Rookie Fit Preview: Nikola Jovic Offers Versatile Skillset for Heat

Serbian rookie Nikola Jovic offers the Miami Heat a new skillset on the wing.

After another season of falling just short, the Miami Heat will look to finally get over the hump in the 2022-23 season.

With just one rookie taken in the 2022 NBA Draft, Nikola Jovic will have to scrap and fight to earn valuable minutes on a likely playoff bound Miami squad.

The Rookie Class

Nikola Jovic (Forward | No. 27 Overall)

At 6-foot-11, 223-pounds, Jovic offers a unique physical profile with a floor-spacing skillset, something that should aid Miami. Jovic will likely play a majority of his career on the wing, and will primarily function as a catch-and-shoot spacer who will strive to be a net-positive on defense.

Roles and Opportunities

As stated before, despite not being able to get over the NBA Finals hump as of late, Miami is still a talented team.

They have talent teeming across the board, but could use Jovic to bolster their wing depth with just superstar Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin as the only true wings on the team. Neither of which have a ton of length to go around.

As a plug-and-play shooter, Jovic could insert himself into a variety of lineups alongside guards like Tyler Herro and versatile center Bam Adebayo.

The problem lies within whether Jovic will remain efficient enough to stay on the floor early in his career.

Projections

Jovic had an extremely solid California Summer League. The youngster scored 11.3 points per game in three games, shooting 43 percent from the field and 42 percent from three on 4.7 attempts.

While not overwhelmingly positive numbers, for a player spending time on a brand new team in a brand new environment, he was pretty solid.

There’s a path whether Jovic can creep into valuable minutes for Miami, but it will likely be a slow grind for the Serbian shooter.

Despite that, Jovic will likely fill an extremely valuable role for Miami for the foreseeable future.

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