Miami

Is Nikola Jovic a keeper for the Miami Heat this offseason?


Q: I hope Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley have seen enough in practice to keep Nikola Jovic off the trading block. Although this was a lost season for him because of injuries, he has shown the offensive skills and has the length of the new prototype NBA big. He probably needs two years to get bigger and stronger. but he is the only big on the current team that has upside potential.  – Michael, Boca Raton.

A: So you sort of answered your own question, by noting that with his age (20) and physical build, Nikola Jovic likely is still two years from maturing into the needed NBA body and mindset. The problem there is that Jimmy Butler turns 34 before next season. This team is not in position to wait two years on anything, let alone an untested neophyte. Yes, the Heat should not summarily throw Nikola into just any deal. But if that is what it takes to close a deal for a win-now veteran (Damian Lillard? Bradley Beal?) then it should be considered. It is similar to the Heat having to part with Caron Butler in the 2004 trade for Shaquille O’Neal. Sometimes you have to part with the future to live in the moment.



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