Depending on what the Miami Heat’s roster looks like, they could have a hard time finding regular playing time for Jaime Jaquez Jr. next season.
That’s because after the Jimmy Butler trade, the Heat added two forwards to the rotation who competed with Jaquez for playing time. This wasn’t much of a concern, considering Jaquez’s second-year struggles.
But the Heat are hoping that Jaquez can bounce back in his third year and make an impact similar to his first season when he was named to the All-Rookie first team.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. will be battling for playing time.
Scanning the players under contract for the Heat next season, Jaquez could be competing with Andrew Wiggins, Haywood Highsmith, Kyle Anderson, Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson for minutes.
And given that Miami seems committed to starting games with two bigs, and with Bam Adebayo at power forward, there may be fewer of those minutes to go around.
Jaquez averaged 8.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 66 games last season. Hit shooting percentages slid to 46% overall (down from 49% as a rookie) and 31% on 3-pointers (down from 32%).
Opponents were ready for his low-post moves in a way that they weren’t in his rookie season, and he had a hard time countering without a reliable outside jumper. Early-season injuries also slowed his momentum.
The Heat had hoped Jaquez would emerge as a core rotation piece but, by the end of the season, he was playing only sparingly. He had three DNP-CDs in the final six games of the season and logged only garbage time in Miami’s first-round loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, Wiggins is penciled in as a starter and Jovic and Larsson showed enough late in the season to earn a look at rotation minutes. Highsmith and Anderson are reliable vets who help connect lineups. Highsmith’s 3-and-D ability makes him an especially easy fit in most lineups, and Anderson’s passing and sturdy defense make him a trusted option off the bench.
Things can change this summer. The Heat are expected to be aggressive in looking for trades and it’s possible that players ahead of Jaquez – or even Jaquez himself – could be involved in an offseason deal.
But if Jaquez is on the roster next season, all of this adds up to him needing to earn his playing time.