The Milwaukee Bucks have now officially signed Goran Dragic for the remainder of this season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report Milwaukee’s interest in the seasoned veteran after dubbing them the frontrunners to sign the free agent guard. Dragic had recently been waived by the neighboring Chicago Bulls, so he will not have to move his things too far for the time being. The veteran is one of the final pieces of Milwaukee’s major mid-season roster reconstruction and is a solid addition to this veteran-oriented roster.
Per The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, Coach Mike Budenholzer said that Dragic is expected to travel with the team immediately as they prepare to take on the Washington Wizards.
Thoughts on the Milwaukee Bucks officially signing Goran Dragic
No matter how one spins it, this is a quality signing by the Bucks. For a team that has been banged up all year, too much depth is never a bad thing. Dragic will slot nicely into Milwaukee’s point guard rotation, giving them a solid piece behind Jrue Holiday and Jevon Carter. At 36 years of age, Dragic is not the player he once was, but he can still be serviceable in a reasonable role due to his outside shooting and quality playmaking abilities. The guard also brings hard-earned experience, having a whopping 60 playoff games under his belt in his career.
The primary worry many have with this signing is that Dragic will eat away at Jevon Carter’s time on the floor. Something similar happened last year with George Hill, as Coach Budenholzer went with the taller and more experienced Hill in the postseason, which backfired. However, this is an entirely new season. Carter has gotten himself fully integrated into Milwaukee’s system and has become a key cog. Dragic should not take significant minutes from Carter. Budenholzer has used two point guard lineups in the past. Having Dragic will allow him to do that more often if he wants to get the three involved.
At the end of the day, the final man on the roster will likely change anyone’s life, but being able to add a household name like Dragic in that spot is terrific.
It will be interesting to see what Dragic brings to the table as a member of the Bucks.