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Let's take a look at what the Phoenix Suns received for trading away Goran Dragic to the Miami Heat. Miami sent two first-round picks, one that will be used in either 2017, 2018 or 2019, and the second one in 2021, plus forward Danny Granger and guard John Salmons from the Pelicans, who they immediately waived.
At the time of the trade, it was reported that Dragic wanted a change of scenery. He expressed how he didn't trust Suns management, and how he wasn't comfortable in Phoenix. Dragic would much later say that he regretted speaking so harshly but maintains that he wouldn't have re-signed.
In a surprising report by CBS' Ken Berger, the case was a bit different. Coach Jeff Hornacek had a talk with Dragic and reportedly was able to get a verbal commitment from him to re-sign the summer of his free agency. Prior to the season ending, Suns management obliged on Dragic's earlier comments and traded him to Miami, which was an unexpected surprise to Hornacek.
The rest of the story for Phoenix is, they built a roster with three point guards, an aging Tyson Chandler, and dealt with injuries and trouble from the Morris twins. Eventually Hornacek was fired, but the team's failure wasn't completely his fault. Recently Hornacek's name surfaces as a last second candidate for for the New York Knicks and he secured the job.
In hindsight, Dragic ended up in a place where he can trust the management, Hornacek landed a job on a more high-profile team, and the Suns have two picks in the future to continue rebuilding. The situation was a mess, and may have still turned out well had Dragic stayed in Phoenix, but things seemed to have balanced out for all parties.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/goran-dragic-will-heavily-recruit-hassan-whiteside-to-stay-in-miami/”]NEXT: Goran Dragic explains how exactly he will heavily recruit Hassan Whiteside to stay in Miami[/button]
