UCLA Basketball: Why Insider Thinks Heat Might Actually Play Rookie Jaime Jaquez Rotation Minutes

With reports surfacing that superstar Damian Lillard will attend training camp with the Portland Trailblazers if he is not traded over the next few months, maybe we'll see a reality where he ends up staying with the team or gets dealt somewhere other than Miami. It's been clear that his primary goal is to land on the Heat but with the NBA getting frustrated with his demands, maybe he'll be open to other squads.

And if that's the case, we'll likely see former UCLA Bruins star Jaime Jaquez kick off his rookie season in South Beach. Even though he has all the potential to be a great fit in Miami, nobody was going to blame their front office if they included him in a package to land Lillard.

However, columnist Ira Winderman spoke to Yahoo Sports and shared his own opinions as to why he believes Jaquez could get minutes off the jump in Miami's rotation. Even though they have become a franchise that makes the most of their young guys, they usually take a couple of years to get them in the mix. But this year is certainly not like others.

"With the free-agency losses of

Gabe Vincent

and

Max Strus

, the depth has been compromised. Plus, if there is a trade for

Damian Lillard

(and Jaquez is not dealt), that depth could be further compromised. Plus, unlike when the Heat drafted

Nikola Jovic

in 2022 or even

Precious Achiuwa

in 2020, they were relative neophytes, hardly NBA-ready prospects. Jaime arrives as a 22-year-old with four seasons of high-level competitive experience at UCLA. In some ways, the choice seemingly was made because the Heat knew they would need an NBA-ready contributor."

(Via Yahoo Sports)

Jaquez will get the opportunity off the bench to step into games and create offense for himself and others. My hope is that he's able to connect on a decent amount of three-pointers and really open up the floor for Miami.

We know he's able to get to the rim and find cutters for easy baskets and with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo mentoring him, it could be quite special.