Kasparas Jakucionis

NBA Insiders Talk 2025, 2026 Drafts

July 25th, 2025 at 6:04pm CST by Eli Cohen

Now that the 2025 Summer League has wrapped up, scouts and evaluators around the NBA are looking ahead to the 2026 draft and considering how this year’s draft class might perform as rookies.

Among league personnel, there’s a near-consensus that the Mavericks‘ Cooper Flagg will win Rookie of the Year, according to ESPN’s annual survey of NBA executives and scouts conducted this year by Jeremy Woo. Flagg was the overwhelming favorite, with 17 votes, followed by the Spurs‘ Dylan Harper, who picked up two votes. The Wizards’ Tre Johnson also received a vote.

Those polled speculated that while some rookies, like Johnson or Ace Bailey of the Jazz, may get a chance to shoot and score more points, Flagg’s overall contributions to a team that will likely be fighting for a play-in spot will push him over the edge.

While he didn’t receive a vote for Rookie of the Year, the Sixers‘ VJ Edgecombe was the top vote-getter for those asked who would end up the best non-Flagg pick in the draft.

“VJ might be Philly’s second-best player by the end of the season, factoring in [Joel] Embiid‘s uncertain health,” one general manager said.

When Woo’s poll respondents weighed in on the biggest draft steal, the Spurs’ Carter Bryant led the way, followed by Joan Beringer (Timberwolves) and Kasparas Jakucionis (Heat), though this question proved to be the most wide-ranging in terms of responses.

Executives also discussed the 2026 draft, which is widely anticipated to be a star-studded draft class. When asked about who the top pick would be, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson led the way with 12 votes, while BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa was a close second with eight.

Peterson is described in the article as “one of the best lead guard prospects in recent memory,” though Woo writes that given the high level of competition for the No. 1 spot, the race for the top spot is unlikely to be as open-and-shut as it was in 2025, when Flagg remained relatively unchallenged throughout the draft cycle.

“It’s a total toss-up right now — by no means is [there a] consensus yet,” one executive said.

While only Peterson and Dybantsa received votes as the probable No. 1 pick for 2026, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Nate Ament (Tennessee), and Mikel Brown (Louisville) are also considered top prospects who could be in the mix for a top spot.

While it’s never easy to predict the future when it comes to the NBA draft, last year’s executive survey had Flagg as the top vote-getter for the number one pick, far ahead of Harper’s second-best vote tally, with Bailey and Edgecombe coming in third and fourth.

In that same poll last year, Reed Sheppard and Zach Edey were forecasted as the top candidates for Rookie of the Year, though eventual winner Stephon Castle came in a close third.

Heat Notes: Lineups, Jakucionis, Summer League, Askins

July 20th, 2025 at 8:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Heat haven’t had as active an offseason as some teams, but their moves have opened up some interesting options for head coach Erik Spoelstra, Ira Winderman writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Winderman speculates that Miami’s opening night starting lineup will likely feature Tyler Herro and Norman Powell in the backcourt alongside Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware, and Bam Adebayo.

However, he notes the unit’s lack of play-making, which could result in either Nikola Jovic taking the place of Ware or Davion Mitchell replacing Powell to add some more ball movement. Ware moving to the bench would also help firm up the center depth, which Winderman points to as a current weak spot on the depth chart, though Vladislav Goldin, who is on a two-way deal, played well in Summer League.

There’s also the question of which reserves becomes prioritized, with Simone Fontecchio, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Pelle Larsson among the candidates for rotation minutes. Winderman predicts that Jaquez will continue to get opportunities, especially because of his ability to slide into the starting unit if Wiggins were to be traded.

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While rookie Kasparas Jakucionis‘ time in Summer League had some strong moments as well as clear areas for improvement, the Heat feel that the most important thing is that they came away knowing what comes next, writes Anthony Chiang for the Miami Herald. “We got to learn him, he got to learn us. We got some stuff on tape. And now we have seven, eight weeks to get him better, to get him ready for the start of the season and to improve his skills,” said Summer League head coach Eric Glass. “It’s important to have that learning process and help him understanding as a 19-year-old what it’s going to be like to play professional basketball against grown men in the NBA.” Jakucionis struggled with his shot and with turnovers, but excelled at getting to the free throw line. He will now head back to Lithuania before returning to Miami in early August.
The Heat are known for excavating diamonds from the rough when it comes to team-building, but this year’s Summer League didn’t offer the team the usual hope at unearthing hidden talent, writes Winderman. That said, Winderman points to Bryson Warren, Dain Dainja, Ki ra Lewis Jr., Javonte Cooke, Erik Stevenson, and Myron Gardner as players who had some real positive moments for the team.
Before the Heat had Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade, or Udonis Haslem, there was Keith Askins, Winderman writes in a profile of the team’s senior director of college and pro scouting. The undrafted forward has been in the organization for 35 years, first as a player, than an assistant coach, and now in the position of senior director of college and pro scouting. “I hope to find someone that’s extremely talented of that mindset, that they’ve got to prove themselves every day,” Askins said of the type of player he looks for. “And if they feel like every day they come out they’ve got to prove they’re the best, man we’re going to have a stud.” Winderman describes Askins traveling from Slovenia to the Bahamas to American colleges nowhere close to being considered blue blood programs. “We all try to get it right. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. But you can never say we’re not working hard,” Askins says.

Heat Notes: Spoelstra, Roster Spots, Smith, Jakucionis

July 18th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra doesn’t put much stock in the idea of the Eastern Conference being wide open, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“You can’t think that just because there have been some changes in rosters or some injuries that, ‘Oh, now we have a chance,’” Spoestra said. “That’s kind of a loser’s mentality. We want to compete at the highest level regardless of who’s out there.”

Instead, Spoelstra and the Heat staff are focused on figuring out what went wrong last season, including the team’s 8-17 record in close games, the third-worst mark in the league. The Heat also led the league with 22 blown double-digit leads and 21 blown fourth-quarter leads.

“Those close games are something that we’ve really analyzed,” he said. “That can change the trajectory of your season if you handle those moments of truth better, if you have a few more wins out of those groupings of games that were very winnable with fourth-quarter leads and that kind of stuff.”

Spoelstra feels that the team is heading into the coming season with a renewed focus and commitment to figuring out how to succeed.

“You can feel the energy, you can feel the excitement building,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be all there right now. But look, it’s happening organically. I feel it myself, the staff feels it, the players feel it.”

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The Heat have an open roster spot, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to fill it, Chiang writes in a mailbag for the Miami Herald. Miami is currently around $1.3MM over the luxury tax line and approximately $4.2MM below the first apron. Chiang writes that the goal for this season is to finish below the tax line, thereby dodging the repeater tax after spending the last two seasons as a taxpaying team. Chiang believes that Miami making a trade to cut salary sometime before the trade deadline is more likely than the team filling the 15th roster spot heading into the regular season. The Heat have until the end of the season to get below the luxury tax if they want to avoid the repeater tax.
Not only do the Heat have an open standard roster spot, but they also have a pair of two-way openings. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that after a disappointing Summer League showing, they may have to wait to add another prospect to the roster alongside Vladislav Goldin, who is currently the only player on a two-way deal for Miami. Winderman notes that one spot is expected to go to Dru Smith, who has a qualifying offer, once he recovers from his Achilles tear.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis called his play at the Las Vegas Summer League a work in progress. “I’m adapting to the game. It’s a little bit different,” he said. “I’m just trying to control what I can control to give my 100% and work on the defensive end. I’m trying to get the rhythm back.” One thing that’s important for the rookie is not overindexing or getting too high or low based on whether shots fall: “It’s basketball. One day, you miss. Another day, you make. I’m working on that.”

Erik Spoelstra Talks Heat Youth, Expectations

July 13th, 2025 at 5:03pm CST by Eli Cohen

In their first full season without Jimmy Butler since 2020, the Heat are counting on some of their young players to help bridge the gap to the new era. As Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes, head coach Erik Spoelstra has faith that Jaime Jaqu ez Jr. and Nikola Jovic are up to the task.

Spoelstra has been impressed with the Jovic’s improved approach during his nascent career with the Heat.

“If you look at where Niko was as a rookie to where he’s becoming right now, it’s night and day, the work ethic and it’s a consistency of approach every single day,” Spoelstra says. “I think the last two summers have been really good because it’s been a strong balance of the Miami Heat player development program and then going to play for his national team.”

As for Jaquez, Spoelstra is unconcerned with the 24-year-old’s below-average shooting numbers and is more focused on how he reads the floor.

“He’s clever, when he gets into all of his spins and fake spins and putting the shoulder down. Now it’s about making the paint-decision reads when you get in there,” Spoelstra said. “But I don’t want it to be his whole game based on whether he’s making a three-point shot or not. That’s not him at his best. Him at his best are these plays that are unscripted, getting downhill.”

Another Heat neophyte who is set to make an impact going forward is their 2025 first-round pick, Kasparas Jakucionis. Jakucionas recently shook off a brutal start to Summer League, exploding for 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting (including 5-of-9 three-pointers) on Friday against the Hawks. However, he’s not satisfied with the performance, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

“It felt good, yeah,” he said. “But eventually we still lost. I didn’t do a great job on the other side like rebounding, getting out on transition defense.”

Jakucionas said that he’s been watching a lot of film and talking frequently with Heat legend Udonis Haslem and the rest of the coaching staff. Spoelstra has been encouraged by the 19-year-old’s play and suggests his early struggles could be a positive in the long term.

“He had a lot of turnovers, some mistakes,” Spoelstra said. “All the intangibles — the defense, the hustle plays, the passing, all of that he was able to do while having some uneven offensive play. Sometimes that can take a spirit or confidence away from a player, but he found a way to impact the game, impact winning.”

The Heat have a solid guard rotation in Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, and the newly acquired Norman Powell, among others, but none of them bring quite the same skill set that Jakucionas can. Given the rookie’s size and play-making, his ability to play alongside any one of those guards could help unlock different lineups for Miami.

Heat Notes: Ware, Wiggins, Jakucionis, Butler Trade

July 12th, 2025 at 5:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kel’el Ware‘s underwhelming Summer League performance drew a stern reaction from head coach Erik Spoelstra, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Ware took over as the Heat’s starting center midway through last season and earned second-team All-Rookie honors. The organization values him highly enough that he wasn’t included in its offer for Kevin Durant, but there’s disappointment in how he has looked so far this summer.

“A big part of this is he has to really embrace and improve his professionalism, his consistency, his approach every single day,” Spoelstra said. “He has to get better with that. It’s learning how to become a pro. I understand that he was 20 last year and he’s 21. But we have bigger expectations. It’s not your normal growth and growing pains of a young player learning how to become a pro. But that’s what this summer is about. Learning how to become a pro, learning how to be consistent every single day.

“The talent is there. The professionalism and consistency has to improve, and it is. Our standards are not going to change and our expectations and how fast we want that to improve for him are not going to change. But he has to get better at it, he has to take ownership of it.”

Through two games in the California Classic and one in Las Vegas, Ware is averaging 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 39.4% from the field and connecting on just 1-of-10 three-point attempts. He posted a team-worst plus-minus rating of minus-21 in Friday’s loss to Atlanta.

Ware acknowledged to Chiang that he needs “to do better with definitely boxing out, a little bit more defensive end and just finishing the ball.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Andrew Wiggins has been linked to the Lakers in trade rumors, but Spoelstra considers him to be an important part of the rotation for the upcoming season, Chiang tweets. A source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link) that none of the offers Miami received for Wiggins were tempting. “We got Wiggins to get Wiggins,” the source said, referring to the February trade with Golden State. “He’s a good player. He’s been a big part of winning teams.”
After two rough games in California, Kasparas Jakucionis displayed his potential with 24 points in his Las Vegas debut, Chiang adds in a separate story. However, the No. 20 overall pick was disappointed with other parts of his game on Friday. “Basketball is a lot more than just shooting,” he said. “It felt good, yeah. But eventually we still lost. I didn’t do a great job on the other side like rebounding, getting out on transition defense. So yeah, but I definitely felt better with the shot.”
Five months after sending Jimmy Butler to Golden State, the trade seems more like a win than it did in February, observes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Drafting Jakucionis with the pick they got from the Warriors and using Kyle Anderson, who was also part of the deal, to obtain Norman Powell have helped to balance the scales, according to Winderman.

Eastern Notes: White, Langdon, Beasley, Johnson, Jakucionis

July 9th, 2025 at 1:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics traded away two starters this offseason and Derrick White‘s four-year, $118MM extension has kicked in for 2025/26. But he was reasonably sure he wouldn’t be dealt, he told Chris Forsberg of the Celtics Talk Podcast (hat tip to Brian Robb of Masslive.com).

“I think every summer is pretty crazy, especially nowadays,” White said. “But I didn’t feel too worried about anything. My agent and Brad (Stevens) had been talking and all the other rumors and stuff, I wasn’t really too worried about. I mean, I feel like it’s cool to be wanted by other teams, but I wanted to stay in Boston, and I was glad they wanted to keep me.”

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Pistons top exec Trajan Langdon admitted that the gambling investigation involving Malik Beasley news left them “not much time” to pivot,” Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The Pistons pulled their three-year, $42MM offer to Beasley, an unrestricted free agent, when the news broke. “I was able to communicate with Malik and his agent Saturday, which was obviously right before we could start talking to free agents on Sunday,” Langdon said. “It was disappointing for us, because we were excited to get him back.”
Lottery pick Tre Johnson strives for greatness, which is one big reason why the Wizards are excited about his future, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. “I really don’t have too much of a life outside of basketball, and that was literally a choice up to me because of just how good I wanted to be,” Johnson said.
Kasparas Jakucionis, the Heat‘s first-round pick, had a rough time at the California Classic Summer League, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. He score just 12 points on 1-of-15 (6.7%) shooting from the field, including 0-of-11 from three-point range, in his first three summer league games. However, he’s not panicking over his showing. “I think I need to just settle in more, play at my own pace, don’t get sped up too much as I was these three games,” Jakucionis said. “I didn’t feel myself in those games. But I think that’s normal. It’s a process, so I’m just happy to be here, happy to be able to learn from coaches, from other guys by working out, watching film and just understanding the game.”

Southeast Notes: Jakucionis, Adebayo, Bufkin, Prunty

July 5th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis got off to a rough start in his Summer League debut, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The 20th overall pick struggled with his shot Saturday in a victory over San Antonio in the California Classic, going 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-4 from three-point range. He also committed three turnovers in 22 minutes of action.

“Today was my first game and it was different,” Jakucionis said. “The game style and everything is different. But I’m happy with the team’s performance. I think we played pretty good. We had good effort, we shared the ball well and we played as a team.”

Even though he only finished with one assist, Jakucionis made several nice passes to teammates who weren’t able to hit their shots, Chiang adds. Jakucionis was one of the highest-usage guards in college basketball at Illinois last season, but Miami tried him both on and off the ball in Saturday’s game.

“I think Kas was very steady,” Summer League coach Eric Glass said. “That’s the one thing I’ve noticed about him. Even through the training camp we had, there were never really any high moments, any low moments, he was just super steady, super solid. And I thought that’s what he brought us today.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat should consider trading Bam Adebayo, who’s starting to seem out of place on an increasingly young roster, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Adebayo is close to his 28th birthday and is entering the final season before his extension kicks in. Winderman states that it will be tough to justify paying Adebayo $51MM during the 2026/27 season without a competitive team around him.
The Hawks are eager to see how Kobe Bufkin looks during Summer League after recovering from January shoulder surgery, per Grant Afseth of RG. Bufkin may not play the entire schedule in Las Vegas, but Afseth hears that he’s been impressive in scrimmages since receiving medical clearance to resume playing. Sources tell Afseth that Atlanta has refused multiple trade offers for Bufkin, including one from Sacramento that was reported this week.
Bucks assistant Joe Prunty is set to join the Magic‘s coaching staff, sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). Prunty began his coaching career in 1996 and has spent time as an interim head coach in Atlanta and Milwaukee.

Heat Rumors: Young Core, Adebayo, Herro, Rozier, Wiggins

July 2nd, 2025 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been a relatively quiet free agency period so far for the Heat, who agreed to re-sign Davion Mitchell on Saturday and worked out a sign-and-trade deal sending Duncan Robinson to Detroit, but haven’t made any veteran roster additions outside of Simone Fontecchio, who will be sent to Miami in that trade with the Pistons.

According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Miami are content to “let our young guys show what they can do” this fall, with a full training camp together. As Jackson explains, the Heat believe they can’t accurately judge the current group based on last season’s results due to the Jimmy Butler chaos, changing roles, and Andrew Wiggins‘ health issues, among other factors.

The team also believes that its young prospects – Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, and Kasparas Jakucionis – all have a chance to be “really good players,” with some of them set to take on increased roles this season, Jackson writes.

The Heat are remaining open to taking a bigger swing if a star hits the trade market, but would only be aggressive if a player in his prime is available, Jackson continues. That’s why Miami wasn’t willing to go all-in for Kevin Durant, with multiple sources telling the Herald that the team never thought it was close to landing the 36-year-old forward.

Whether or not the Heat have the assets to beat out rival suitors if an in-his-prime star such as Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the trade block is a fair question, Jackson notes.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Miami haven’t considered the idea of trading Bam Adebayo and/or Tyler Herro in order to launch a rebuild, a source with knowledge of the situation tells the Herald. The Heat believe that tanking fails more often than it works and doesn’t plan to rethink that philosophy, according to Jackson.
The Heat also aren’t weighing the idea of waiving and stretching the final year of Terry Rozier‘s contract, which will pay him $26.6MM this season, Jackson says. Unlike Milwaukee with Damian Lillard, Miami doesn’t need the immediate cap savings, so the plan is to either trade Rozier at some point or simply keep him for next season, Jackson adds.
Although the Heat are entertaining inquiries on Wiggins, there’s no urgency to move him, according to Jackson, who says the club acquired him from Golden State in February because it likes his game, not to use his contract in a subsequent deal. The Heat view him as a player who can complement Adebayo and Herro.
The Heat officially signed undrafted rookie Vladislav Goldin to a two-way contract on Wednesday. Our story on the deal can be found here.

Heat Sign Kasparas Jakucionis To Rookie Contract

July 1st, 2025 at 6:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have signed 2025 first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis to his rookie scale deal, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The former Illinois guard, selected with the No. 20 pick, will earn $3.66MM in 2025/26, and $17.7MM over the course of his first four pro seasons in the league.

The 19-year-old out of Lithuania began his career playing for his native Perlas Vilnius in 2020/21, before suiting up for FC Barcelona of the EuroLeague and Spanish ACB league (Liga ACB) from 2022-24. During his one year at Illinois, Jakucionis was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team.

Across 33 contests for the Illini in 2024/25, the 6’6″ wing averaged 15.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.7 APG. He posted shooting splits of .440/.318/.845.

Jakucionis was Miami’s only draft pick last week. Last year’s Heat finished with a middling 37-45 record and the No. 10 seed in the East, but survived both their play-in tournament games to claim the conference’s final playoff spot. Miami was quickly swept by Cleveland in the first round.

Southeast Notes: Jakucionis, Ware, Newell, White, Richardson, Penda

June 28th, 2025 at 8:24am CST by Earnest Marshall

New Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis declined to conduct a pre-draft workout for the Heat because he thought he’d be off the board by the time they picked at No. 20, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Miami also didn’t think Jakucionis, ranked in the top 10 on several big boards, would be available to them.

“We see tremendous potential with Kas,” Heat vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager Adam Simon said. “You’re talking about a 6-5 [guard] with a plus-three [pointer], good athlete but with a high IQ. So if you combine all those things with a work ethic, there’s no reason why you can’t mold him into a very good NBA player. I think that’s why we were attracted to take him.”

The 6’5″ guard averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in his first and only season at Illinois. He’ll serve as a lead play-maker and help assert Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware as lob threats and roll men. Jakucionis did average 3.7 turnovers per game last year, but the Heat downplayed concerns about that figure.

“Certainly the numbers are higher than you want, but he’s high usage and he’s processing things,” Simon said. “The turnovers were high, certainly. But I think they’re turnovers that you can work with. I think those are correctable, they’re teachable to see the game. But if you just watched all his film, he’s making good reads out there, he’s making plays.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat are bullish on the future of Ware and this offseason is reflecting that, Chiang writes in another story. Ware was kept essentially off limits in Kevin Durant trade talks, and Jakucionis has the makings of a long-term running mate for the big man. “We’re excited about his growth, we really are,” franchise legend and current Heat executive Alonzo Mourning said of Ware. “This summer I’ve already seen him getting better in his workouts. He doesn’t have to be here, this is his time off. But that kind of speaks volumes that he has kind of blocked out all of the distractions as a kid.“
Former Georgia forward Asa Newell was ecstatic to land with his hometown Hawks in the draft, per Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I knew deep in my heart that I really wanted to go to the Hawks, and hearing about the trades, and me and DQ [Derik Queen] basically got traded for each other, it was pretty cool,” Newell said. “So that’s gonna be a fun matchup, for sure. But it was just like, ‘Wow.’ My heart was beating so fast when the camera came to my table, and I just, I was just so happy, especially getting dropped into a great organization.”
Australian forward Jack White, who previously played 21 games in the NBA with the Nuggets and Grizzlies from 2022-24, will work out for the Hawks and play with them in Summer League, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc (Twitter link). Uluc writes that an NBA return for White is a possibility.
The Magic drafted Jase Richardson and Noah Penda, targeting two players they valued for their character, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes in a subscriber-only story. “The exciting part for us as always, as you guys know, we look for the person before the player, and we feel that these two young guys have our Magic DNA,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said. “They’re about others and that reflects itself on the court.” According to Beede, Penda was disappointed to not hear his name called in the first round but is excited about landing with the Magic, who traded four seconds to move up to get him.

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