster: Lonzo Ball, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, Zach Lavine and Dalen Terry. That’s a fairly crowded backcourt, and finding playing time for all of them may prove to be difficult, if not impossible.
When looking at the Mavericks roster, however, and more specifically, their guard depth, Dragic seemed to be an almost perfect fit for the role he’s envisioning … especially with Jalen Brunson leaving Dallas to sign with the New York Knicks. The two most reliable ballhandlers the Mavs currently have on the team are Luka Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie. With that being the case, why did the Mavs undersell Dragic’s role in their free agency pitch, especially after seeing how well he played with Doncic on the Slovenian national team a few weeks ago?
In a recent report, Coach Jason Kidd advised that Dinwiddie would be starting alongside Luka. This leaves a glaring need for a point guard to come off of the bench to spell either of the two starters. You also have to factor in the risk for injury this upcoming season as well. If Doncic or Dinwiddie have to miss any games, this would leave the backcourt diminished unless other moves are made to address the issue between now and training camp.
There is still time left for roster moves this offseason, and nobody except for owner Mark Cuban, GM Nico Harrison and Kidd knows what the game plan is. However, as things current sit, missing out on Dragic — again — may turn out to be something the Mavs regret if they can’t rebound and find another suitable secondary playmaker for their bench.
