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Los Angeles Lakers: Why the MLE might be used on Goran Dragic

By Jason Reed

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - MARCH 06: Goran Dragic #7 of the Miami Heat reacts against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center on March 06, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - MARCH 06: Goran Dragic #7 of the Miami Heat reacts against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center on March 06, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Goran Dragic was on the opposite end of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in six games to win championship no. 17. The Miami Heat were the most surprising team of the NBA Playoffs, defeating the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics to get to the Finals. However, Jimmy Butler’s Cinderella run simply was not enough.

A big component of the Heat’s run towards the NBA Finals was veteran point guard Goran Dragic. Dragic was the team’s sixth man during the regular season but was elevated to the starting five in place of Kendrick Nunn for the playoffs.

Dragic was fantastic. He averaged 19.1 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds in the NBA Playoffs. However, he got banged up during the NBA Finals, missing several games with a foot injury and even when he did return he was not the same player.

Now the veteran point guard is a free agent and is one of the bigger names in a relatively weak free-agent class. That does not price him out of the Lakers’ market, though, as he is a prime candidate to receive a mid-level exception deal from the Lakers.

The MLE allows the Lakers to sign a player and go over the cap and there are several possible candidates this offseason. If you are a frequent reader of Lake Show Life then you know that I personally love the idea of Danilo Gallinari being the MLE signing.

However, there are reasons in favor of Dragic that cannot be ignored. Here are the three main reasons why Dragic might end up being the Lakers’ MLE signing after all.

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