Less than two weeks after their season came to an end with a Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat turned to the future at Thursday’s NBA draft with the selection of UCLA swingman Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the No. 18 choice.
Because the NBA does not reseed teams based on playoff results, the Heat wound up picking in the middle of the first round in the wake of closing the 2022-23 regular season at 44-38. For the Heat, the addition of Jaquez adds to a youth component that also includes 20-year-old 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic, who went No. 27 last season.
Next up for the Heat is next week’s start of NBA free agency, with summer league to begin the following week.
The No. 18 pick on the NBA’s draft salary scale slots in at $2.9 million next season, eligible to be paid from 80% to 120% of that figure. NBA draft-scale contracts are guaranteed for three seasons.
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