The Boston Celtics have made a lot of acquisitions recently to try and improve their roster and are expected to build on their surprising playoff run from last year. One of the acquisitions, though, is not expected to stick with the team, and that is Zoran Dragic, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Dragic was traded from the Miami Heat about a week ago along with a 2020 second round pick for a heavily protected second round pick in 2019 that the Heat are unlikely to ever get. The only way the Celtics have to give the Heat that pick is if they finish with one of the five best records in the league that year. The Heat also gave the Celtics $1.5 million to pay for Dragic's contract.
The purpose of this trade was so that the Heat saved money, as they are expected to be the first team to have to pay the repeater tax. The Celtics made the trade to add that 2020 second round pick virtually for free.
The Celtics currently have 17 NBA level players on their roster, creating a bit of a roster crunch which is why Dragic will likely be released. Dragic is a shooting guard and the Celtics are loaded at that position with Avery Bradley, last years first round pick James Young and this years two first round picks Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter. Even after the Celtics release Dragic, they are still going to have to cut a good player, and the reported pre-camp favorite to be cut is Perry Jones.
Dragic is the younger brother of Heat point guard Goran Dragic, and he was reportedly okay with being traded away from his brother's team because he is looking to get some playing time and likely wouldn't have gotten any in either Miami or Boston. When Dragic is released, he is likely to have interest from other NBA teams for at least a camp invite. Dragic has only played a total of 75 minutes in his NBA career in 16 games, and at age 26, his career has yet to take off.
