The Bulls have officially waived veteran guard Goran Dragic, the team announced Tuesday in a press release.
The move was a mutual decision made by the Bulls and Dragic, and it had been in the works since the team added Patrick Beverley, sources tell K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
There was some speculation at the time of Beverley’s signing last week that Dragic would be the player released to make room on the 15-man roster for the newcomer, but Chicago cut center Tony Bradley instead. Now, the Bulls have an open roster spot and are in position to sign another player before the end of the regular season.
Dragic, 36, inked a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Bulls last summer and had been part of the club’s point guard rotation for most of the season, averaging 6.4 points, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 rebounds per night on .425/.352/.659 shooting in 51 games (15.4 MPG). However, he looked like the odd man out following Beverley’s arrival.
Because he was waived before March 1, Dragic will be playoff-eligible if he signs with another NBA team between now and the last day of the regular season. It’s also possible he could be claimed on waivers, since any team could absorb his contract using the minimum-salary exception. A club placing a claim would have to be willing to take on Dragic’s full $1.84M cap hit and would owe him the money left on that contract.
Assuming Dragic clears waivers, his $1.84M cap charge will stay on the Bulls’ books and Chicago’s team salary would remain about $1.2M below the luxury-tax line, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That gives the club more than enough room to sign a player to a rest-of-season minimum-salary deal to fill Dragic’s roster spot.
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