Report: Spurs agree to buyout with Dragic, who heads to FA

Goran Dragic is headed to the open market.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the San Antonio Spurs have agreed to a buyout with the veteran point guard, sending him to free agency.

Goran Dragic has agreed to a contract buyout with the Spurs and is entering free agency, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. A slew of teams will now pursue the 14-year veteran.

The Toronto Raptors traded Dragic to the Spurs last week along with a protected first-round pick in exchange for Thad Young, Drew Eubanks and 2022 second-round pick.

Dragic’s time with the Raptors got off to a rocky start not long after the trade when he told reporters in his native Slovenia that he had “higher ambitions” than the Raptors, who were coming off their first losing season in nearly a decade. Dragic later apologized and said the comments “came out wrong.”

Dragic started the season-opener and went on to play in the first four games but was then benched on Oct. 27 and didn’t appear in a game again until Nov. 13. In late November, Dragic stepped away from the team due to personal reasons and has not played since.

All in all, the 35-year-old played in five games for the Raptors, averaging 8.0 points and 1.8 assists on 38.2 per cent shooting from the field. The numbers were a sharp drop-off from both his career averages and his time with the Heat, where he made the All-Star Team in 2017 and started at point guard as the team advanced to the NBA Finals in 2020.

A second-round pick in 2008, Dragic has also spent time with the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets over the course of his 14-year NBA career.