Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic has picked up his $19.2 million player option for the 2019-2020 season according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. It’s yet to be clear what the future might hold for Dragic in South Beach but his big money deal will be on the book for Miami heading into next season.
Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic has picked up his $19.2M player option for the 2019-20 season, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 13, 2019
The 33-year-old guard opting into his deal could put pressure on a Heat team that may be looking to avoid the luxury tax. Even with the abundance of cap space teams have this summer, it was unlikely the former All-Star would have found a team willing to pay more than his player option was worth. It’s a hard sell for any team to keep a guard coming off what seemed to be a major knee injury on that kind of money and the path for Miami to move forward without Dragic could be tough unless a team sees something worth value on his expiring deal.
The Heat floor general only appeared in 36 games this past season due to injury. Dragic averaged only 13.7 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in the games he did appear in. If the former All-Star can get back to his levels the previous season he may well be worth the price tag. If not, the Heat have yet another bloated contract on its roster.
With the little cap space that the Heat have as well as a mid-first round draft pick, Dragic will still figure to be the starting point guard for Miami next season.
