The Pressure is on for Miami’s Former 2023 Draft Pick to Return to Form Next Season

Jaime Jaquez Jr. has what might be the most important season of his career coming up in the fall. That statement may sound rather dramatic, but both Jaime and the Heat are facing major pressure to make improvements next season. The team may go in many different directions in the next few seasons, and Jaime’s performance next season will have a major impact on what the team does with him. The time is now for Jaime to show if he’s going to take a step toward becoming the player we thought he could be after his impressive rookie season.

At 24 years old, time isn’t on his side in terms of going through the challenges that a young player faces. Jaquez was drafted out of college as an older, mature player who was set to make an immediate impact, and to be fair, that’s exactly how he played as a rookie. Jaquez could do just about anything defensively and be a reliable facilitator offensively. His scoring showed some upside, too, when he averaged 11.9 points per game and improved his three-point shot throughout the season. Everything was down in his sophomore season, and he was sometimes a negative player to the team on offense. He had flashes of the player everyone wants to see, but they were so brief that it didn’t make up for the poor play that resulted in him losing a spot in the lineup.

With his play being often compared to Jimmy Butler’s play style, one would think Jaquez could still be used to make up for what is lost without Butler. Jaquez often can get backed down by bigger and more physical players, but he’s still pretty crafty defensively. It always appears that he’s giving it his all when he’s on the court, but the general finesse and ability didn’t appear to be all there last season. The Heat are rumored to be looking to trade for a star, and there’s no doubt that Jaquez would be included in a deal if that happens. It’s hard to say if a new environment would bode well for him or if this current situation is his best-case scenario. This next season will see him get another year closer to his athletic prime, and if he doesn’t leap, it would be safe to assume that the jump may not come. Everyone who saw the impactful rookie he was will be rooting for him to become what was expected of him, and be a gritty game-changer for whatever team he plays for.