Goran Dragic Reveals Why He Snubbed Mavericks And Countryman Luka Doncic

There were some eyebrows raised when veteran free agent guard Goran Dragic decided to sign with the Chicago Bulls, rather than have his long-awaited unification with his Slovenian countryman Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks.

Now, we find out why. Dragic has revealed to media in Slovenia that the Mavs were interested in him, essentially, as a cheerleader only.

Goran told another Slovenian media, that the Mavs have envisioned him in the “Boban role” as a bench cheerleader. He says they expected him to “play 1 game, rest 5 games”. He said “he’s not ready to retire and sit on the bench cheering on the teammates.” (h/t @MatejSportinfo) pic.twitter.com/bKW0sAXliz
— SLO HOOPS FAN 🇸🇮 (@SloHoopsFan) July 13, 2022

According to @SloHoopsFan, they envisioned the aging guard in sort of a "Boban role", referring to Boban Marjanovic, the 7'3" bench player who rarely gets into a game for Dallas, but has a lot of fun rooting on his teammates.

Dragic explained that the Mavs expected him to “play 1 game, rest 5 games”. He added "I know that I can easily play 20 minutes per game." He added that "I'm not ready to retire and just sit on the bench and be a cheerleader for teammates."

The 36-year-old Dragic instead has joined his 4th team in the last calendar year, going from the Miami Heat to the Toronto Raptors last summer, then the Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs in a deadline deal, who then released him, leading to his free agent signing with the Brooklyn Nets.

Now, add the Chicago Bulls to that ever-growing list.

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports