In making the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs, the Miami Heat hurt their draft standing, moving from the late-lottery to No. 20.

At the 2025 NBA Draft, though, the team might’ve nabbed the player they had their eye on with a potential late-lottery pick, nabbing Illinois’ guard Kasparas Jakucionis.

Jakucionis was the biggest slider on the event. Prior to the draft he had top-10 stock, but fell past numerous teams before landing with Miami. Now, he’s signed on with the Heat for the foreseeable future, and offers the team some flexibility moving forward.

A 6-foot-6 guard, Jakucionis projects to have premier scoring ability and table-setting passing, though he’ll need to further refine his game as a whole for the next few seasons. Per earlier writing from NBA Draft on SI regarding Jakucionis: “The biggest area of improvement for Jakucionis is some of his athletic limitations. He’s not very explosive, which limits his ability to finish above the rim over defenders. He also lacks ideal speed off the dribble, which occasionally hurts his ability to create space. He’s just an average athlete by NBA standards and it will potentially be a concern as he gets older and reaches the next level.”

Jakucionis saw a dreadful Utah Summer League slate, with the athleticism concerns that likely caused him to slide down boards rearing their head in the form of seldom scoring and plenty of turnovers. He turned it around at Las Vegas, averaging 15.0 points on 45% shooting with 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. 

He especially showed off his ceiling against the Hawks, going for 24 points on 7-for-12 shooting, adding four assists, four rebounds, two steals and five 3-pointers.

There’s no guarantee that Jakucionis is able to offer real minutes next season as a lead handler. His aforementioned athleticism won’t help NBA assimilation, and his turnovers woes at the collegiate level would be expected to carry over if he was offered major handling minutes.

Still, with a legitimate, potentially blue chip guard prospect now signed on, Miami can move forward in its team-building with one spot shored up.

The Heat, per usual, have been in and out of trade rumors for some time now, both adding star players and sometimes even off-loading them in opting for a full-scale rebuild. They’ve reportedly been in the hunt for a star guard for years, but could now turn their attention to other needed positions.

Regardless, the Heat have given themselves options as they prepare for a future in the surging Eastern Conference.