LAS VEGAS — With the absence of positive headlines coming out of Miami this offseason, Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s participation at Las Vegas Summer League was more than just a pleasant surprise for the fan base. It was a shot of optimism the Heat organization has needed for months.
While most of the recent attention on the team has focused on its hesitation to give Jimmy Butler an extension and its lack of moves in free agency, Jaquez showed off the fruits of the quiet work he’s been putting in before a crucial second season.
After bursting onto the scene in 2023-24, the No. 18 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft was invited to participate in Team USA’s Olympic training camp earlier this month as a member of the select team. But when Miami announced that Jaquez, 23, would be staying in Las Vegas to play in the team’s first two summer-league games, many were confused. What did the second-year forward have left to prove in an environment largely designed for rookies and unheralded prospects hoping to get noticed?
His reasoning was simple.
“There’s nothing better than getting game reps. You can’t beat it,” Jaquez said. “All the work that you do in the gym, it doesn’t matter if you can’t translate it to the game. To be able to come out here and compete in Team USA, those are game reps. Here (at summer league), those are game reps. I was happy and grateful to be able to do it.”
Jaquez exceeded every expectation in those two summer-league outings, averaging 26 points and eight rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3 and 81 percent from the free-throw line.
Beyond the numbers, Jaquez’s increased comfort as a three-level scorer and shot creator in half-court sets shined through. His adaptability and well-rounded skill set turned him into a player the Heat relied on much more than expected during his rookie season. This summer, Jaquez is less focused on showing off his versatility and more on improving specific elements to his game that will be essential to his continued development as an additional team pillar alongside Butler and Bam Adeabyo.
“I wanted to work on my game and certain things outside of basketball that still translate, like leadership, being vocal on (offense and defense) and in huddles,” Jaquez said. ‘That’s what I came here to work on.”
One tangible aspect of Jaquez’s game that must improve next season is his ability to consistently knock down open perimeter shots. As a rookie, Jaquez made a lowly 32.2 percent of his 3s. By the end of the year, his discomfort at making teams pay when they left him alone was evident. The Heat need him to become a more reliable floor spacer as his time next to Butler and Adebayo increases.
Jaquez has spent much of his offseason working with Heat assistant Eric Glass to get shots up daily — and sometimes even twice a day. Their focus is on Jaquez becoming more consistent with the use of his legs and hand placement on 3s. His shooting touch is evident when operating in the midrange areas. It’s just a matter of developing the same level of comfort in his fundamentals behind the arc.
Jaquez shot 0 of 2 from 3 in an otherwise spectacular performance in Miami’s win Saturday over Boston but bounced back Monday against Oklahoma City, going 3-of-5 from deep. The second showing was significant considering he only made three or more 3s four times his entire rookie season.
The most encouraging part for the Heat was how much Jaquez hunted those shots from deep. Whenever OKC went under screens and dared him to shoot, he’d get to his spot and let it fly.
The more teams respect Jaquez’s 3-ball, the more he can use his rare combination of strength and balance to attack closeouts and create shots around the rim.
“He’s obsessive with his craft and with his detail. That was one thing — one point of emphasis — that he really wanted to try and improve on this summer,” Heat Summer League head coach Dan Bisaccio said of Jaquez’s shooting. “I’m really happy to see it progress like that. … I think the variety of his shots was something we were really excited about.”
It was also fascinating to see Jaquez operate more frequently as the lead ballhandler in his two summer-league appearances. Per NBA.com, Jaquez finished with the fifth-most pick-and-roll possessions on the Heat last season, a number that will almost certainly increase as his role grows and his decision-making matures. Jaquez has shown the vision necessary to make the right pick-and-roll reads when the game slows down. He just needs more reps in that role to to fine-tune the mistakes primary ballhandlers often experience early in their careers.
Jaquez got many chances to operate with the ball in his hands in Vegas and consistently allowed plays to develop, making the right decisions instead of forcing the action. This pass did not result in an assist, but it came at the ideal time to maximize the opening.
“We knew when he came in that he was a great scorer. … We wanted to continue to advance those reads,” Bosaccio said. “So, when he’s coming off a pick-and-roll, obviously you have the attack. He did a great job with that. But the next layer is can you read the coverage. … He did great with it.”
As Jaquez enters his second season, he will face increase pressure to show considerable growth to make up for the lack of additions to a roster that’s looked stale at times due to mounting injuries, age and limited salary-cap flexibility. The more comfort Jaquez shows operating on the ball, the more pressure he can take off players like Butler, Adebayo, Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro to create for others this season.
At the same time, Jaquez is the key piece of a young core — one that includes Herro, Nikola Jović and 2024 first-round pick Kel’el Ware — that must enable the Heat to build depth in the present and provide a sustainable foundation for the future. Along with Adebayo, Jaquez is the face of the Heat’s next era, partially because he performed so well in the many moments Butler was absent last season.
That’s the beauty of Jaquez’s game. He can fill in whatever gap the coaching staff asks him to handle and adjust his game to whatever environment he’s thrown into. After his impressive play in Las Vegas this past week, his hype train is picking up steam once again.
The more Jaquez grows each phase of his game, the more options the Heat have when making decisions about their present and future — with or without Butler.
(Top photo: David Dow / NBAE via Getty Images)
