Goran Dragic Prefers Move from Raptors To Luka Doncic's Mavs, Reports Heat Insider

"The sense is Goran works his way toward his preferred (and most viable) option of the Mavericks''

DALLAS - As it relates to Goran Dragic, who has played his last game in a Toronto Raptors uniform, there are few secrets left. The 35-year-old has left that team as he awaits a path toward another. A trade or a buyout is seemingly looming and right now, one insider thinks the Dallas Mavericks have the inside track.

And it so happens that insider is a Miami guy.

According to NBA insider Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, Dragic has a preference, which is to join fellow Slovanian star Luka Doncic, in Dallas. Writes Winderman:

"The sense is Goran works his way toward his preferred (and most viable) option of the Mavericks, to close out the season alongside Slovenian compatriot Luka Doncic. ... Goran already has proven amenable to a bench role, something he thrived in with the Heat.''

We don't know anything about what Dragic's specific role would be should he land in Dallas. Nor do we know much about the path; obviously, Toronto would prefer to get something from the Mavericks in trade rather than to simply buy out the former All-Star.

But the compelling point here is that Dragic is thought to also be interested in some way, some day, re-joining the Miami Heat, where he played before being shipped to Toronto last summer as part of the deal that sent Kyle Lowry to the Heat.

The 6-foot-3 combo guard is now citing "personal reasons'' for taking his leave from a Toronto situation he made clear from the start was not his preference.

None of this means, of course, that Dragic desiring Dallas makes that transaction automatic. But Winderman's insight into all things Heat merits trust.

And as the Mavs struggle on the court, having dropped to .500 after a home loss to the Grizzlies, the addition of Dragic to the Mavericks to play alongside his "little brother'' Doncic - while certainly not a guarantee - becomes, maybe more than ever, an inviting thought.