UCLA Basketball: Pundit Predicts Rookie Season Roster Role For Jaime Jaquez

He believes he could take on some huge responsibilities right away!

The Miami Heat took a shot on former UCLA Bruins star Jaime Jaquez when their own number 18 pick rolled around and he immediately showed flashes of his potential during his lone, full summer league game with the squad. He was able to get rolling right away against the Los Angeles Lakers and dropped 22 points to go with a huge slam dunk over Colin Castleton to welcome himself to the NBA world.

Therefore, the question now becomes: What type of role will Jaquez play with the Heat this season on the official roster? They are coming off of a Finals appearance and historic playoff run as an eighth seed and Jaquez is not your typical rookie... he has four years of college basketball under his belt and will enter his first seasons more experienced than most.

Superstar Damian Lillard continues to push for a trade to Miami and assuming that Jaquez is not a part of that potential deal, he'll be able to fight for a legit role right away when training camp rolls around. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman believes that he could even push for a starting role if the dominos fall correctly.

"He could even compete for a starting job, particularly if Miami winds up trading Tyler Herro in a Damian Lillard deal and Jimmy Butler slides to the 2.Shooting threes at a respectable rate should give Jaquez the best shot to start at one of the forward spots. He looked noticeably comfortable in limited summer-league action, making four of his first nine attempts."

"Regardless, Jaquez's physicality, touch and basketball IQ will show and translate first. Though he's a useful cutter off the ball, Miami should be able to use him as a jumbo ball-handler who can attack and finish through contact or make live-dribble passes.He may have trouble guarding some quicker wings, but head coach Erik Spoelstra figures to admire Jaquez's defensive competitiveness and his potential to body up with NBA 4s."

(Via Bleacher Report)

Let's see how Jaquez can fare in his first official season!