Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Butler out vs. Rockets, to sit for the 8th time in last 9 contests
MIAMI – Forward Jimmy Butler will miss his fourth consecutive game with a toe injury, listed out Sunday by the Miami Heat for Monday night’s game at Kaseya Center against the Houston Rockets.
The absence will be Butler’s eighth in the last nine games, previously out with a strained left calf. He then returned for the Dec. 30 road loss to the Utah Jazz, but left that game in the third quarter with what now is listed as an MP joint sprain of a toe on his right foot.
Under a new rule adopted in the offseason, players must appear in at least 65 games to qualify for postseason awards, such as All-NBA, ineligible if missing more than 17. Monday’s absence will be Butler’s 12th in the Heat’s first 36 games. Butler, 34, was second-team All-NBA last season.
In a more heartening turn, forward Haywood Highsmith has been cleared from NBA concussion protocol and will be available Monday after missing the past three games. Highsmith absorbed a blow to the head in the waning seconds of the loss in Utah.
Unlikely to return is forward Caleb Martin, who is listed as doubtful, having missed the past five games with a sprained left ankle.
Back with the Heat is center Orlando Robinson, after scoring 41 points in a Friday night G League appearance with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Sent to Skyforce for seasoning was two-way player Cole Swider, who is listed as out for Monday night.
For the Rockets, Dillon Brooks (oblique) and Tari Eason (leg) are out
Four guaranteed
With the Heat not making a move by Sunday’s 5 p.m. waiver deadline, Robinson’s contract now is guaranteed for the season. The center who went undrafted out of Fresno State in 2020 had stood as the lone player on the standard roster without a full guarantee, with this the NBA deadline for such decisions.
In addition, the lack of a move by the Heat also guarantees the two-way contracts for the season of Swider, Jamal Cain and RJ Hampton.
Robinson now is assured of the full $1.8 million for this season, the final year on his contract.
Swider, Cain and Hampton are guaranteed the full $560,000 on their 2023-24 two-way contracts.
Teams are allowed to sub out two-way players until March 2.
Dragic’s decision
Butler is among those scheduled to attend Goran Dragic’s retirement celebration in August in Dragic’s native Slovenia, with the two having grown close during their time together with the Heat.
In the wake of announcing his retirement from basketball a week ago, Dragic, 37, revealed he had discussed a Heat return, but the Heat’s roster situation and position against the luxury tax ultimately precluded that possibility.
“The only option was Miami, with whom I was in talks,” Dragic told a Slovenia media outlet about his considerations for a final NBA season. “In the end, it didn’t work out because they have too many players under contract.”
Dragic said there also were offers to play in Europe, a path taken by his brother Zoran Dragic, who briefly played for the Heat and currently plays for Cedevita Olimpija of the Slovenian League.
“I will be honest. I had offers from Europe, from Milan, Madrid, Panathinaikos, Barcelona,” Goran Dragic said. “I never wanted to go back to Europe. I wouldn’t want to be without my children living in the U.S. for a year.”
Conditioning work had been ongoing.
“During this time I was at home, I trained every day, even now,” he said. “But my children are the most important to me now. I took them to school every day and saw how much time I lost in my career. That is the main reason I retired.” Health also factored.
“My left knee is not in the best condition,” he acknowledged in the interview with Sportklub.