Gilbert Arenas Applauds Miami Heat's "Old-School" Scouting Approach

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas thinks the Miami Heat have found hidden gems like Jaime Jaquez because of scouting players in person

The Miami Heat found hidden-gem success in the draft with Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez. 

It's also happened outside of the draft with Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith and Orlando Robinson. The Heat either have a keen eye for talent or just gotten lucky. 

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas thinks he has the answer. 

On a recent episode of his podcast, Arenas said the difference between the Heat and other organizations is their "old-school" approach to scouting. 

"The key is they going to (expletive) games watching the players," Arenas said. "They're looking real-time. They're looking at the players, watching how they actually play the game. They're doing it old-school. (Expletive) all this new technology everybody going by. They don't want the nerds' information. They want their own information ... That's why they never fucking miss out on their draft picks because they're watching their draft picks." 

Jaquez and Jovic are the latest of the Heat's uncovered stars. Jaquez is arguably the league's third-best rookie behind Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) and Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder) while Jovic is a key contributor in just his second season. Both players were late first-round draft picks in 2023 and 2022, meeting more than expectations. 

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat, a Fan Nation channel for Sports Illustrated. He has covered the NBA since 2010.

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