Goran Dragic has been primed for a buyout since this season began for the Toronto Raptors. The Slovenian came over in the sign-and-trade that sent Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat but seemingly had no interest in actually playing for the Raptors. Now, the situation may have been clear from the beginning but it doesn’t seem to have pleased his teammates on the Raptors.
Dragic was traded ahead of the deadline to the San Antonio Spurs for Thad Young and he is likely to become a prime target on the buyout market. After the trade went through, Raptors star Fred VanVleet spoke about the situation, and he seemingly wasn’t too happy with the way things had played out with Dragic. He took a shot at the veteran guard when asked about Thad Young, the player Toronto got back in the trade.
“Great piece, great addition … especially when the other guy was sitting at home.” — Fred VanVleet on addition of Thad Young. pic.twitter.com/AL3SdXbeEK
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) February 13, 2022
“Great piece, great addition … especially when the other guy was sitting at home.”
Dragic played just 5 games for the Raptors this season, racking up a total of just 90 minutes in the uniform. Dragic’s reported desire to join fellow Slovenian Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks was consistently discussed even before the season began. And considering that he held out of playing for so long, VanVllet’s apparent saltiness makes some sense.
Since breaking out with the Raptors as an undrafted free agent, VanVleet has become one of the faces of the franchise. He played a huge part in bringing Toronto their only championship, hitting some huge shots in the series against the Golden State Warriors in 2019.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that VanVleet’s love for the franchise has seen him left unimpressed by Dragic’s actions. The Toronto Raptors are unlikely too bothered by the situation though, they’re in the middle of making a push for an automatic playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is in the 6th seed and just 2.5 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers in 5th.
