Should Miami Heat Prioritize Jaime Jaquez Jr. Or Nikola Jovic? NBA Scout Weighs In

Anthony Pasciolla | Jul 1, 2024

Apr 19, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) dunks the basketball against the Chicago Bulls in the fourth quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat are falling behind on the list of Eastern Conference contenders, begging the question of whether prioritizing their future is the best solution.

Co-stars Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are still youthful, but Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic highlight the Heat's young core at ages 23 and 21, respectively. Considering the Heat's crowded forward room, there may come a time when the front office is forced to choose between retaining Jaquez or Jovic.

An NBA scout recently gave his thoughts on both players.

"I love Jaime. I loved him in college. His upside is ridiculous, he could have left his freshman year and been a first-rounder," said an NBA scout who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I like that he stayed, just the toughness you've got to have to be in Heat Culture, that's a home run on both sides. Jovic, he's good, but he's got to be on the floor a lot. With what Jaime brings to the table for the Heat, if it ever came down to the Heat pick, I wouldn't be surprised if they picked Jaime. It's more of a trust factor, if anything."

As the scout pointed out, much of Jovic's productivity comes down to playing time. He contributes to the game in many ways, but some of them require serious minutes to show up strongly in the box score. Meanwhile, Jaquez proved in his rookie campaign how impactful he is regardless of his time spent on the court, averaging 11.9 points on 48.9 percent shooting in less than 30 minutes.

Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.

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