NBA Rumors: Heat Could Send Goran Dragic Back To Suns For Brandon Knight And 1st-Round Pick, Per ‘Fansided’

After years of tanking, the Phoenix Suns are expected to be more serious about targeting quality players who can help Devin Booker lead the team back to title contention. The Suns are mostly made up of young players and will need a help from an experienced superstar to become a legitimate playoff contender in the deep Western Conference. One of their potential targets in the upcoming offseason is Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat, according to Malcolm Haynes of Fansided’s All U Can Heat.

Goran Dragic started his NBA career with the Suns, who expected him to replace Steve Nash as their starting point guard. Dragic has been impressive in his two separate stints in Phoenix, but with the team planning to undergo a full-scale rebuild, he was sent to the Miami Heat in 2015. Now that the Suns are ready to compete, Haynes believes they may consider getting the services of Dragic again.

The Suns recently hired Igor Kokoskov as their new head coach. Kokoskov is also the head coach of the Slovenian national team. His arrival is expected to be a huge factor in the Suns’ decision in the upcoming 2018 NBA draft where they could select top Slovenian prospect Luka Doncic. Though he plays the same position as Josh Jackson, Doncic is believed to be more NBA ready and could form a formidable duo with Devin Booker. To ease Doncic’s transition in the NBA, adding a Slovenian superstar like Goran Dragic makes sense for the Suns.

In the proposed trade deal, the Suns would send Brandon Knight and their 2021 unprotected first-round pick to Miami for Goran Dragic. The deal works on the ESPN‘S NBA Trade Machine. The potential acquisition of Dragic will greatly help the Suns, especially in dealing with head coach Igor Kokoskov and if they draft Luka Doncic. Dragic will also lessen the load for Devin Booker on the offensive end of the floor.

For the Heat, they will acquire a younger replacement for Dragic and get their 2021 first-round pick back. The pick could be used to draft another young and promising talent, or as trade bait if the right deal comes along. However, the move is quite risky for the Heat since Brandon Knight is coming off an ACL tear.

Also, it remains questionable if Dragic still wants to be part of the team who traded him twice. The Slovenian guard could become an unrestricted free agent in 2019 where the Suns could potentially lose him without getting anything in return.