Warriors are planning to “aggressively” pursue Goran Dragic

Last Thursday’s trade deadline came and went with the Golden State Warriors deciding to stick with their current roster. Without the option to trade, teams are looking towards the buyout market for ways to upgrade their rosters. Several players are already in talks of being bought out with hopes of joining title contending teams like the Warriors. According to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Goran Dragic is one of these players as he is expected to reach a buyout after being traded to the San Antonio Spurs:

The interesting part for Warriors fans is that according to the report, Golden State is one of the teams expected to pursue Dragic once he is bought out.

Per Wojnarowski’s report:

The Lakers and Warriors are planning to join several rivals, including the LA Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, in aggressive pursuit of Dragic, sources said.

This would be an interesting move for the Warriors. Many will argue that Golden State has a more urgent need at center, especially while the team deals with injuries to Draymond Green and James Wiseman. However, if the team is confident that Green and Wiseman will return at some point this season, then an argument can be made that those two plus Kevon Looney and Jonathan Kuminga are enough frontcourt depth for a playoff run. In this situation, Dragic would be more of a long-term play as he would provide solid veteran guard depth for the Warriors in case injuries were to pop up at the position.

Another issue would be deciding who the team should cut from their 15-man roster to make room for Dragic. Chris Chiozza and Quinndary Weatherspoon are on two-way contracts which cannot be used to make room for Dragic. That leaves Nemanja Bjelica and Juan Toscano-Anderson as the most likely candidates but cutting one of them would still be a difficult decision.

Currently in his 15^th season, it remains to be seen how much Dragic has left in him. The 35-year-old played five games for the Toronto Raptors this season before they agreed that a trade would be best for both sides. Before this season, Dragic played for the Miami Heat where he averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 assist in 26.7 minutes per game.