The Miami Heat have acquired Goran Dragic and his younger brother Zoran Dragic from the Phoenix Suns, according to a report from Yahoo.
The Heat will send Danny Granger, Justin Hamilton and two first-round picks to Phoenix as part of the deal. In addition, Miami will ship Norris Cole and Shawne Williams to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The elder Dragic will be the new starting point guard for Miami which has been a bit of a black hole for the team this season. The Heat have tried Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers and Shabazz Napier in the starting lineup at PG but have yielded few positive results. With a depleted roster, Tyler Johnson saw time at the spot as of late as well.
Goran Dragic did a solid job in his time with Phoenix. As of late, the guard had made it known he would prefer to play elsewhere. The Suns elected to honor that request as Dragic can become a free-agent after the year. Phoenix was in a position where it could have lost Dragic for nothing in what is potentially a lost season. Dragic holds a player option for the 2015-16 season and it is unclear at this time if he will pick that up.
Miami is clutching to its playoff hopes as it sits in a tie for the seventh and eighth spots in the conference. The Brooklyn Nets are only one game back in ninth. The Heat are looking to extend a playoff run and possibly even make a fifth straight trip to the NBA Finals.
While the 28-year old Dragic is not a superstar, he brings enough to the table to be a difference maker. With him on-board, Chalmers can go back to strictly a reserve role. Early in the year, Chalmers thrived in that role. Zoran Dragic will play off the bench as he did in Phoenix.
The Heat will open up the second half on Friday against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
