The Miami Heat don't just have to make a huge decision regarding the future of Tyler Herro over the next six weeks, but they'll also have to make one regarding Nikola Jovic. While the verdict may still be out on Herro, it's pretty obvious that the Heat must follow one specific path toward a Jovic contract extension before the start of this season.
It's the same, or a very similar, blueprint that was laid out by the Golden State Warriors and Moses Moody most recently.
Last October, the Warriors signed Moody to a three-year, $39 million extension. Should the Heat take the Warriors' lead and sign Jovic to a similar deal, this is one of those moves that could end up being remembered as a huge steal.
The Heat should follow the Warriors' blueprint
Jovic finds himself in a similar situation to Moody last summer. The hope was that Moody was going to take another leap in his individual game, and the Warriors believed so much in that, they wanted to lock him up before forcing him into a contract season.
That's exactly what they managed to do with the team-friendly extension. The Heat should feel the same about Jovic.
Even though Moody didn't make the significant developmental jump that perhaps the Warriors had hoped for, he had improved. And the extension looks pretty on par. Miami, at the very least, could be looking at that same result.
In a perfect world, Jovic makes a bigger leap in his development, which his showing in the EuroBasket Tournament may suggest, and the Heat would then be sitting on one of the best valued contracts in the league.
Will Nikola Jovic play ball with the Heat?
Especially with the momentum that he's built this offseason, the big question is whether Jovic would be willing to play ball with the Heat on a contract extension now. There's a risk that could be taken if Jovic isn't open to an extension, but it's hard to tell one way or another how his camp may be leaning.
For the Heat, this decision is probably a no-brainer. Perhaps the big holdup might come from Jovic himself.
If he desires to bet on himself this season, and he does take that big leap in his development that some believe is coming this year, he could make a lot more money than what the Heat may be willing to offer now.
Then again, if he suffers an injury or doesn't take that big developmental jump in his game, he could be costing himself his first big payday in the NBA.
It'll be interesting to see it all play out over the next few weeks, but it's clear that the Heat needs to push hard to try and get something done with Jovic. If not, it could not only cost them a lot more money, but it could ultimately come at the expense of Jovic himself.