NBA Rumors: Heat Plan To Offer Goran Dragic Five-Year, $80M Deal

Dan Duangdao
3 Min Read
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

While the NBA Draft is just five days away, free agency takes place the following week on July 1. With the Los Angeles Lakers unlikely to exercise Jordan Hill’s $9 million option, they are projected to have $23 million in cap space.

— Have you seen the ‘Bleed Purple and Gold’ phone case? —

One of the players the Lakers are expected to pursue this summer is Goran Dragic, who averaged 16.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. While Dragic was traded to the Miami Heat at the deadline, he will bypass his player option to become a free agent.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Heat plan to offer Dragic a five-year, $80 million contract:

Sources told ESPN.com that the Heat are planning to offer Dragic a five-year deal in excess of $80 million to keep him in Miami after acquiring the 2014 All-NBA third-team selection from Phoenix on trade deadline day in February.

While the Heat would not be offering him a max contract of five years that would exceed $100 million, the Lakers and New York Knicks will be able to offer him a four-year, $85 million contract:

Four-year offers from interested rival suitors in Dragic, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, can go as high as $85 million.

Throughout the season, there have been reports of Dragic seeking a max contract with the Lakers expressing interest. However, with the emergence of Jordan Clarkson and the team possibly selecting D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay with their second overall pick, the cap space could be used to add talent in the frontcourt instead.

Heading into the off-season, the Lakers will have numerous options at the draft and in free agency. After suffering the worst win percentage in their history, Los Angeles hopes to speed up the rebuilding process while focusing on the long-term success of the franchise.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.
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