The Phoenix Suns might be forced to part ways with Goran Dragic before the NBA Trade Deadline on Thursday as reports revealed the playmaker informed the team that he wants out.
Sam Amick of USA Today first reported that the Dragic asked his representatives to inform the Suns that he will not resign with the team when he becomes a free agent in the offseason.
Dragic, the 2014 NBA Most Improved Player, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, which means the Suns could lose him for nothing should they decide not to trade the Slovenian point guard.
Marc Stein of ESPN reported last week that the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets have expressed strong interest in acquiring Dragic, who is averaging 16.2 points to go along with 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game this season for the Suns.
However, the Rockets will have to make a big risk to acquire Dragic as Stein reported Wednesday night that Houston is not one of the preferred destinations of Dragic, who played two seasons with the Rockets in 2011 and 2012.
The Suns could still trade Dragic to Houston, but the playmaker has informed the team he will not sign a long-term deal with the Rockets in the summer.
"Dragic, I'm told, prefers Lakers and other situations to Houston, which means Rockets would be risking lots to surrender assets for him now," Stein posted on Twitter.
The Lakers have long expressed interest in Dragic, but it remains to be seen if they can convince the Suns to send the 28-year-old point guard to Los Angeles. Recent reports indicated that the Lakers would rather go after Dragic in the offseason as a free agent instead of giving up assets in a trade before the deadline.
Aside from the Lakers, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports revealed that the New York Knicks are also among the desired destinations of Dragic. The Knicks are also interested in acquiring the crafty point guard, but it is unknown at this point if the Suns will send him to the Big Apple because of the Knicks' limited assets.
Like the Lakers, the Knicks are high on Dragic, but would also prefer to lure the seventh-year guard via free agency after the current season because they are nowhere near to making the playoffs this year.
Wojnarowski also added that the Miami Heat are contenders in the race to acquire Dragic. The Heat have young players and future assets that they can offer to the Suns in a deal for the veteran before the deadline.
