The Heat added Simone Fontecchio, Kasparas Jakucionis and Norman Powell this offseason while shedding Kyle Anderson, Alec Burks, Haywood Highsmith, Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson from the roster.
Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. believes it’s going to take awhile for the team to build chemistry, considering all the roster moves.
“It’s starting to become the reality,” Jaquez said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I think your rookie year, you go through it and it’s an adjustment. Now your second year, I think you really start to understand what it means to be in this business. Guys that you’ve built a relationship with are no longer going to be there. It’s definitely going to be an adjustment period, but we’re just really excited to get new guys and have this new team and try to win games.”
Jaquez had a disappointing second season as his playing time diminished. He’s focused on securing a rotation spot once again.
“Just going back and watching some film,” Jaquez said. “I think that’s a big one. Just remembering what it was that put me on the floor, what it was that got me to this position. Just kind of leaning into my strengths, as well as working on things that I need to work on like shooting and defense. And just bringing it all together as a whole, I think is one of the biggest things for me this offseason.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- While they valued Highsmith, it was more essential for the franchise to get under the luxury tax, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel explains in his latest mailbag. Highsmith was dealt to the Nets this week in what can be classified as a salary dump. Given where the Heat are in the Eastern Conference pecking order, it would be hard to justify them being a tax team and risk paying the repeater tax. The move also opens up more playing time for some of the younger players on the roster.
- The Wizards roster is top heavy with wings while having few traditional bigs or point guards. Josh Robbins of The Athletic believes the roster imbalance is not a big concern for the Wizards front office. Their aim is to bring in as many high-upside players as possible and then develop them into solid pros, while hoping one of them becomes a franchise player and a couple others can reach All-Star level production.
- The Hawks gave an offer sheet to a restricted free agent on Saturday. Get the details here.