MIAMI — Goran Dragic plays quickly and decides quickly.
The Miami Heat are pleased about both.
Dragic wasted little time in accepting a five-year, $90 million deal to remain with the Heat, the sides coming to an agreement in principle only a few hours after the NBA’s free agency shopping period opened Wednesday. A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the terms to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be finalized until July 9 per league rules.
“Welcome back to the family,” Heat center Hassan Whiteside wrote to Dragic on Twitter, adding “and let me borrow 5 dollars.”
It was long assumed that the Heat would keep the 29-year-old Dragic, especially after they gave up two future first-round selections to land the point guard in a deal with Phoenix this past season.
Dragic averaged 16.6 points on 50 percent shooting in 26 games with the Heat. Between Miami and Phoenix, he averaged 16.3 points in 78 games. He said when Miami’s season ended that the fifth year — something that only Miami could offer — would be a significant factor in his free agent decision making, and in the end he took a deal worth roughly $20 million less than he could have commanded.
The Heat brought Dragic in last February thinking that a lineup of him, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng and Whiteside would be good enough to challenge in the Eastern Conference.
They never played a second together.
On the very same day — almost at the same moment — that the Dragic-to-Miami trade became official, the Heat learned that Bosh had a blood clot on one of his lungs, a condition that ended the All-Star forward’s season.
Deng could have been a free agent this summer but elected to stay for $10.1 million. Bosh, Whiteside and now Dragic are locked up, and now the Heat are left waiting for Wade to decide if he will return to Miami for a 13th season or go elsewhere.
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