Damian Lillard has demanded a trade to the Miami Heat. If all goes according to plan, Pat Riley will get his whale. All that’s left to be determined is finding the right trade package to send to Portland. The largest talking point of the potential trade is the trio of Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. The question is, if given the choice, would the Miami Heat prefer to keep Caleb alone, or the young duo of Jaquez and Jovic?
Personally, this choice was originally an easy one. Caleb just proved his worth and was exceptional in the playoffs. Without him, the Heat would not have made the NBA Finals. In the Eastern Conference Championship, Caleb averaged 19 points & 6 rebounds on 60% shooting from the field. That is a guy you want to keep on the team when you’re adding Lillard and competing for championships.
The issue with keeping Caleb is his contract situation. He essentially has one year left on his current deal; the final year is a player option that he will most likely opt out of. It would only make sense to keep Caleb if you planned on paying him next offseason. And that begs the question of what kind of contract he would likely command. Greg Sylvander of 5RSN (@GregSylvander) stated that “if Caleb was in this year’s free agent class he would get a Bruce Brown offer, but for 4 years.” For reference, Brown just signed a 2-year $45 million contract with the Pacers. Could the Heat afford that plus the potential tax that comes with it? I’m not convinced that the Heat would be willing to pay Caleb that much.
On the other side of the coin is the pair of Jaquez and Jovic. Both players are young and unproven. Jovic has only played in 20 NBA games, 9 of which included playing 5 minutes or less. The rookie Jaquez obviously has no NBA experience. Once again, this seems to make Caleb the obvious choice to keep, but as detailed earlier it is not that simple. Jaquez and Jovic are both on inexpensive rookie deals. Jovic is 6’11 with unlimited offensive potential. There is nothing Jovic can’t do on the offensive side of the floor. He has the mobility of a guard in a forward’s body; he has a smooth stroke from deep and has a good feel for making the right decisions. Jaquez is a textbook Heat Culture player, it’s as if Riley made him in a lab to play for the Heat. Jaquez knows how to play and picks the right times to attack a weakness in the defense. He has talked numerous times about how he only cares about winning and he is willing to do whatever it takes. That is a guy anyone wants on their team. I firmly believe that they drafted Jaquez with the intention of keeping him.
If given the option, I would choose to keep Jaquez and Jovic. Given the uncertainty of Caleb’s future contract, keep the kids. You get two players on team-friendly deals with multiple years left on each contract. Both players have looked a cut above their peers so far in their summer league games. And the most important reason behind this opinion, in true Heat fan fashion, I have already attached myself to both players. Simply put, Jaquez has all the makings of a fan favorite and Jovic could be in line to become one of the next European stretch-bigs to take the league by storm.
Comments