The hidden side of politics

Dragic, Leonard quickly agree to stay with Heat

Reported by ESPN:

Veteran guard Goran Dragic is re-signing with the Miami Heat, he announced on his Twitter account Friday.

The deal is for two years with a team option in the second year, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Terms of the deal were first reported by The Associated Press.

Center Meyers Leonard also will remain with the Heat, with his agents, Aaron Mintz and Dave Spahn, telling ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that he has agreed to a two-year deal worth nearly $20 million.

“I’m glad that I can announce that I’m staying with my #HeatNationFamily,” Dragic said in his tweet, which was posted soon after the free-agency period opened at 6 p.m. ET. “Let’s finish the job we started!!!”

Dragic entered his sixth season with the Heat in a new role — sixth man. He backed up rookie Kendrick Nunn during the regular season and thrived at it, averaging 16 points in 28 minutes.

But when the playoffs started, Dragic replaced Nunn in the starting 5 and showed just how valuable he was to Miami, averaging a career-high 19.1 points and recording 10 20-point games, the fourth Miami player ever to do that (Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James).

He was a constant spark for the Heat in their six-game Eastern Conference finals triumph against the Celtics, and after he suffered a torn plantar fascia in his left foot during Game 1 of the Finals against the Lakers, Miami didn’t look like the same team.

Dragic said earlier in the offseason that the injury is now fully healed. He’s 34 and entering his 13th NBA season, with previous stops including Phoenix (twice) and Houston. A former All-Star, the Slovakian hold career averages of 13.9 points and 4.8 assists, while shooting 46.4% from the field and 36.3% from 3-point range.

Leonard, a 7-foot, 260-pound center, is coming off his eighth season in the league and his first with the Heat. He played the first seven years of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Leonard averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game last season.

Source:ESPN

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