Q: Hi, Ira. Please show everything in this email to all your sources within the Heat organization. Egregious that trying to get the Heat (with two open roster spots) to sign Goran Goran is like pulling teeth. The case to sign Goran is straightforward: 1) He can still play, played great with Bulls until injury, required surgery, healthy now. Has as much (if not more) left in the tank than the likes of Derrick Rose, Wes Matthews, Garrett Temple, Taj Gibson, Danny Green, JaVale McGee. All got signed for “vet presence” with little/no resistance in a blink of an eye. 2) Fans want him (search “Goran Dragic” on Twitter). And, most importantly: 3a) Nikola Jovic, “Guys like Goran who were there before (at the World Cup) and actually played for the national team, they came back and had a great season.” b) “(Luka Doncic) was still young, I took him under my wing. We were roommates…Good kid.” – Goran Dragic. All this talk about Kevin Love mentoring Jovic, it hits differently and will resonate profoundly with Nikola when another guy from the Balkans, who is a Heat legend, is the one mentoring him. Goran has done what Nikola wants to do. What’s gonna benefit the Heat more in the short/long term: signing some random free agent, promoting Dru Smith/R.J. Hampton/Jamal Cain or signing the past (Dragic) to maximize the present and future? – Vince
A: Well, if they’re reading, they’re seeing this now. But they, more than outsiders, know what Goran Dragic does or does not have left. For now, it appears that Josh Richardson will serve as point guard behind Kyle Lowry. And if Kyle does not start, I’m not sure a team can carry both a pair of 37-year-old point guards in reserve in Lowry and Dragic. Now, if Lowry is dealt, that would change to calculus. So your hope might be with a waiting game rather than a move to Goran in the short run. And even then, if the Heat do look for experience, there also is John Wall still out there.
Q: Ira, after watching all the talent on the Dolphins, the Heat have Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and nobody else. How do you expect to win that way? – Sam.
A: Well, when it comes to star-level talent, consider that the Heat made it to last season’s NBA Finals with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo as the only tangible stars, with Tyler Herro sidelined. Basically, that has been the Heat’s way in recent years, years when they have advanced to three Eastern Conference finals. Last year, it was Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin stepping up. It will have to be something similar from the supporting cast this season, likely starting with Martin. It might sound cliche, but this will have to be a team that wins through cohesion and system. No, not as sexy as what the Dolphins are featuring with their pick-your-poison offense. But a system that, time and again, Erik Spoelstra has made work.
Q: What do you want to see in Monday’s scrimmage? – Ons.
A: The same thing as I want to see in Tuesday’s preseason opener – no injuries. Behind that, the early stages of the preseason are about seeing which tryout player has separated himself from the pack.
