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Kasparas Jakucionis Rumors
While discussing his childhood hero, Kasparas Jakučionis’ eyes lit up and his smile widened. The Miami Heat rookie already appeared in a good mood when he discussed overcoming early shooting struggles in the California Classic with strong performances in Las Vegas Summer League. When he reflected on watching LeBron James growing up, it seems that Jakučionis will most look forward to when the Heat play the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024-25 season. “When I was little, he was my hero,” Jakučionis told Sportskeeda about James. “He’s a complete basketball player. He does everything for the team to win. He’s a winning guy. He’s involving other players in the game. He can score whenever he wants. He defends. Basically, he is the true leader.”
What explained your improvement with your shooting from the Cali Classic to the games in Vegas? Jakučionis: “It’s basketball. One day, you miss. Another day, you make. I’m working on that. That is one of the keys for me to improve. I’ve been working every day on it.”
Ira Winderman: Kasparas Jakučionis (knee) good to go for Heat in Vegas summer league after knee-to-knee on Tuesday night in California Classic. Myron Gardner (finger) out for Friday vs. Hawks.
Following a quiet summer league debut on Saturday, Jakucionis was again quiet in his second summer league game. He recorded four points on 0-of-3 shooting from the field and three-point range (all four of his points came at the foul line), one rebound, two assists and three steals in 21 minutes in Sunday’s loss.
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But Jakucionis was quiet in his summer league debut, finishing the Heat’s summer league opener with three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, one rebound, one assist and three turnovers in 22 minutes in an 82-69 win over the San Antonio Spurs’ summer squad on Saturday at Chase Center in the California Classic. It marked the first of three summer league games that the Heat will play in San Francisco before taking part in Las Vegas Summer League. “Today was my first game and it was different,” Jakucionis said following his summer league debut. “The game style and everything is different. But I’m happy with the team’s performance. I think we played pretty good. We had good effort, we shared the ball well and we played as a team.”
On Saturday, Jakucionis split time between being used on the ball and off the ball. That’s different for Jakucionis, who was among the highest usage guards in college basketball last season. “I can adapt to on the ball or off the ball pretty well, I think,” he said. “I feel comfortable in both areas and just try to get the best out of myself to help the team win in any situation I’m put in.” What does the Heat want to see from Jakucionis in the coming days during the rest of summer league? “Just energy, communication, being aggressive and just give all-out effort,” Jakucionis said of the message he has received from Heat coaches.
On Saturday, Jakucionis split time between being used on the ball and off the ball. That’s different for Jakucionis, who was among the highest usage guards in college basketball last season. “I can adapt to on the ball or off the ball pretty well, I think,” he said. “I feel comfortable in both areas and just try to get the best out of myself to help the team win in any situation I’m put in.” What does the Heat want to see from Jakucionis in the coming days during the rest of summer league? “Just energy, communication, being aggressive and just give all-out effort,” Jakucionis said of the message he has received from Heat coaches. Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Eric Glass has been encouraged by what he’s seen from Jakucionis through his first few days with him. “I think Kas was very steady,” Glass said following Saturday’s summer league opener.
Head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis and the Lithuanian Basketball Federation revealed the selections for the EuroBasket 2025 on Friday. Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings is focusing on his wife expecting a kid during the offseason and was officially ruled out. Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls is also out, as well as Kasparas Jakucionis of the Miami Heat.
Amid the team’s silence at the start of NBA free agency, the Miami Heat announced Tuesday they have signed first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis. While terms were not revealed, Jakucionis’ No. 20 draft position slots into a four-year contract worth $17.7 million, starting with a $3.7 million salary for 2025-26, with the first two seasons guaranteed and the final two team options.
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Anthony Chiang: Kasparas Jakucionis says he won't play in EuroBasket this year. Nikola Jovic (Serbia) and Pelle Larsson (Sweden) are expected to take part in the tournament later this summer.
Wasserman and CAA tied for the most first-round picks of the 2025 NBA Draft with six selections from each agency. Though Wasserman pulled ahead in the early hours at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, CAA mounted a late comeback with more than half of the overall selections through the 22nd and 30th picks. Wasserman was a consistent agency throughout the early two thirds of the draft, seeing clients like Baylor G VJ Edgecombe (3rd pick), South Carolina F Collin Murray-Boyles (9th pick), Arizona F Carter Bryant (14th pick), Cedevita Olimpija C Joan Beringer (17th pick), Saint-Quentin G Nolan Traore (19th pick) and Illinois G Kasparas Jakucionis (20th pick) get selected.
Following the draft, Jakucionis gave an exclusive interview to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews, where he explained why Miami Heat fans should be excited about him. The guard expressed confidence in fitting into Miami’s culture, saying the transition should come naturally. "From a basketball perspective, I always give everything I have on the court," Jakucionis told BasketNews. "I’m a team player trying to help the team win—I'm not trying to be a hero out there. I try to be aggressive, but I also want to get everyone else involved." "Off the court, I speak Spanish. I’ve heard there are a lot of Spanish-speaking Heat fans in Miami, and Latin American culture is strong there, so I think that helps," he added about his easy transition to Miami's culture.
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