Jaquez didn’t want to leave Heat, but looking forward to Bucks opportunity: ‘I love Miami’
Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. knew the Miami Heat could trade him this offseason. But when the trade actually happened, the news still hit him hard.
“I knew that it was definitely a possibility that it was going to happen,” Jaquez said on Friday while watching the Milwaukee Bucks and Heat face off in a Las Vegas Summer League game. “But you’re never truly prepared for what it does. So, once I got the news, it was definitely devastating for sure. I love Miami. I love this city. It really felt like home to me.
“But with that being said, man, I’m super excited to get with this new team. I feel like there’s a lot of opportunity for me in Milwaukee. And I’m really just happy to get out there and make my mark there in Milwaukee.”
Jaquez spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the Heat before being dealt to the Bucks this offseason as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. The Heat traded Jaquez, guard Tyler Herro, center Kel’el Ware, guard Kasparas Jakucionis and a load of draft capital to the Bucks to acquire Antetokounmpo veteran forward Bobby Portis in a trade agreed to in late June and finalized on July 6.
Making the trade news even more interesting for Jaquez is the fact that he learned he was being dealt in public while playing a pick-up basketball game with friends at LA Fitness. A video that somebody at LA Fitness took of Jaquez learning of the trade ended up going viral.
“That was a real video,” Jaquez, 25, said. “I knew that it was going to happen that day, and I was with all my friends. I had to pick up my girlfriend from the airport. So, on my way, I stopped by my friend’s house. They’re like, ‘Let’s just go hoop. Get your mind off things.’ And we went to LA Fitness, and my phone was blowing up. So, I had a bunch of missed calls. But all the guys that were there, they came and told me. And then I got on the phone with my agent, and they let me know. And then, obviously, the rest of the calls came.”
The move to Milwaukee comes after Jaquez turned in the best season of his young NBA career last season. He finished as the runner-up for this past season’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year award that went to San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson
Jaquez did not receive the Sixth Man of the Year honor despite finishing this past regular season as one of only three reserves in NBA history to start fewer than 30 games and average at least 14 points, four rebounds and four assists on a true shooting percentage of at least 55%. The other two players on this list — Manu Ginobili in 2007-08 for the Spurs and Herro in 2021-22 for the Heat — won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award during that respective season.
Jaquez, who was drafted by the Heat with the 18th overall pick in 2023, also led the NBA in total bench points with 1,138 last regular season. He also ranked first in total fast-break points (204), first in total paint points (734), fifth in total rebounds (367) and second in total assists (348) among reserves around the league this past regular season.
Jaquez averaged 15.4 points, five rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 50.7% from the field and 31.7% on 2.4 three-point attempts per game last regular season. He played off the bench in 74 of his 75 appearances this season, turning into one of the engines of the Heat’s fast-paced offense through his ability to get into the paint and take advantage of smaller defenders around the basket.
Now, Jaquez is off to Milwaukee with Herro, Jakucionis and Ware.
“That makes it a lot easier,” Jaquez said of being traded with three teammates. “I got a lot of my guys that I know really well. Obviously, Tyler, Kas, Kel’el, I’m super close with them. So, we’re in it together, and that makes it special, I think. That makes it super special.”
The Bucks, immediately, have an important decision to make regarding Jaquez, who still has one more season left on his rookie-scale contract but is eligible to sign extension with Milwaukee this offseason. If the Bucks don’t sign Jaquez to an extension prior to the start of the 2026-27 regular season, he’ll become a restricted free agent next summer.
“We’ll see what happens when it comes,’” Jaquez said when asked about a potential extension with his new team. “Right now, we’re in Vegas trying to just get acclimated with everyone, meet all the coaches, meet all the staff. And we’ll see when that time comes. I’m not really too worried about that right now.”
Instead, Jaquez is focused on meeting his new co-workers and preparing for his new reality of needing to endure cold winters in Milwaukee.
“Probably a lot more,” Jaquez, a Los Angeles native, said of needing more winter clothes. “A lot more pants, that’s for sure. It gives me a good excuse to go shopping.”
