Coming off the strongest season of his career, Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. has an opportunity to earn some hardware.
The third-year Heat wing was named a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year voting, the league announced Sunday evening. The other two nominees are Denver’s Tim Hardaway Jr. and San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson.
Jaquez, 25, had a very good bounce back season with Miami. He averaged 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, shooting 50.7 percent from the floor, 31.7 percent from 3-point range and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line. Additionally, he led all bench players in:
- Points per game
- Total points
- Assists per game
- Total assists
There is still room to grow for Jaime Jaquez Jr.:
From the very jump, Jaquez proved to be one of the Heat’s most consistent shot creators in their fast-paced, free-flowing offense. Jaquez excelled at getting downhill and playing off two feet, experiencing his most efficient season as a pro.
Though there’s still room for him to grow.
Jaquez must develop a consistent 3-point jumper. He ended the season on a high note, shooting 41.4 percent on 3.7 attempts over the Heat’s final 19 games. Stretching that efficiency over an 82-game sample is unrealistic for the 6-foot-7 wing. But if he’s able to knock down at least 35 or so percent of his attempts, his value raises exponentially.
Miami has plenty of questions to answer this offseason. Jaquez’s future is one of them; the former No. 18 overall pick is extension eligible, so it will be intereesting to see if the two sides can come to an agreement before next year, the final year of his rookie contract.
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Speaking of Jaquez. This is the year Miami decides if it wants to extend his contract (which expires at the end of next season). I hope Riley doesn’t intend to low ball him to offset last year’s decision to extend Jovic. If Jovic is worth 4 years/$62M for not doing jack, what should Jaquez get if he wins 6MOY or comes in second place?
P.S. Would Jaquez make a good starting point guard? I think he could be effective in the right environment. If he were to leave Miami, his new team might try him at PG.
offensively could be guarding a pg no way,i think dav is ok if hes aggressive offensively like the last game
What about as a playmaking SG? Mitchell, Jaquez, Larsson, Bam, Ware gap year line-up?
yes he needs 35 mins a game sg or sf good player on up and up ,clearly better offensively than pelle i believe
Wolves with the upset!
Knicks GM is great. Oh wait! Magic just overtook them and won. Great defense. Hawks GM must be great now.
And, just for the record, the last Knicks championship was 1973. The last Hawks championship was 1958 when someone was still pooping their diapers.
kuminga and cj two great draft picks by the hawks won them the game. lol.hawks just overtook them btw rc.great game from atl on brunson making it difficult on him.bridges getting killed by knicks fans.
hawks gm better than pat now now now key word.past is over rc future looks bleak here heat bro.no way around that .were stuck in the middle.look at the top teams playing were so below them.no parades at least 7 years ..maybe wemby will be breaking down antman to jokic will be done by then.tatum brown will beout of league by then ,brunson will be old by then.luka will be old to.
Sorry, I just can’t dwell on negatives. I will find something in every season to focus on and enjoy. This season it was Jaquez, Pelle, Ware when he was at his best, Kas as a 19 year old finding his way and shooting 3s at a nice clip. I hope to see more Gardner, Keshad, and maybe Jahmir in the future. I’m excited about adding draft picks and free agents or players through trades.
Knicks choked…ecf between Celts Cavs?
den okc two best teams in west spurs need another year or two
brunson 33rd pick
atl gonna beat ny what defense they played herros defense on brunson dam
Your negative fixation on Herro when our team is no longer playing seems obsessive. Let it go. Season is over. Let’s look forward to how this team can improve and be relevant again. There’s a pretty fair chance he will be gone. The mediocrity of the Heat was not due to any one player.
He needs to release it otherwise dude might breakdown. Peace hfl 😁😁😁
its ok i can still knock uncs d his defense is still playing.and it hasnt gotten any better lol
comedic relief rc .ty when healthy and fresh u know how the story goes
one person pat rc
hawks have no tyler herros .heat to white what can i say.hate to say it,
atl got some great defenders orlandos got some giants pat should be working on deals right now
Making deals for improving the team? Dude needs to gut the team and begin rebuilding it. But he won’t do it. He doesn’t want to go out with a losing/lottery team. He’ll sacrifice the future for a couple of years of marginal relevance.
Riley is the wrong GM at the wrong time with the wrong team. This is not the 1980’s Showtime, the 2000 Kobe Shaq Lakers or the 2012 Big 3 Heat. Miami has a good core of rotation players but needs to improve incrementally for the future through trades and draft picks.
he was the coach back then not the gm.every team has rotation players whooppee.every team doesnt have diff makers.bam is not a diff maker btw
mitch robinson 36th pick
knicks bench much improved gm did good work they can be in the finals very easily
wonder why kerr hated kuminga mans got skills
kat for randle divicenzo quickley barrett for aninoby pretty lateral trades but when u have a ss it doesnt matter he makes everybody better and the team better.brunson is such a dawg just plays with such force and will to win something ware needs a dose of
knicks gm went to work stole brunson from dallas traded for kat ob bridges .our gm nada .think jimmy was just as mad at pat for not getting him enough help as much as not getting paid.
You are the revisionist history guru. Brunson did not blossom into the player he is now until after he went to the Knicks. Their GM signed a player who had averaged about 12ppg in his 4 years with Dallas. His last year he was up to 16. He wasn’t a ss, he became a ss. Sometimes luck plays a part in sports and life.
thats exactly what we need a guy whos on the verge of becoming a ss my nominee is jalen green.its up to pat to find a guy thats just about to breakout.jimmy was nothing at beginning of career.believe kawhi the same.that okc roster those second team athletes id be looking out
atl orlando clearly better.charlotte same ,if u stay the same pat u get worse at least try to improve.if u fail so be it but make some moves old man
Big changes are needed, no doubt about it.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
~ Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher ~
If Miami goes into rebuild mode, it could be last in Southeast Division next year with a shot at top ranking 2027 lottery prospects.
Several players projected to be 2026 draft picks have decided to return to college and enter the 2027 draft and/or enter the transfer portal. Student-athletes can simultaneously enter the 2026 NBA Draft and the transfer portal. This allows them to explore professional opportunities while maintaining their college eligibility and options to move to a new school.
As a consequence, the 2027 class may be stronger than previously projected. It is to Miami’s advantage to use 2026-2027 as a time to clear the books and obtain all the young assets with potential and draft picks they it get.
Needless to say, the Heat would again be a lottery team, rather than a rudderless mediocre team with no clear path to relevance.
If Miami is a lottery team it will be able to keep its 2027 pick and instead send its 2028 pick to Charlotte as part of the Rozier trade. If the 2027 team finishes as a playoff team, the 2027 pick will go Charlotte.
Making the playoffs as a top 6 team is not the ultimate goal! It is to develop a team with the potential to win the NBA championship.
I would rather be overly optimistic than overly pessimistic. But I try to remain realistic. I don’t see them falling that far. I see a core of Bam, Ware, Jaquez, Pelle, Mitchell, Kas, Yaxel (or Philon, Steinbach, Cernac, Ament, Carr), Gardner, Keshad, and Henry Veesaar (or Ryan Conwell, Dash Daniels, or even a low risk high reward injured JT Toppin) being reasonably competitive, and certainly fun to watch. Plus we will probably need to add at least 2 other players.
I see it as potentially a good-very good defensive team and a mediocre/low scoring offensive team. With the potential loss of 3 of its top four scorers (Powell, Herro and Wiggins), the team would not be expected to be very competitive. Therefore, the season can best be used to continue developing the Heat’s current young players and any new players acquired via the draft and in trades. 2027 could also bring the team another lottery pick.
atl totally rebuilt team thru good trades and fa acquisitions there no 1 oick doesnt even play
Nobody said the system is perfect. But even though they put the team together in part with trades, look at who the starters are:
Okongwu #6
Johnson #20
McCollum #10
Alexander-Walker #17
Daniels #8.
So, no matter how they got them, trade or draft, it would seem obvious to most people that draft picks matter.
johnsons their best player lowest pick.traded murray trae porzingis hunter and are much better.pat needs to something creative take some chances
But not something stupid that strips away all players and assets, which could make things as bad or worse.
i know wig and norm are old but at the right price id sign both.there top 8 players on almost every team
That would ensure the continued mediocrity of the team/not move the needle. Plus, $60M for two rotation caliber players is too much.
When will Pat give his annual State of the Union address ?
Donovan Mitchell?
Keldon Johnson scored 3 points for Spurs. Definitely a clutch player.
hes no better than our kj,who never fn plays.6moty who gives a f.jjj had a much improved year,needs to just keep getting better and better,we need to get a player whos an mvp type player.or a top 3 gm just as important.i expect sunman one day to be a top 3 gm
Keldon Johnson isn’t better than Keshad and Jalen Green is a super star of the future. Got it.
Comic relief
How many points did Jaime have this weekend?
Also don’t go look at what Jaime did last season, when Miami was swept by the Cavs.
jjj sukd last year but rc knew he would improve so were hoping the same for shnozzy.
Like a phoenix he will rise
I honestly didn’t know he would improve to this great extent, but I felt it was just a sophomore slump and he wasn’t that bad. I won’t give up yet on Jovic, but he has shown to be extremely immature. Like Spo said, he needs to ditch the victim mentality.
With “fans” like you, who needs enemies.
I know it wasn’t 3. If Johnson was so important to Spurs, how in the world did they so easily beat Portland this weekend without his help? He must not be so importatnt to their team after all, wouldn’t you agree?
Where’s oregoner? Go Spurs! 😜
No matter what, great season for Jaquez!
Go JJJ! But the league hates the Heat so I guess its gonna go to the Spurs player.
Go Heat!
Oh yeah…no games already lol
Jaime was great, but Keldon was better. More efficient, played on the better team. He deserves it.
Jaime is first in several categories. Jaime deserves it. Keldon is close second.
Btw Zach, . this is Heat bog not Spurs. I understand Spurs still have a few fan openings if you are interested.
We can’t all have our heads up Riley’s you know what SunMan. Maybe you are still watching the Heat Highlights from LeBron and Wade, but currently the Miami Heat are irrelevant in the NBA.
Jacquez averaged more points, assists, steals and blocks – but did so in 5 extra minutes. He did so, while shooting a lower percentage from the field, three and the free throw line. He did average more, but on a worse team. He also had a lower +/-.
And maybe if you are so confident Jaime’s going to win the award, you should put your money where your mouth is and bet on it. The markets would pay heavily in your favor.
What part of Texas did you say you were from? If you are so big on stats, then you must undoubtedly agree that Jokic is by far the best player in the NBA and has been for the past several years. Just look at his stats.
I never said I thought Jaquez would win the award. I only indicated I thought he deserved it. I don’t have my head up Riley’s anything. I hope there isn’t any bias against Jaime because he doesn’t meet the “criteria” being Mexican-American and all. Time will tell.
hes a frustrated heat fan like all of us.why he thinks johnson should win it over JJJ is being a hater.
Yup. Haters gonna hate.
I vote for Jaime!