Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Exercise Team Rookie-Scale Options On Two Players

The Miami Heat on Thursday exercised the team rookie-scale options on Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez, Jr.

Scott Salomon

Apr 29, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) reaches for the ball in front of Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the first quarter of game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Laughlin-Imagn Images
Apr 29, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) reaches for the ball in front of Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the first quarter of game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Laughlin-Imagn Images / Michael Laughlin-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat exercised the team options on Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez, Jr. on Thursday afternoon.

The rookie-scale contracts have been picked up for a fourth-year for Jovic and a third year for Jaquez.

The moves were expected as rookie-scale options have to be exercised by Oct. 31. Both players are now under contract through the 2025-2026 season.

A Serbia native, Jovic was selected 27th in 20222. Jovic will earn $4.4 million for the 2025-2026 season. He will make $2.5 million this upcoming season. Jovic is a restricted free agent in 2026 with the right to negotiate an extension in the offseason.

In 46 regular season games, Jovic averaged 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and two assists in 19.5 minutes. He also won a bronze medal this summer at the Olympics in Paris as a member of the Serbian national team.

Jaquez is now guaranteed to earn $3.86 million in 2025-2026, which is his third season out of UCLA.

With the two team options being exercised, the Heat will have 11 players signed for the 2025-2026 season. Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, Kel'el Ware, Kevin Love, Pelle Larsson, Jaquez and Jovic.

NBA teams are limited to having a roster of 15 players with standard contracts.

The only players not under contract after the 2024-2025 season are Alec Burks, Thomas Bryant, Dru Smith and Josh Richardson.

The Heat also announced they will have training camp at the Bahia Mar in the Bahamas from Oct, 1 through Oct. 5.

Scott Salomon is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at sas@southfloridamedianetwork.com.

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Scott Salomon

SCOTT SALOMON

Scott Salomon joined FanNation on Sports Illustrated in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins channel. In June he joined Inside the Heat and Back in the Day NBA. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. Scott has covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services. Twitter: @ScottSalomonNFL