NBA Draft Grades: Rounding up Heat grades from league experts
The Miami Heat turned some heads with their decision to select UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. 18th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. What did the experts think?
The Miami Heat did the most #HeatCulture thing possible and selected UCLA guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the No. 18 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Jaquez was gaining steam all week on the strength of his pre-draft workouts, but very few boards ranked him as high as the Heat.
Jaquez doesn’t fit your traditional Top 20 prospect mold. He doesn’t have untapped athletic upside, he doesn’t shoot a ton of threes, and he’s not particularly versatile on defense. What Jaquez does is rely on a deep bag of tricks to carve out space and pick apart defenses with his in-between game.
Mid-range jumpers, runners, floaters, hook shots — those are Jaquez’s bread and butter. That and his relentless hustle and knack for energy plays. Even if he will struggle athletically with certain NBA matchups, he will get into passing lanes and make his presence felt by sheer force of will.
So, what did the experts think of the reigning champ’s controversial Top 20 pick?
2023 NBA Draft Grades: Experts grade Heat’s pick of Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: C+
"He’ll be an easy fit in the Heat’s system and their famed #culture. If they find him enough floor time, he’ll compete for an All-Rookie spot. That should be the idea anyway, since the point of selecting someone like him—a 22-year-old, four-year player in college who isn’t a great athlete—is to add instant-impact ability at the expense of long-term upside"
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: B
"It’s a very solid pick and a terrific fit from a culture perspective because Jaquez is one of the toughest, hardest-working players in this class. He’s going to need to expand his perimeter skillset because he played a lot of small-ball four. The shot needs to improve, specifically, and there were higher-upside players on the board. But the Heat are all about culture, and Jaquez was the heart of a successful UCLA team’s culture for years."
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: C+
"Jaquez had a meteoric rise up draft boards, with numerous reports of impressive interviews and workouts—and now he’ll be right at home enmeshing himself in Heat Culture. The four-year Bruin has perfected his Gen Z YMCA game, with balletic footwork and an all-around sixth sense on both offense and defense. But scaling that defensive IQ up to the big leagues is the worry: He has solid size and strength at the wing, but his lack of NBA-level flexibility and foot speed shrinks his margin for error. They say your position on the floor is whatever position you can defend; the Heat will have to figure that one out."
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: D+
"Jaquez is a rocky 3-point shooter who projects as an exploitable defender due to his limited length and athleticism. He’s the perfect culture pick, but is he the best talent on the board? Probably not."
The Heat really reached here. No team is better at maximizing niche players than Miami and it’s hard not to love Jaquez’s dad-style mid-post artistry on the wing, but he’s not a high-volume three-point shooter — a weakness for Miami in the regular season, if not in the playoffs — and the defensive concerns are significant.
Jaquez competes hard and he’s highly intelligent, but that can only take you so far against NBA athletes in NBA-style offenses. The speed, spacing, and pace of professional basketball will be a real test for Jaquez’s limited lateral quickness at 6-foot-6. Again, the Heat are the best bet of any team to figure this all out and maximize Jaquez’s extremely unique skill set, but is reaching on such a risky prospect with limited athleticism and advanced age the right move at No. 18?
The 22-year-old was the No. 46 prospect on the FanSided board. We have reached the point in the league’s stylistic progression where it’s difficult to survive with rigid, inflexible wing defenders who can’t switch or guard in space. Jaquez will get roasted by quicker ball-handlers and bullied by stronger wings. The favorable matchups are few and far between.
Erik Spoelstra is the best coach in basketball. The Heat have molded multiple undrafted free agents with similar concerns into rotation-level postseason players. Caleb Martin almost won conference finals MVP, so anything’s possible with this team. Jaquez will become an instant fan favorite with his winning attitude and high basketball I.Q., but there were several better options left on the board, whether Miami wanted to swing for upside or draft an experienced, day-one contributor.
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