Former Heat guard Goran Dragic announcing retirement plans

Goran Dragic, who stands alongside Tim Hardaway as one of the best point guards in the Miami Heat’s 36 seasons, is moving forward with retirement plans that include a farewell exhibition game next summer in his native Slovenia, according to multiple European media reports.

Dragic, who was acquired by the Heat on Feb. 19, 2015 from the Phoenix Suns in the wake of the free-agency departure of LeBron James and departed in the 2021 offseason in the trade with the Toronto Raptors for Kyle Lowry, has remained a fixture in the Heat realm, including several recent appearances at Kaseya Center, greeting players in the hallway leading to the locker room, as well as a recent dinner with Heat forward Nikola Jovic.

At 37, Dragic told the South Florida Sun Sentinel during last season’s opening-round playoff series against the Heat that he would be open to a Heat return. Instead, after completing last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, he went unsigned in free agency, with the Heat instead turning to youth in reserve of Lowry.

After leaving the Heat, Dragic was with the Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Bucks, having started his career with the Houston Rockets and Suns.

“I still love basketball,” Dragic said as he headed into this past offseason.

The next question becomes whether his No. 7, which he agreed to pass on to Lowry, eventually will be sent to the rafters at Kaseya Center alongside that of Hardaway, the only other player with a Heat retired number who did not win a championship with the team.

With his 6 1/2 seasons with the Heat, Dragic stands third on the team’s all-time assists list behind Dwyane Wade and Hardaway, ninth in scoring, seventh in 3-pointers and ninth in both field goals made and attempted, and seventh in turnovers.

Dragic’s best playoff moments came in the Heat’s run to the 2020 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, a run that came in the pandemic quarantine bubble at Disney World. He then suffered a torn plantar fascia in the opening game of that series, insisting on playing through the injury in the series-ending loss.

Dragic’s lone selection as an All-Star with the Heat came in 2018, when he was named an injury replacement.

Arguably his most significant career achievement was leading Slovenia to the 2017 EuroBasket championship. In 2018, he was honored with Slovenia’s Medal of Merit for the People.

Dragic’s brother Zoran, another member of the Slovenian national team, briefly played alongside Goran with the Heat, with the two dealt together in that 2015 trade with the Suns.

Details of Dragic’s retirement plans are scheduled to be released Thursday in Slovenia, with proceeds of the planned two-day retirement event in Ljubljana to go to the Goran Dragic Foundation.

Injury report

The Heat on Saturday declared Lowry, Caleb Martin and Josh Richardson again out for Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, the second stop on a five-game western swing.

Lowry’s absence was changed from soreness to a head contusion, with the Heat citing a bump to the head absorbed from Heat center Bam Adebayo during Monday’s Christmas night victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers. Lowry also missed Thursday’s trip-opening victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Martin missed his second consecutive game with the sprained right ankle sustained in the first quarter against the 76ers.

Richardson missed his third consecutive games with back discomfort.

Having previously been listed on the injury report due to illness, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. was cleared to play.

Also, Jimmy Butler, who had missed the previous four games, was cleared Thursday afternoon to return.

Developmental time

With Heat center Orlando Robinson and Heat two-way player Cole Swider in the mix, the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce completed a two-game sweep of the Warriors’ affiliate with a 123-112 victory Friday night.

Robinson recorded his second consecutive G League double-double, closing the victory with 26 points and 14 rebounds, as well as two blocked shots.

Swider finished with a game-high 31 points, an effort that included 6-of-9 shooting on 3-pointers, adding seven rebounds.