The Miami Heat are an unrelenting force. Fueled by their underdog heroics in the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Heat are now determined to add the final piece to their roster that will put them over the top. It’s truly a simple analogy, Miami was able to make it to the NBA finals starting as the eighth seed and even losing their best guard in the first round.
The Heat made their mind-blowing run thanks to the solid construction of their rotation as well as their X-Factor, which was undrafted players stepping up into the star’s role in crucial moments.
Miami has made it no secret that they are pursuing Damian Lillard. However, credit where credit is due, they’ve gone about it in a very sensible and systematic way.
This of course made possible only because Dame wants to go to the Heat and nowhere else, but unlike the Minnesota Timberwolves, who sacrificed the future of their franchise for an underperforming so-called star in Rudy Gobert, the Heat have no intention of making the same mistake.
The Miami Heat are ready to part with Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. for Damian Lillard
Every report that came out before today concerning Miami’s potential trade package for Damian Lillard had only one piece that was confirmed and that was Tyler Herro. the 23-year-old shooting guard was the only set-in-stone asset Miami had declared.
As stated before, they are trying to pull off the deal while giving up a minimal amount of their young athletes. That’s why it comes as a surprise now that the Heat has put Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. on the trade block as well.
“Miami could offer Herro, Jovic, Jaquez & up to 3 unprotected firsts. That’s a better offer than it’s been made out to be, assuming POR can spin Herro into at least 1 good first-rounder. Unprotected Heat picks in ‘28 & ‘30 could be valuable given Dame & Jimmy’s age” @ZachLowe_NBA https://t.co/1UOElEnbHS pic.twitter.com/Wy8YS51UyK
— Dru (@dru_star) July 12, 2023
Jovic only played in 15 games for the Miami Heat during the 2022-2023 season, but when he played he showed great promise averaging almost 6 points and 2 rebounds. It seems flawed for them to put him up for trade considering that barring Bam Adebayo they do not have many great players at the 4 spots.
As for Jaime Jaquez Jr., he was the Heat’s 18th pick and the only rookie in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft. Although we haven’t commenced the regular season, Jaquez Jr. has looked really good in Summer League, even scoring 22 points straight in his opener game.
At this point, it seems that Tyler Herro will definitely be on the move if the Dame deal ever comes to fruition, but on the off chance it doesn’t, one can only wonder if the Miami Heat has ruined their relationship with one of their only young stars.