"They've won a championship and I haven't": Dragic Apologizes for Slight on Raptors

 

Since almost the moment it was announced, the sign-and-trade deal that sent Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat and Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa to the Toronto Raptors has been steeped in controversy. 

First, the NBA announced it is investigating the teams on tampering violations, then Dragic rose the ire of Raptors fans by telling a Slovenian reporter that Toronto isn't where he wanted to be, that he had "higher ambitions". 

As expected, Raptors fans everywhere came down hard on Dragic, and now he has apologized, taking his comments back. 

“It hurts” — Goran Dragic regrets how he said what he said, and his message to Raptors fans is simple: “I apologize.” https://t.co/z6oxiwZ8n2

— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) August 10, 2021

Dragic told Raptors beat reporter Michael Grange that he felt his words were taken out of context, and wanted to clarify a few things: 

My message basically, to all Toronto fans, is I would like to apologize. It didn’t come out the right way. I know they love their team, and they should be proud, it is one of the best organizations in the NBA. They’ve already won a championship and I didn’t, so what I said, it really was not appropriate.

To be sure, the Raptors' first choice after the sign-and-trade was constructed, was to re-route Dragic to another destination, most likely Dallas, where he could pair up with his Slovenian countryman Luka Doncic. But the Mavericks haven't played ball. 

This situation may take some time to resolve, so the 35-year-old Dragic may just have to continue making amends with offended Toronto fans. 

I hope the raptors are able to trade him. I think they ought to have higher ambitions than a 35 year old role player.

— BigVladdyCool (@BigVladdyCool) August 10, 2021

Raps Twitter is a force to be reckoned with when its beloved team is insulted. Goran learned this today. He really did not do himself any favours building a relationship with the org, its players, and its fans. He’s got some work to do…

— Bell Tolls Inc. (@JordanDavidBell) August 10, 2021

Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports