The Miami Heat front office hasn’t been perfect. I’d argue that no NBA front office is perfect, even though there are a few that are clearly better than others.
None of those are the Heat (unfortunately). But if there’s one thing they have consistently succeeded at, it’s drafting. Not all of them have been hits, but since they selected Bam Adebayo No. 14 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, a few notable names they’ve drafted Tyler Herro (No. 13), Nikola Jovic (27), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (18), Kel’el Ware (15), Pelle Larsson (44) and, most recently, Kasparas Jakucionis (20).
Not all of them have been “steals” or the best rookies in their respective classes, but they’ve done an amicable job finding good talent outside of the top-13 — which isn’t always easy to do, depending on the year.
And according to a couple of anonymous evaluators in NBA circles, the Miami Heat may have gotten away with another.
2 NBA executives, scouts say Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis will be steal of 2025 NBA Draft:
Recently, ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jeremy Woo surveyed 20 anonymous executives and scouts, and two believe that Kasparas Jakucionis will be the steal of the draft. The only two players who had more votes were San Antonio’s Carter Bryant and Minnesota’s Joan Beringer, who had five and four votes, respectively.
Others who received votes were Atlanta’s Asa Newell, Brooklyn’s Danny Wolf, Utah’s Walter Clayton Jr. and Toronto’s Collin Murray-Boyles, among others.
Woo asked those scouts a handful of questions, including which player will win Rookie of the Year, which rookie will be the best pick outside of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg and which player will be the top overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Jakucionis, 19, averaged 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in six Summer League games with the Heat, including 15.0 points and 3.0 assists on 44.8/35.3/100 shooting splits in Las Vegas, Nev.
It typically takes at least 3-4 years to not only evaluate how good a player’s prospects are, but also how good their respective draft class is, too. Growth isn’t always linear, and not every player is put in the right situation to properly grow.
However, it’s encouraging to see this. Jakucionis was the No. 7 player on my board at the time of the draft, so I think there’s some merit to this. I thought it was a home run at the time, and even after his uneven SL, I’m quite high on it. Although I’m not very smart — or at least as smart as these evaluators who do this for a living.
We saw the flashes of the playmaking, shotmaking and point-of-attack defense, but it remains to be seen how much Jakucionis will be involved as a rookie — if at all.
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Jp played only 1 year in college also he is a international player and only 19 year old give the kid a brake. What are You thinking every player needs time and also you dont know if spo is even going to playe him in regular season. Remenber Niko was also 19y when the heat took him.
Kaspar is, at best, a project. And when they drafted him it didn’t seem like they were talking about him that way. Why draft someone who is three to four years away from contributing? It’s like picking a baseball player out of high school, not college. They do that in baseball, not basketball, because a stint in the minors allows you to polish your game as baseball players almost never reach their full potential without going thru that process. In basketball, true talent is often much closer to ready to go. Only the marginal need to emerge from the GLeague, and their ceilings aren’t as high.
This is the year that Jovic and JJJ will finally be evaluated as to whether they can become starters or rotational guys, or less. I would prefer not to have the three to four year wait. We always discuss the players who were available around Jovic and JJJ. RC does a great job pointing out those players. The consensus has always been there were no better choices. I always thought in both of those years there was one better choice, but it was close as noone truly emerged around that draft position. But, this year, I think time will not look kindly on the KJ pick. We shall see and I am rooting for Kaspar. But, I also try to keep it real here.
i would keep an eye on luca.he has till aug 2 i believe to sign his extension.lebrons about done the cuppard is bare up there.i hear he likes miami alot he sees goran really liked miami and jovic is down here.
That’s would be amazing, but hard to imagine. I do predict that if LA enters the season unchanged from today, they are looking like a play in team.
Lets see last year rookies a year later.
1. Hawks draft Zaccharie Risacher (JL Bourg-en-Bresse)
2. Wizards draft Alex Sarr (Perth)
3. Rockets draft Reed Sheppard (Kentucky)
4. Spurs draft Stephon Castle (Connecticut)
5. Pistons draft Ron Holland II (G League Ignite)
6. Hornets draft Tidjane Salaun (Cholet Basket)
7. Trail Blazers draft Donovan Clingan (Connecticut)
8. Spurs draft Rob Dillingham (Kentucky) — Traded to Timberwolves
9. Grizzlies draft Zach Edey (Purdue)
10. Jazz draft Cody Williams (Colorado)
11. Bulls draft Matas Buzelis (G League Ignite)
12. Thunder draft Nikola Topic (KK Crvena Zvezda)
13. Kings draft Devin Carter (Providence)
14. Trail Blazers draft Bub Carrington (Pittsburgh) — Traded to Wizards
15. Heat draft Kel’el Ware (Indiana)
16. 76ers draft Jared McCain (Duke)
17. Lakers draft Dalton Knecht (Tennessee)
18. Magic draft Tristan da Silva (Colorado)
19. Raptors draft Ja’Kobe Walter (Baylor)
20. Cavaliers draft Jaylon Tyson (Cal)
21. Pelicans draft Yves Missi (Baylor)
Do you see any of those players an all star material?
I dont, but there will be 2 or 3 from this class just because of the laws of probability.
From this group, Castle, Buzelis, Topic and McCain has chance in 3-4 from now.
I think its fair to say all players from this group are projects.
bad year to have high pick.none of those players are franchise type players
1. Spurs draft Victor Wembanyama (Metropolitans 92)
2. Hornets draft Brandon Miller (Alabama)
3. Blazers draft Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite)
4. Rockets draft Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite)
5. Pistons draft Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite)
6. Magic draft Anthony Black (Arkansas)
7. Pacers draft Bilal Coulibaly (Metropolitans 92) – Traded to Wizards
8. Wizards draft Jarace Walker (Houston) – Traded to Pacers
9. Jazz draft Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
10. Mavericks draft Cason Wallace (Kentucky) – Traded to Thunder
11. Magic draft Jett Howard (Michigan)
12. Thunder draft Dereck Lively II (Duke) – Traded to Mavericks
13. Raptors draft Gradey Dick (Kansas)
14. Pelicans draft Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut)
15. Hawks draft Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)
16. Jazz draft Keyonte George (Baylor)
17. Lakers draft Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
18. Heat draft Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
19. Warriors draft Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
20. Rockets draft Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
Two years from now?
Wemby was out. From the rest, no all stars either. Around 10 useful players. Wemby and Miller could be all stars, from the rest????
I wont list 3 years from now, where there are 2-3 already stars, and about 20 useful players, among them Nico, which is not the worst of them.
So, I think , if KJ can be a rotation player for 10-15 min from the bench in the first year, an 6-8 player from the bench in year two and a starter in the year three, its a complete win for the Heat.
He will be better then majority of his class, behind maybe 5 guys.
That #15 pick turned out to one of the best, if not the best, of that class. From the management team and GM that suck. 🙄
I didnt put no 15 as a candidate for an all star. Not because of him, but because of the type of player he is. Such players rarely win awards.
Good point on the last line. Really, even most soon to be great players are far from the player they become for the first year. But, the future really good player does start to improve quite often in year two.
Maybe Castle at San Antonio might become a pretty good player.
It’s important to remember that a “two-to-three-year development window” is a general guideline. Some players mature faster (like LeBron James who was productive from day one), while others take longer to reach their peak. Danny Green, Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and others spent time in the G League before becoming consistent contributors. Manu Ginobili and others were drafted but spent time developing in Europe. Jermaine O’Neal, Amir Johnson, Tracy McGrady and Jalen Johnson took time to develop their skills and bodies before reaching their full potentials. Let’s give the kid a year in G League and resume this conversation during training camp 2026. I agree that this is the year for Jovic, Jaquez, Johnson and Larsson to produce or be traded or allowed to let their contracts to expire. The last 3 were drafted after several years of college and are much older than KP.
need a real quick pk aka timmy to beak down a defense dont think kaspar has that burst.hes built more like a 2 guard
Need a quality, pass first, ball distributor with a high IQ to make all the players around him better. Speed is important but it is not the only criteria. There are/have been several very good/great point guards who were not the most athletic players but were highly skilled.
Rosier has that burst… oh, wait….
Plus an extremely high IQ.
kawhi and quitter best examples of late bloomers.but for the most part ss show out immediately
You don’t expect a ss at #20. However, a very good PG who makes his teammates better and is occasionally selected as an all-star once in a while would be great.
I feel this is… very harsh when talking about someone who hasn’t even been to training camp yet. I’m not saying that Kasparas is going to be the next Dwyane Wade, but even the 1992 Dream Team lost to a bunch of college guys before they figured out how to form a sense of group cohesion. Maybe let him play one single NBA game before “trying to keep it real?”
Haha, agree!
What I did say is he is young and appears to be a project. I am far from the only person who said that. Only two in twenty executives and scouts chose KJ as the steal of the draft. But, there have been several other recent articles where he was described as a project. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a chance. What it does likely mean is he won’t be helping us much this year. I prefer drafting a player like Kel ‘el, who helped us a lot in his rookie season, even if he hasn’t reached his full potential. It’s not my choice to make, but I wouldn’t have drafted a youngster, not at this time with this teams current needs.
Of those 20 executives, Kaspar came out third best out of, technically, 59 players. Like the story of the 3 blind men describing an elephant. Same animal, 3 different opinions.
Kaspar is, at best, a project.
I see him as a project, at worst. His ceiling is Josh Giddey or higher. After FIBA and training camp, we should start to see improvements in his play.
Here he is again to counter. “Kaspar is, at best, a project.” Why not Kaspar is, at best, our long term starting pg? And no way do I believe it will take 3-4 years to be a contributor to the team. Please remember, he was the #20 pick, even if some thought he would go higher. So, let’s look at #20 picks over the past 9 years with their first season ppg in parentheses.
2016 – LeVert (8.2)
2017 – Giles iii (7.0)
2018 – Okokie (7.7)
2019 – Thybulle (4.7)
2020 – Achiuwa (5.0)
2021 – J Johnson (2.4)
2022 – Branham (10.0 But down to 5.0 last season)
2023 – Whitmore (12.3)
2024 – J Tyson (3.6)
My point is that we must have realistic expectations of a player chosen 20. A player in this range could develop into a starter or could be out of the league in several years. You don’t know until you know.
First off, do you really think Kaspar will be our long term point guard, even best case scenario?
And, I don’t mind the slings and arrows I am receiving. It’s the price I’m willing to pay. I told you I was going to take a more critical stance. I definitely feel like some of the optimism around here needs tempering, you need me and a few others to provide a more jaundiced eye, and I will continue to do so. This kind of response just comes with the territory and I understand. I still like you guys, just stating my POV, and very much, keeping it real.
Dude, I respect your opinion. However, I hope you aren’t as negative about other things in your life. I would prefer to let the players demonstrate if they are good enough rather than pre-judging them. People are paid big bucks to scout these players, so I trust their opinions more than most other folks. I don’t think he was projected to be a rotation player in his first year, even by the most optimistic of us.
This is part of a pre-draft profile I read about him.
“Jakucionis had the potential of being a top 10 draft pick, but landed at 20 with the Miami Heat. In a way, they got a steal, and will now look to develop the young guard into a rotational player.
Fans should expect Jakucionis to take some time before he hits or even reveals his true potential. With a rotation of guards featuring Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell and Terry Rozier, Jakucionis doesn’t need to be rushed into the lineup.”
I promise I’m not that negative in my other parts of my life. Hard to be objective, but I think those around me would say I’m sparing in my criticism. It seldom helps anything.
I am on other sports blogs and do mostly cheering on the Panthers and I am very excited about the Marlins. They are 13 games over .500 since mid June. Baseball is not an even playing field and they are doing better than teams that spent four times what the Marlins do. The GM, Peter Bendix, is probably some kind of a genius, just like the Panthers Bill Zito.
OTOH, I just see these missteps with the Heat, and also some good moves too. If you really observe my posts, I was quite complimentary about the PowellI trade, and the drafting of Kel’el. I love Bam, and stuck up for Ty when some put too much blame on him when in my opinion he was asked to do too much. I expressed strong appreciation for Mitchell’s game when we acquired him. I also pleaded patience with Wiggins as he is still a fine player capable of contributing a lot.
It’s some of the draft picks that stick in my craw. Drafting in the teens or at twenty is difficult but it’s also the life blood of the team and you have to limit your chances of missing as much as possible.
I am just as hopeful as you guys and maybe want to win as much if not more than anyone.
I understand. No harm…no foul. I agree with you on the players you mentioned. Until proven otherwise, I think Miami could have done better than Jovic and Jaquez, but it is what it is. Both could have rebound seasons and prove me wrong. They need to kick it up a notch or two. If not, they both should be gone by the trade deadline. I think it is too early to tell about Larsson and Jakucionis. I’m interested in seeing their developments this season.
There was no negativity towards you or in general in my comment. I just gave an opinion and a factual list of apples to apples comparisons. And, yes, I do think it’s possible, but it’s way too early to assume anything. So far, I see a guy who gives great effort, has good size, is a little better on defense than I expected, has been erratic with his shooting, and has had far too many careless turnovers.
I know RC. You try to make your points with statistics to back them up. It’s the right way to do it.
But, when do we evaluate a draft pick and be honest that that one didn’t work out? Is it when we trade off a Justice, or a Precious. Or do we just hang onto guys, sometimes because they are difficult to move. The truth comes out, in three years generally and four years at the most, and that should be all you get before you can’t bank on the upside or future potential anymore. This will be a year of reckoning for some of our picks.
Happens a lot around here…..you give your opinion and are bashed for it, brings up other players etc etc. just like hfl said ss show potential early, vj Flagg tre all flashed ss number 1 type potential. But as I’ve said before Mia picks in the purgatory spots teens/twenties every year complimentary player picks from bam Tyler jjj jovic etc etc.
Also I think ware is stigmatized for “not giving his all” but it’s because he’s used to the vj flaggs tre aces Dylan’s of the world instead he’s played with complimentary players since Indiana (convo for another time)
He isn’t stigmatized for not giving his all. He has a history of not giving 100%. That’s the reason other teams passed on him earlier in the draft and why Miami took a risk when the drafted him. Spo had to call him out on his lack of effort in the California Summer League. He took it to heart and did much better after that.
Spo, UD, Zo and the rest of the coaches/consultants need to teach him about professionalism and hard work. Just as Butler did with Herro when he was first drafted, I was pleased to see Herro recently working with Ware 1:1 on his own time. If some of the Heat work ethic can rub off on him, I think he will reach his full potential and the team will be in good shape for several years.
Nothing wrong with giving opinions of any kind, as long are giving in respectful form.
About Ware, I think he is at crossroads. There is serious danger, to turn into Whiteside. So I believe this is exactly the right time to be tough on him.
Thanks for chiming in. Your opinions are quite valuable. Previous attempts to portray you as a troll were misgiven. I am glad to hear your ideas. All we can do is try to make our points and give our reasons for what we think. The response isn’t that important. Naturally, you want people to agree with you, but they have every right not to. And some of the posters will pile on occasionally when you go against the grain. HFL handles it beautifully. He shrugs it off and just comes back for more. I am learning to do that too.
Many times, it isn’t what you say…but how you say it. Debate is a constructive process. However, I take offense when someone comments about me and my opinions in ways that are disrespectful. I’m as good as the next guy at dishing it out when it’s called for. H4L and I have come to an understanding although it was a little rough at the beginning. Same with H4L and RC. We all realize there is no need to push buttons in order to support our views, if we don’t need to.
My ex-wife and I frequently argued. Most of the time, although she may have been right, I wasn’t responding the way she wanted because she was being disrespectful, yelling or not listening to the logic regarding my points of view. As a result, the arguments grew more frequent and more intense. We both stopped listening. Instead, our marriage was reduced to throwing vicious, hateful, angry darts that did nothing to resolve our differences. That ended when I walked out. I am happily re-married and she has never re-married and is more miserable than ever.
To paraphrase Richard Pryor: “I don’t mind you kicking my ass, but you don’t gotta be yelling at me too.”
We are all adults here and have a right to our own opinions. Sometimes we are right and sometimes we are wrong. This is America. For the time being anyway, we still have freedom of speech.
Again, I don’t mind different opinions, as long as they are presented in a respectful manner. Even better if they are supported by facts and logic. What I don’t respond well to is disrespect.
Maybe if all of us try to stick to the facts as we know them and our opinions as we see them, without throwing darts, we can make our experiences much less confrontational and much more enjoyable.
GO HEAT!!!
I had that Richard Pryor album! And a similar first wife. Going on twenty years this year with my second.
It will be interesting to see who has a better career, Jakucionis or Topic of OKC. Both have high ceilings.
I believe he has that potential. But it will take a lot of time. We will have to be patient with him.
Like we had to be with Niko. I hope he will have a breakout season now. It would really help us.
pat riley and spo?
We hope. Time will tell.
Its too early to see, but those GMs can be right.