AUGUST 2: Nearly a month after first reaching an agreement with Dragic, the Bulls have officially signed him, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 3: The Bulls are fortifying their backcourt bench depth with a new veteran addition. Chicago will sign former All-NBA point guard Goran Dragic to a one-year contract, per Jordan Schultz of the Pull Up Podcast (Twitter link).
Dragic, most recently with the Nets, will earn $2.9MM, the veteran’s minimum, next season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Dragic, who has an All-Star season and an All-NBA season on his résumé, played a crucial role during the Heat’s NBA Finals run within the Orlando “bubble” campus in 2020. The Slovenian guard’s production fell to earth the next season amid injury troubles, and he was ultimately dealt to the Raptors in the sign-and-trade agreement that landed Kyle Lowry with the Heat in the 2021 offseason.
Last year, Dragic appeared in just five games with Toronto before reaching an agreement to leave the club as it sought out a suitable trade. The 36-year-old was shipped to the Spurs and negotiated a buyout with San Antonio, then latched on with the Nets as a free agent.
Across 16 games with Brooklyn, including six starts, Dragic averaged 7.3 PPG, 4.8 APG and 3.2 RPG, while posting .376/.245/.739 shooting splits. Though his assist and rebounding numbers were in line with his career averages of 4.8 APG and 3.1 RPG, his scoring efficiency across 25.5 MPG for Brooklyn was a far cry from his 14-year career average of 13.7 PPG on .460/.362/.767 shooting.
The addition of Dragic marks Chicago’s fourth free agent agreement this offseason. The team agreed to re-sign All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine to a maximum deal, is bringing back deep-bench reserve forward Derrick Jones Jr., and will add journeyman reserve center Andre Drummond to boost its rebounding.
As Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype observes (via Twitter), thanks to Dragic’s minimum-salary deal, the Bulls are now approximately $1.7MM below the luxury tax this season, carrying a projected 15 players on guaranteed contracts. Gozlan adds that Chicago has around $7MM left to use from its non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Any further Bulls roster changes seem more likely to come via trade than free agency. Opening up a roster spot now to add another free agent would require trading or waiving a current Bull with a guaranteed salary. The team also has a $5MM trade exception that will expire after July 7.
If the Bulls do make a deal, it could involve their backcourt depth. The team adds to a group of guards that already includes Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White, though Ball’s health heading into next season remains a question mark.
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports that the team anticipates this current roster will be intact for training camp in the fall, though he acknowledges that the team does appear to have a surplus of guards.
Bulls stepping up. What happened thought he was a Mav already. Good signing for bench. Good experience. Solid
Bulls should go after Saric. Suns ain’t gonna use him.
Shams Charania: Free agent guard Goran Dragic has agreed to a deal with the Chicago Bulls, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium . 6 mins ago – via Twitter ShamsCharania
So does this mean the Mavs are going to risk Kyrie?
Local beat reporting said recently that the Mavs are prioritizing their last roster spot for wing depth over a 3rd PG. I would have liked to see Dragic in Dallas.
But perhaps you will be happy with Schroeder or Lamb with the mini mid level
Mavs are over the cap and already used their MLE on McGee, so I think they are down to offering the vets minimum.
Which is what the Bulls gave Dragic.
No,
Nice pickup, especially if ball takes some time to get back
Now they could include ball in a trade package for Durant if they wanted
Looks like Coby White should start packing his bags.
I like the kid ( White ) but he need a fresh start somewhere else maybe the Nets?
Hey Jake, He’s horrible at PG. Not a very good 2 guard. And plays no defense to speak of. What’s not to like?
Not necessarily. No guarantee Ball is ready for the start of the season.
Last report I heard recently was Ball was doing well. Nobody will have to play big minutes with the guards they have. Can work back slowly.
I was about to post something similar. Either a big or just take a pick.
Hmmm, either Ball knee is that bad off or the Bulls have a trade coming…
Dragic is washed. This is PG depth at a low cost. Says nothing about Ball unless they’d like Dragic to impart some wisdom or something.
After watching Dragic drag his tapped out game thru his short stint with the disintegrating nets, hes toast. In my opinion.
The whole Nets team was cooked when he got there.
Watch PO game 1 and 2 against C’s …
Not near as burnt toast on the Bulls than other teams he has been on as of late.
He can create assists off the dribble and keep the offense steady with the kind of talent he has around him.
Any kind of scoring, especially from behind the arc is a bonus on this team.
I think this might be Dragics last year, he’s cooked. Reminds of Jeremy Lin, trying to hang on.
That could be what the Mav’s FO decided.
But I like the wing priority. That means they think of Dinwiddie as a PG only— or as much of a PG as a team with Doncic can have.
The other choice of course is theyre going for Sexton. That may not be possible tho. I think they would have to S&T?
You should watch his game in Slovenian dress against Croatia that took place on 30.9.2022. I was certain that he will become Mavs.
Why would somebody watch this, just to understand your post.
Ok, I’ll watch it and then will let you know. It’s less than three months away, not long to go now. Hope it’s worth the wait.
link to youtu.be
Game was on 30.6.2022.sorry for that. You could see how good Doncic and Dragic are playing together if you would saw whole game. And Dragic is still very good player. P. S. After Heat Final injury, he played for the firts time without leg protection.
Crowd chanting MVP while the slovenian team hoisted Goran in the air was awesome to see
Bulls should trade vudeic ( misspelled) and and get what they can for him he is a terrible defender and fit fit the bulls
Mavs front office better know what they are doing. In a single offseason they traded away Luka’s buddy Boban, lost Brunson for nothing, and failed to sign Luka’s Slovenian brother, Dragic… If they fall flat this season, don’t be surprised if your franchise changing player wants to change franchises. Gotta keep your superstar happy.
Drajic is good guard depth. Look what Rudy did in Cleveland. Even if he’s the third guard. It’s still good PG depth. Experience can never hurt. Bulls should move White. Ayo is better as backup to Ball.
Weird move. Is Dragic a player that can still play in the playoffs? Sure. As a bench player. But the Bulls #1 need is still bigger, lengthier wings that can shoot. Dragic doesn’t address this big need.
Feels like the Bulls are done for the offseason now and will only go into the tax for a buyout player at the deadline if they are a top 4-5 team in the East at that point.
I agree that’s what they miss. But I think they will address it. Before opening day. Bulls had a good run last yr. You have to build on that. That (last yrs) team with more support. Is a contender imo. Of course healthy .
Damn, the heart shot…good for him though. Puts him around a bunch of defenders, and 1 of the people I compared Lonzo Ball to in college was shades of Goran Dragic. Ball wasnt the defender he ended up being at the time, and had a similar reluctance to score. Dragic just came out of international retirement and combined for 40 with Luka yesterday, scoring 18 in 9 minutes…
I was really hoping that if the Heat trade Herro, they would bring him back, but here he gets to play with a former teammate in Derrick Jones jr…
I will always root for Goran Dragic, no matter what. Hopefully there is a path for him to eventually come home
Don’t get it, weren’t Mavs signing him?
This roster gets more mediocre by the minute.
Chicago sports fan cheer every crap move by Chicago based teams because they’re desperate. It’s quite sad.
Sort of like the White Sox trying to go back in time by hiring LaRussa.
Step two of KD to the Bulls – Drummond was step one lol
Good depth signing.
Just makes me think Dosunmu, White and Caruso are at risk. May be an opportunity to package and make a move or two. With Ball,Demar&Lavine and poss Vuc they look good but if they can make a good move later on with one of them they could be even stronger contenders. They have a fair few piece to attract a top guy. I’d also mark no player on the bulls as untouchable.
I don’t see Ayo or Caruso going anywhere. White has been on the trading block for quite some time now, and Lonzo’s knee is still an “if.” Dragic is likely here for those reasons, and to add a veteran to the guard room.
But that’s what I’m getting at, Zoe, lavine is the current staring back court when fit.
Either way no player for the Bulls RN is a superstar. DeMar had a career year last year but he’s still not a superstar. Neither are Lavine or anyone else. What I’m saying is they’re good All stars that they could package for a superstar if available. With Caruso and Dragic they have good role players and Ayo is a talent with a good ceiling as is white(still has value even if he hasn’t lived up to potential yet, if ever). Bulls probably have the best roster to make a splash if they wanted to.