The Miami Heat may have the right intentions to pivot toward a youth movement, but they don't have the right roster. Generally speaking, when teams embrace their young core, it's because it has the potential to be built around. With all due respect to Miami's young players, they may not have one foundational (young) piece currently on the roster.
And that brings up a huge issue that can't be ignored with their plan of embracing their young core.
That's not to say that the likes of Nikola Jovic, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson, Davion Mitchell, or Keshad Johnson can't develop into good players or important parts of the team's build, but they're also not considered "blue-chip" prospects by any means.
And that's a big problem for a Heat team that intends on focusing on the development of its young players this season. At least on paper, Miami doesn't have an elite young talent on its roster. And that could very well end up being the biggest reason why this approach ends up failing for Miami.
Why Kasparas Jakucionis could change everything for the Heat
Of course, despite all of that, if there's one player on the roster who could change everything for the Heat, it's Kasparas Jakucionis. Drafted with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Jakucionis has a higher ceiling than any other young player on the Heat's roster.
Even though it's not usual for a 20th pick to emerge as a foundational building block for an NBA team, Jakucionis could be the exception. He's a lottery talent that, for one reason or another, fell outside the lottery, and all the way to the Heat at No. 20. He's not a prototypical late first-round pick. That's why many anointed Jakucionis as the steal of the first round before he's even played a minute for the Heat.
There's no guarantee that he's going to evolve into a star player one day, but he's the one young player on the Heat's roster who has star potential. And maybe that's a big reason why the Heat are all of a sudden open to fully embracing the development of their young core.
Another problem with the Heat's desire to lean young moving forward is the presence of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo on the roster. Herro is 25 years old, and Bam is 28. If the Heat are indeed pivoting toward a young build, those two players don't necessarily fit. Realistically speaking, both of their situations might have to be revisited by the Heat.
If that's not the plan, the Heat isn't really pivoting toward a youth movement. And that's the biggest problem I have with Miami's front office.