Miami Heat keeps pick, drafts UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. at No. 18 in NBA Draft
Entering this year’s NBA Draft, there was uncertainty whether the Miami Heat would keep or trade its first-round pick. That uncertainty didn’t completely go away even after the Heat kept and made the selection.
The Heat took UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the 18th overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Jaquez, 22, was a four-year college player.
“I ain’t going to lie, man. That was probably like the longest hour and a half of my life,” Jaquez said during a call with South Florida reporters shortly after being drafted by the Heat. “Just sitting there waiting. It felt like forever. But then as soon as my name was called, it was all worth the wait. That’s how I felt and it was surreal.”
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Thursday’s news doesn’t mean Jaquez will definitely be part of the Heat’s roster at the start of this upcoming season because he can still be included as part of a potential trade this offseason. However, Jaquez won’t be eligible to be traded for 30 days after signing his rookie contract.
This is especially noteworthy because the Heat is expected to pursue seven-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard if he requests a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.
The belief is that Lillard wanted the Trail Blazers to trade the No. 3 overall pick in Thursday’s draft to add win-now talent who would immediately improve the team’s odds of again becoming a contending team in the Western Conference. But the Trail Blazers kept the selection and picked guard Scoot Henderson at No. 3.
Turner’s Chris Haynes, who is known to have a close relationship with Lillard, reported early Friday morning that Lillard has not had any recent communication with the Trail Blazers involving the draft, free agency or his future.
So for now, Jaquez is on track to be part of the Heat’s roster this upcoming season after impressing the team during a predraft workout.
“I think I would be lying if I didn’t say that I had a sense that I was going to go to Miami,” Jaquez said. “I think I did really well in the workout. I think I shot the ball well, I played great defense. I showed them what I was all about.”
Of what stood out from Jaquez’s pre-draft workout, Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon said to reporters just after the draft was completed: “His competitiveness, attention to detail, just hard working, shooting, a great character kid. I enjoyed meeting with him. He checks a lot of boxes.”
Among those the Heat bypassed to draft Jaquez at No. 18 were Villanova forward Cam Whitmore, Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., Alabama forward Noah Clowney, Ohio State forward Brice Sensabaugh, Iowa forward Kris Murray and Marquette forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper. They were all still on the board when Miami picked.
As a senior at UCLA last season, Jaquez (listed at 6-foot-6 and 226 pounds) averaged 17.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 37 games (all starts). He was was named a consensus second-team All-American and the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year.
“He’s a winner, he’s a competitor,” Simon said. “I think he’s going to be a favorite of our coaching staff. A guy you just really enjoy coaching. I think he’s a great teammate and a hoop junkie. I think he really fits with us.”
While known for his excellent footwork, impressive rebounding ability, above-average passing skills and hustle on defense, Jaquez was not a quality three-point shooter at UCLA. He shot 48.1 percent from the field in his final college season, but shot just 33 of 104 (31.7 percent) from three-point range as a senior and 116 of 354 (32.8 percent) from three-point range during his four-year college career at UCLA.
“I think I shoot a lot better than what my numbers show,” Jaquez said. “I think during the process, I was really trying to show that I can really shoot the ball in a lot of different ways. Off the move, off the catch, off the dribble and I’ve been working on it a lot in my offseason. Shooting is something any basketball player can get better at, and I’m no exception. I think this summer that’s something I really worked on and tried to get better at. I think I showed that during this draft process with my ability to shoot the ball.”
According to the NBA’s scouting report on Jaquez, he “has good size and strength for a forward. He has good footwork in the post and can create his own shot or generate looks for his teammates. Jaquez is a crafty finisher but has also shown the ability to step outside for jump shots from the midrange and three. He is a smart defender who is adept at reading passing lanes.”
The NBA’s scouting report also projects Jaquez to “likely begin his career competing for playing time but has the potential to develop into a quality bench player. His game has shades of Rui Hachimura and Anthony Lamb due to his strong rebounding profile and ability to finish around the rim.”
The Ringer’s scouting report described Jaquez as “nifty scorer and hustling defender who just needs an improved jumper to have a fruitful career.”
Jaquez is from Camarillo, California, and joins Juan Toscano-Anderson as the only two players of Mexican descent currently in the NBA. Jaquez has said in the past that Heat star Jimmy Butler is one of his favorite players.
“I think just his ultimate toughness. He’s a competitor,” Jaquez said Thursday when asked why he admires Butler. “That’s who he is, and that’s what I try to be every single day. He elevates his team and he just knows how to play. He always tries to make the right play and I try to emulate that in my game.”
Jaquez is slotted to make about $3.5 million next season as the 18th pick and will be under team control for five seasons. Next up for Jaquez is likely summer league basketball with the Heat in Sacramento and Las Vegas, with the team scheduled to travel to the West Coast next week to begin summer league practices on July 1.
“I just know that I’m going to have to play defense and I’m going to have to play hard,” Jaquez said of what he envisions as his rookie role. “I just got to be able to hit shots. I think that’s probably going to be my role at the start. Being a rookie, you just got to find a way to get on the floor. The way I’m going to try to do that is by playing defense, getting rebounds and doing all the little things that got me there as a freshman.”
As for other teams around the Eastern Conference, the Charlotte Hornets drafted forward Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick, the Detroit Pistons took guard Ausar Thompson at No. 5 and the Orlando Magic selected guard Anthony Black at No. 6. And guard Jett Howard, the son of former Heat player and assistant coach Juwan Howard, was also drafted by the Magic at No. 11.
Jaquez is the only player the Heat added in this year’s draft. Miami did not hold a second-round selection — that pick, which was 50th overall, was conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of previous trades.
The Heat’s current salary-cap breakdown for next season includes nine players: Butler ($45.2 million), Bam Adebayo ($32.6 million), Kyle Lowry ($29.7 million), Tyler Herro ($27 million), Duncan Robinson ($18.2 million), Caleb Martin ($6.8 million), Jaquez ($3.5 million), Nikola Jovic ($2.4 million), Haywood Highsmith ($1.9 million non-guaranteed salary).
Including the $9.5 million player option that Victor Oladipo is expected to accept after sustaining a significant knee injury this postseason, the Heat has about $176.8 million committed to salaries for 10 players. Oladipo has until June 29 to make a formal decision on his 2023-24 player option with the Heat and Highsmith’s full $1.9 million salary for next season becomes guaranteed if the Heat does not waive him before July 15.
With the 2023-24 salary cap projected to be set at $136 million, the projected luxury tax at $165 million, the projected first tax apron at $172 million and the projected second tax apron at $182.5 million, the Heat is already a luxury tax team and very close to crossing the newly-instituted and ultra-punitive second apron with roster spots still to fill for next season.
If the Heat crosses the second apron, as expected, it won’t be permitted to use the $5 million taxpayer midlevel exception that it would otherwise have at its disposal in previous years before the new salary-cap rules were established.
Since the Heat has no cap space and is expected to be above the second apron, the only realistic way to add outside talent this offseason is through the draft, a trade and/or with minimum contracts unless a move is made to change the salary-cap math.
Another option for the Heat this offseason is to leverage the Bird rights it holds for some of its own impending free agents and bring back most of last season’s roster that finished just three wins short of an NBA championship.
Miami’s own impending free agents include Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Kevin Love, Omer Yurtseven and Cody Zeller. The Heat has until June 29 to extend a $2.3 million qualifying offer to Yurtseven to make him a restricted free agent and retain the right to match outside offers to re-sign him, while Vincent, Strus, Love and Zeller will be unrestricted free agents.
The Heat holds full Bird rights for Strus, Vincent and Yurtseven, so it can exceed the salary cap to re-sign them up to their maximum salary despite not having cap space.
The Heat does not hold any form of Bird rights for Love and Zeller. That means Miami is limited to either the non-Bird exception or a minimum contract to re-sign them this summer.
Free agent negotiations across the NBA can begin on June 30 at 6 p.m, with free-agent signings permitted to start on July 6 at noon.
