'I'm Not Just a Cheerleader': Goran Dragic Reveals Stunning Reason He Turned Down Luka Doncic's Mavs

"I'm not ready to retire and just sit on the bench in a cheerleading role."

DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks have been chasing Goran Dragic forever.

But was the chase just about the long-time NBA standout and "big brother'' to fellow Slovenian star Luka Doncic about being a Mavs "cheerleader''?

Said Dragic in an interview with Slovenian outlet Vecer, explaining why he spurned Dallas in favor of signing a vet-minimum deal with Chicago: "We were in talks with Dallas. They made an offer but I decided not to take it. They wanted me to play one game and then sit for the next five. I know I can still easily play 20 minutes per game. 

"I'm not ready to retire and just sit on the bench in a cheerleading role."

Goran Dragic: "We were in talks with Dallas. They made an offer but I decided not to take it. They wanted me to play 1 game and then sit for the next 5. I know I can still easily play 20 minutes per game. I'm not ready to retire and just sit on the bench in a cheerleading role." https://t.co/0W6yW1U6kG

— Matej Sportinfo (@MatejSportinfo) July 13, 2022

As with Doncic's own remarks about his "let's see what they do'' approach to the Mavs' front office's roster building, we want to be careful in interpreting the language and its meaning. But to this point?

This will not play well with a Mavs audience already upset that Dragic couldn't be acquired, as it seems the most "Luka-friendly'' move Dallas could possibly make ... and seems like, once again, one that didn't require complicated hoops to jump through.

Educated guesses here? The Mavs were honest (too honest?) in what they told Dragic, now 36, his role would be. Maybe Dragic misinterpreted their honesty in a too-literal manner - surely owner Mark Cuban, GM Nico Harrison and coach Jason Kidd didn't actually say that Dragic would play one out of every six games ... 

Right? That would mean Dragic playing in 13 regular-season games. That is an insulting notion. That simply cannot be what Dallas told him.

But the impression Dragic got is all that matters now. 

The Mavs front office this offseason figured to have two "easy'' gets, and approached them both with a great deal of in-house confidence. But they didn't "get'' Jalen Brunson - maybe, because as Cuban has said, Brunson all along wanted to go "home'' to New York. And now they didn't "get'' Goran Dragic. And the reason doesn't seem to be because he's always craved being a Bull.

The reason seems to be that he didn't want to be reduced to being a Mavs "cheerleader.''