Dragic seeks summer, sees a bright future in Miami

Dragic seeks summer, sees a bright future in Miami

MIAMI (AP) – Goran Dragic will return to his native Slovenia in a few weeks during the summer. There are a couple of weddings that the Miami Heat guard has to attend, a scheduled trip with his wife to Paris for a fashion show and probably even a basketball game to remind his friends that he is an All-Star the NBA and they are not. [19659020] And there will be some celebrating.

Winning the European title last summer is still a big business for the Slovenians, which means that the return of Dragic will also be a big business. He was recently voted the most influential Slovenian, a poll conducted by media in that country that chose people from the world of sports in the first six places. Number 7 was the first American lady Melania Trump, and number 8 was the Slovenian president Borut Pahor.

Leading that list shows what Dragic compatriots think of him, especially after he led the nation to its most prudent sporting moment.

"As soon as I go out with my family, I walk around the city, that's probably the moment I'll realize how much that was," said Dragic. "We'll see".

"Veremos" is a kind of Dragic summer mantra.

Although Heat president Pat Riley said no one on the list is untouchable if the time is right, Dragic has made it clear that he wants to stay in Miami, and let his bosses know. He speaks wonders of his house, the one that has the newly updated landscape because he intends to be there for a long time. He likes costume makeup and has too many favorite restaurants in Miami to tell.

Also, he's a big fan favorite.

This week, a dozen people looking for autographs or autographs approached Dragic, plus one who wanted him to have a video chat with a child studying at home. Dragic never complained, habitually rising from his soup, salad, roasted snapper and cappuccino sleeping cap to accommodate each request.

"This is where I want to be," said Dragic. "Everything here, is what I want".

He will not touch a basketball for a while, with the desperate need for free time. Eurobasket – the tournament where Slovenia beat Serbia for the gold medal – was in mid-September, and Dragic did not arrive in Miami until the day before the training camp. Basically he has not had a break from playing for a whole year, and he paid the price for it this season with the Heat.

Dragic was an All-Star for the first time, but he dealt with persistent injuries and pain in his right knee limited him considerably in the five-game playoff loss to Philadelphia.

"I felt it throughout the season," said Dragic. "Mentally he was fine, but physically he had minor injuries, you know those injuries, if you keep playing they never disappear, but it was not serious that he could not play, you're always fighting against your thoughts, against your head. … yes. "

The thing is, he will not do it again.

Slovenian officials came to Miami this season begging Dragic to reconsider his decision to retire from the national team, and he rejected it. The only thing that will attract Dragic to the international game is if Slovenia arrives at the Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020, which will not be easy, especially if it will not participate in the classification.

He has also been asked to consider running for political office, which is an absolute no starter for Dragic. But summers in Slovenia are still very important, both to relax and to remind their children about their heritage.

"My country, they give me everything," said Dragic. "I was at school there, they make me the person I am now, I have friends, family, we are always a close family, I always appreciate my ancestors, my grandfather, my great grandfather, what we did for us , especially my father who moved from Bosnia, started a new life in Slovenia, so I basically grew up there. "

Plans to return to the US UU around mid-August, about a month before the training camps begin for the 2018-19 season.

And he's desperately waiting for him to stay in Miami.

"I think we have all the pieces here," said Dragic. "I think I'll be better, I think we'll improve, I want to see how good we can be."