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Can Jaquez run Miami’s offense next season?
The first round of the NBA Draft has not disappointed the Miami Heat in the past six years.
Unless you’re talking about Toronto Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa, who was drafted in
2020 by Miami as the 20th overall pick, the Heat have used the first round as building blocks
toward future ring seasons.
Picks such as Tyler Herro (2019) and Bam Adebayo (2017) have created a tendency for many
fans to always believe the ‘zombie’ Heat will resurrect behind superstar Jimmy Butler by playoff
time. The combination of developing stars, undrafted grinders and Butler have appeared in two
of the last four NBA Finals.
However, it’s hard to add more to a team that wants to change so little. So how does Heat
first-round selection rookie forward Jamie Jaquez Jr. fit in all of this?
As the 18th overall selection in this year's draft, the former UCLA point-forward was selected
higher than a majority of experts believed. Some even projected Jaquez to be a second-round
pick. But his fit in Miami is too hard to miss.
Jaquez started 126 out of 134 games played in his four seasons at UCLA and was named 2023
Pacific Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Despite the honors, the 6-foot-7-inch wing never
collected any hardware for the Bruins last season as they lost to Arizona in the Pac-12
Championship 61-59 Mar. 11 and fell in the Sweet 16 to Gonzaga, 79-76, Mar. 23 in the NCAA
Tournament.
Jaquez’s overall game improved throughout his career. His ability to score contested shots in
the interior while also shooting 32.8% from 3-point range gave him the opportunity to be a huge
usage guy for UCLA.
What’s most impressive to me, however, is what he can do as a ball handler. Fadeaway J’s,
size-ups and almost every move in the book are used by the 225 pound forward to score
against the best talent Division I men’s basketball has to offer.
This also includes a quick first step when taking defenders inside to the basket. Unfortunately
Jaquez doesn’t have the bounce to rival NBA forwards at the rim, but his current offensive skill
set will be enough to get by players in the league.
Of course Jaquez is human. There are still questions of if he’ll be able to stick with opponents
defensively in the NBA.
The jump statistically is noticeable as well. Compared to the California natives freshman year,
where he started 23 of 31 games played and averaged 8.9 points per game, Jaquez’s offensive
stock skyrocketed to not only a double-digit scorer, but a league defining one.
The wing averaged 17.8 points and 2.4 assists per game -- all career-high numbers. Jaquez
finished his UCLA career ranked No. 8 in the program's all-time scoring (1,802) and steals (178)
list. He scored 94 double digit games throughout his career.
Jaquez could have the opportunity to run the ball in his first season in the NBA on the Heat’s
current roster. The point guard position is a wide open contest with Kyle Lowery going into his
last contract year with the team and Gabe Vincent still in need to negotiate a new contract to
return to Miami.
This wouldn’t be the first time that the Heat have run with a forward orchestrating the offense.
Butler has done this in recent years and we’ve seen former 6-foot-6-inch Miami forward Justise
Winslow run point as well during his tenure on Biscayne Boulevard.
There’s also the elephant in the room surrounding this offseason on All-Star guard Damian
Lillard’s decision to either stay with the Portland Trail Blazers or move on to his rumored desired
trade destinations: the Heat or the Brooklyn Nets.
Either way, one thing is for certain, Jaquez can handle the ball if needed. That unfortunately
doesn’t mean that he is guaranteed to become a starter off the jump however.
Jaquez will need to learn the offense fast and prove he’s worthy to be given starting minutes to
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. A feat hard enough for even Herro to obtain despite his rise in
production throughout his career.
Jaquez will most likely come off the bench and gradually add more minutes as the 2023-2024
season goes. This may change if he truly shines near Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada,
during the NBA Summer League July 7-17.
Heat fans can get a glimpse of Jaquez before the Summer League July 3 at 6 p.m. as Miami
faces the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of the California Classic at Golden 1 Center in
Sacramento, California. The game will broadcast on ESPN2.
Written by: Brandon Hernandez
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