As Lillard uncertainty looms over roster, Heat encouraged by Jaquez and Jovic’s summer moments
Summer league was supposed to offer a glimpse at the potential of the Miami Heat’s last two first-round draft picks, and that’s exactly what happened.
For last year’s first-round pick, forward Nikola Jovic, that glimpse lasted four games before leaving Las Vegas to join the Serbian national team for World Cup preparations.
For this year’s first-round pick, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., that glimpse essentially lasted one game before injuring his shoulder during the Heat’s second summer league contest.
But each still had his moments during the past few weeks, leaving Heat coaches and executives encouraged.
“There’s a lot to like about his development so far,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jovic as part of a radio interview on WQAM during a broadcast of one of the Heat’s summer league games. “... You see the rebounding, you see the off-ball awareness defensively, his ability to take a rebound off the glass and push it in transition. These are skills that are really tough to teach. He has great vision.”
As for Jaquez, the Heat already feels like he fits less than one month after taking him with the No. 18 overall pick in the June 22 draft out of UCLA.
“I think he’s our type of guy,” Heat general manager Andy Elisburg said of Jaquez during a WQAM summer league broadcast. “I think he comes from the same kind of ethos that we think we value, with players that we value. He has that kind of competitiveness and the work ethic that you want to see. But I think he also has an understanding of the game of basketball.”
Jovic, who played in each of the Heat’s first four summer league games before missing the final three games, closed summer league with averages of 15 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and 5 of 15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.
Jovic opened this year’s summer league strong, totaling 43 points on 52 percent shooting from the field and 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) shooting on threes in the first two games at the California Classic.
Jovic, who turned 20 on June 9 and was drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick last year out of Serbia, was also able to put his new physique to the test in summer league after adding about 20 pounds during the last year. The results were positive for the 6-foot-11 Jovic, as he consistently took contact when in the paint without much of a problem to either draw the foul or finish over his defender, averaging 7.3 free-throw attempts game.
“Just visibly, doesn’t [Jovic] look just so much different from last year?” Spoelstra continued on WQAM. “He looked like a kid, he looked like a teenager, as he should have. But now he looks like a man. That’s a credit to all the work that he’s put in in the weight room. The last four months have really been about drilling and working behind the scenes. But he needs this, he needs the practices, the games, as many minutes as he can get. He’ll probably continue and play with the Serbian national team later this summer. So, I think all that is good.”
Aside from a few summer league practices he took part in before his injury, Jaquez was limited to just one full summer league game prior to hurting his left shoulder in the Heat’s second summer game.
But Jaquez, 22, made the most of those minutes. He recorded 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range in the Heat’s summer opener on July 3 in Sacramento before leaving his second outing early with a shoulder issue and not playing again in summer league because of the injury.
“I think we have a certain type of player that we like and a certain type of player we want to get, and I think he brings a lot of those kinds of things,” Elisburg said of Jaquez on WQAM. “And you’re looking for people who fit what it is you do, and he fits really what we do.
“You’re excited to see what he’s able to do as he takes his game and grows it. At this point in time, he’s got things he does well, things he can be better at. And the great players take the things that they can do better at, and become better at that. And if you could do that, you can be able to do more. So, excited to be able to see what his growth is going to look like.”
The shoulder injury forced Jaquez to miss most of summer league, but it’s not believed to be serious.
“Nothing too serious,” Jaquez said as part of a radio interview during a WQAM summer league broadcast. “We’re going to do what we can to try to make it heal as fast as possible, taking it slow, just listening to the training staff, doing whatever they need.”
But will Jaquez and/or Jovic be on the Heat’s roster at the start of this upcoming season? Damian Lillard’s unresolved trade request to the Heat makes it hard to answer that question with much confidence.
Lillard, who turned 33 on Saturday, has made it known he wants to be dealt to the Heat and his stance has not changed. But trade talks between the Portland Trail Blazers and Heat have been slow-moving and a deal is not considered imminent, according to league sources, especially with some key decision-makers from both teams on vacation or about to go on vacation.
If Jaquez does spend his rookie season with the Heat, he’s already looking forward to showing Heat fans different layers of his skill set.
“I would just say my ability to play defense and playmake,” Jaquez said on WQAM of what he’s excited for Heat fans to learn about his game. “I think those are going to be the two things that I want Heat fans to take a look at. My ability to hit shots, too. If I hit shots, then my ability to create is going to expand.”
ELISBURG PROMOTED
The Heat announced Thursday that Elisburg has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager.
Elisburg, who is a Heat original employee of 35 years, was already the team’s general manager. But the promotion moved Elisburg from Senior Vice President to Executive Vice President.
According to a press release issued by the Heat, Elisburg “will continue to assist CEO Nick Arison and President Pat Riley in the management of all aspects of Miami’s basketball organization, including salary cap administration, talent acquisition, league compliance and the day-to-day business of basketball operations.”
“Andy is so deserving of this promotion,” Riley said in a statement. “Working together for 28 years has brought so many great transactions that have improved the franchise multiple times over the years, both on and off the court. More importantly, Andy’s knowledge and work ethic are second to none, he’s been involved with everything we do at the Heat and we look forward to continued success.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2023 at 9:33 AM.
