Should The Sixers Go After Goran Dragic At The Deadline?

Josh Wilson

Jan 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard

Tony Wroten

(8) reacts after a foul is called during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

As the Philadelphia 76ers enter this year’s training camp, several things are uncertain. How many wins will the team get this year? Will they be contending much more than last year? Above all else, one thing is certainly of high discussion — the conversation surrounding the point guard position.

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Now, I know, many don’t see Dragic as a truly legitimate option with the team, or see what he brings more than say — Tony Wroten. To me, he’s incredibly underrated.

Basketball Insiders rated Dragic as one of the top underrated guards in the entire NBA. This is incredibly accurate to me, and I see Dragic as a player who — for some reason — has to fight very hard to get his name recognized as one that’s doing great things on the court. Why this is, I’m not sure.

Dragic played as the point guard just 14% of the time last season according to Basketball-Reference.com, but has had season of above 90% with the same statistic, so it’s clear he could come back around to point for the Sixers if he was acquired.

Let’s talk trade logistics, because, after all, this needs to be realistic in order for us to continue entertaining even the possibility of pursuing Dragic.

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First off, the Miami Heat don’t absolutely need Dragic. He adds depth to their team, but they have Mario Chalmers who can take the start at point guard (another player that was talked about in a trade). They do only have Dragic and Chalmers listed on their depth chart now, however (according to ESPN), so the Sixers would need to send a point guard as well.

They would additionally need to send another player or draft pick as well, because no one of the guards the Sixers have are seen as the same caliber as Dragic.

Realistically, the Sixers can’t get a trade done until after January 15th, because Dragic is actually restricted until then via a trade. There is a way for the Heat to trade him now. He’s currently restricted under a BYC. I’ll spare you the boring details of a BYC, but it basically means that Dragic can not be moved until the Heat are below the salary cap, or until after January 15th, 2016.

Still, we can look ahead to the trade deadline, a time period I think the Sixers should utilize to their full advantage.

Next: What Would Dragic Offer

Mar 6, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) shoots the ball as Washington Wizards guard

Garrett Temple

(17) looks on during the second half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

What Would Dragic Bring To The Sixers?

The bottom line with Dragic really is that he’s an experienced guard who is actually of starting caliber in the NBA, not just on the Sixers’ scale. While players like Tony Wroten may be “starting quality,” as Sixers, on almost all other NBA teams, they would not be getting the starting position. Dragic could be the starter on several teams.

His seven years in the league let him bring experience to the table, and could allow him to mentor and guide the younger players. While Gerald Wallace is a new member of the team, I’m not sure all of this efforts to be a veteran presence on the team will truly be as beneficial as they would be with two veterans with extensive knowledge of the game.

Watching Dragic play, he really comes off as a bit squeamish and rambunctious on the court. Although it looks like he doesn’t really have a plan because of this, that’s often not the case.

He uses this unpredictability to his advantage, and his quick movement leaves people trying to guard him guessing. More often than not, they guess wrong.

Dragic embodies all of the things a guard should embody. He can score, but he can also dish the ball out. His fast break is a threat as well.

Watching him on the Heat was fun last season, and I loved seeing his assists to big men.

This wasn’t anything atypical. Dragic would often force his way into the key, and attract defenders to make sure he didn’t get an easy layup. When this happens, a big man — in this case, Hassan Whiteside — was left open, and he has an easy dish for a layup or an alley-oop.

Pick and rolls work well with Dragic as well.

Imagine Dragic doing this alongside Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. It could mesh perfectly.

Similar to the Sixers’ current trend of how the players are growing, Dragic is like an older version of these underdeveloped guys. It took him several years before he was at a starting level. He didn’t average double digit points or above five assists until his fourth year in the league.

Since then, he’s had years with great production, including a year that he averaged over 20 points per game. The Sixers’ dying offense could use something like that in their backcourt.

His three point shooting is pretty average, and he sticks close to the hoop for most of his shots, but still, he could be a boost to the offense. With him sticking close to the key, he could help in making the Sixers an even more dominant paint team.

Next: Bottom Line

Mar 4, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) dribbles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Bottom Line

The bottom line with this trade scenario is that it’s not likely. While it would be nice to think that Dragic is a good fit with the Sixers, it would take a lot for the Heat to give him up.

Additionally, they would have to move a lot of pieces to trade him now, since they can’t trade him until they are under the salary cap, or until January 15th. It would be a hassle for Miami to trade him at this point in time. This makes it clear that if the Sixers were to pursue Dragic, the trade deadline is the time to do so.

Dragic was brought in at the trade deadline to the Heat from the Phoenix Suns, and impacted the team in a positive way. It would be great to see him do the same for the Sixers, but the trade deadline is still a long time away.

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Josh Wilson

Josh is currently the Managing Editor of FanSided.com. He has worked with FanSided in some capacity for a total of eight years, starting as a contributor for Swarm and Sting, Toro Times, and HoopsHabit in 2015. He served as a site expert for The Sixer Sense during 'The Process' years while starting his educational track at Temple University as a journalism student. He later transferred to the State University of New York at Cortland where he completed his B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism. For FanSided, Josh worked as Operations Assistant before taking on a role as Editorial Director of the NBA Division, a role he held for three years. Along the way he also helped start and lead the FanSided fellowship program which created a path for several young journalists to start their careers in sports media. Nothing is more important to Josh than Yankee wins and his family.