The Miami Heat made it quite clear that they're still (unsurprisingly) committed to both Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel'el Ware. The Heat officially picked up their fourth and third-year team options, respectively, with the start of training camp on the horizon.
Of course, neither of these decisions should come as a huge surprise. Ware is coming off a truly strong rookie season and continued to show impressive signs of development during the summer. Much will be expected from Ware as he prepares for his sophomore season, in which he'll almost certainly begin the season as the full-time starting center for the Heat.
On the other hand, even though Jaquez Jr. had somewhat of a sophomore slump, the hope is that he'll still be able to bounce back in his own right. He had a strong rookie season and battled through some injuries during year 2.
It remains to be seen if he can rebound to the place he was at his peak during his rookie season, but it would be foolish for the Heat to throw in the towel on his potential this early in his development.
Jaquez Jr. and Ware could play key roles this season for the Heat
Interestingly enough, even though much of the Heat's attention heading into the start of the new season will revolve around Tyler Herro's health and Bam Adebayo, and perhaps even the new addition of Norman Powell, there's a scenario in which Jaquez Jr. and Ware play a huge role for the team this season.
In fact, I'd argue that if the Heat are going to be successful and if they're going to be somewhat of a surprise team in the Eastern Conference, they're almost certainly going to need huge contributions from both Jaquez Jr. and Ware.
Both players are not close to hitting their ceiling yet, and if they take another big step forward in their development this season, it will only raise the expectations for the Heat in a wounded Eastern Conference.
Jaquez Jr. would help give the Heat another quality wing player with playmaking ability, while Ware could emerge as that missing piece in the middle (next to Bam) that the team has been lacking since the derailment of Hassan Whiteside.
I wouldn't go all the way to say that the Heat's season is going to fall on the shoulders of Jaquez Jr. and Ware, but there is no question that they could emerge as key contributors by the end of the season.
And if they do, the Heat will certainly be in a much better place than they are now.