NBA News: Why Goran Dragic Is Perfect Signing For Struggling Nets

The Brooklyn Nets are looking to still be the Eastern Conference favorites by signing the recently-bought out Goran Dragic.

NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that they will be waiving defensive-minded guard Jevon Carter in order to make room for the 35-year-old.

The addition of Dragic to the roster can be seen as a response to the lack of games that the Nets will have seven-time All-Star Kyrie Irving available to suit up due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Because of this restriction, Irving can only play in games that will not be happening in the state of New York and their calendar will only see them play 10 games away at home.

However, Irving will only likely appear in nine of them as they face the New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden as the season winds down.

Dragic’s addition then makes sense as he can fill in the role of Irving perfectly well off the bench because of his experience in leading a championship-caliber team to the NBA Finals in the form of the Miami Heat back in the 2020 Orlando Bubble.

It was previously believed that any title contender who takes a flyer on Dragic will have improved odds of winning the NBA title and the Nets have done just that.

In about two weeks, Nets general manager Sean Marks swung a deal to acquire Ben Simmons in a massive trade with the Philadelphia 76ers that had both teams coming out of it as winners.

The Nets received Simmons, sharpshooter Seth Curry and backup big man Andre Drummond, while the Sixers took on James Harden and Paul Millsap--a lateral but necessary move for both squads.

Despite Dragic’s age, he is more than serviceable in a plug-and-play situation with the Nets as he serves as a backup point guard to Simmons in games, where Irving is not available to play or as the lead playmaker in small-ball lineups.

“The Slovenian Dragon” is a worthwhile pickup for the Nets and it further boosts their chance of making it out of the extremely tight race in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets are currently in the middle of competing in the play-in tournament after falling to the eighth seed ahead of the recently-concluded NBA All-Star Break.

With a revamped roster plus insurance for Irving’s absence, the Nets are poised to storm out the gates when they return to on-court action against the Boston Celtics on Thursday, February 24.