Remember the wave of excitement surrounding the Miami Heat’s selection of Kasparas Jakucionis as the 20th overall pick of the 2025 NBA draft? That was never tied to any hopes of him competing for a rotation role on opening night and vying for Rookie of the Year honors. And even if it was, his shaky showing in summer league basically underlined and highlighted his need for further development.
The Heat have always been playing the long game with Jakucionis, who will complete his first NBA go-round before celebrating his 20th birthday. And they’ve already seen some positive returns from their slow-and-steady developmental plan, perhaps foreshadowing the kind of fortune-changing career so many envisioned on draft night.
Maximizing his talent could be a ceiling-raiser for Miami.
Miami floored its offensive pace this season for a lot of reasons, but the lack of a primary playmaker was among the most obvious. Because the Heat were without the kind of advantage-creators who could routinely dismantle half-court defenses, they simply aimed to encounter as few half-court possessions as possible.
It worked for a while, but it always felt like the approach might have an expiration date on its effectiveness.
It would be infinitely easier for the Heat to have a go-to lead guard who has a knack for positioning everyone around them for success. And before some point out that Davion Mitchell has done a fine job as a distributor (7.5 assists against 1.5 turnovers), his impact is still a bit muted by his lack of volume as both a scorer and range shooter.
Ideally, Miami would have a floor general who could threaten defenses as a scorer from every level while also handling primary playmaking duties. That’s basically a description of the best-case-scenario portion of Jakucionis’ pre-draft writeups.
“Jakucionis is a slick shot-creator with a creative passing gene and a fearless scoring ability, carving up defenses with crafty finishes, step-back jumpers, and jaw-dropping passers,” Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor wrote.
Jakucionis isn’t the type of player at the NBA level right now, but he has a traversable path toward that type of future. The decision-making, the creativity, the instinctive feel—those aren’t learned qualities, they are innate abilities. He not only has them in his possession, he’s enjoyed them for a while.
Now, it’s just up to Miami to help him make the most of those gifts.
The best thing the Heat can offer now is a long runway. He’s a risk-taker by trade, and the Heat should encourage his experimentation. They need him to feel like he can play without limitations. That’s the only way he can become the best version of himself.
In other words, this isn’t the time for Miami to change its approach or rethink the reasons that steered it toward him. He can be everything this organization wants and needs, so long as he’s given the proper time and freedom for growth.
So, while he clearly won’t be one of the most productive players in his draft class for now, that was never the expectation. The Heat are rightfully focused on the bigger picture, and they should still be giddy about the massive role he might one day play in it.