Nikola Jovic walked into Heat media day with a different tone than the one that defined much of last season. The back issues that helped derail his year are no longer hanging over him, and he said Monday that he hasn’t had any problems for months. With his new four-year, $62.4MM rookie scale extension now kicking in, Jovic said he’s aiming to be a “spark plug off the bench” in 2026/27.
That optimism was backed up by head coach Erik Spoelstra, who said Jovic “checked all the boxes I wanted him to check” over the summer. Spoelstra pointed to Jovic’s play in World Cup qualifying for Serbia and said the 23-year-old has the kind of versatility Miami can use.
“He was terrific in (World Cup) qualifying games for Serbia. He’s still a young player,” Spoelstra said, according to Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Herald.
“Even though sometimes it feels like I have no patience for that growth… when it doesn’t go as well as he wants it to go, it’s OK. It doesn’t have to be end-of-the-world body language when he misses a couple shots.
We all make mistakes. He worked on that and showed accountability this summer.
He’s going to make an impact on this team with his versatility.”
The Heat also got a little edge from center Nick Richards, who said his camp was stunned that Miami’s non-guaranteed offer ended up being the best deal he found in free agency. Richards said he’s arriving at camp with a chip on his shoulder after expecting the offseason to “go a different way.”
Pelle Larsson, meanwhile, is preparing for a bigger role in the backcourt. The third-year wing called his new four-year, $60MM rookie scale extension “insane,” then said he expects to handle the ball more this season as Miami’s point-guard depth shifts. Larsson described himself as moving from a straightforward wing to more of a combo guard and said he got extra reps running the offense for Sweden in World Cup qualifying.
“We have maybe less point guards,” he said. “ I go from being a clear wing to a (combo guard).
… A lot of guys can bring it up. I will probably end up being a (point guard) in some lineups.
I handled the ball more than I ever had this summer (in World Cup qualifying games for Sweden), so I got some practice.”
There’s also confidence on the shooting front after the Heat’s trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo raised questions about spacing around him and Bam Adebayo. Simone Fontecchio doesn’t sound worried. On Monday, he said he has never played on a team with this many capable three-point shooters.
The conditioning piece, as always in Miami, was part of the story too. Every player on the roster passed the Heat’s pre-camp test, and Davion Mitchell said that’s a notable step after he failed it last year. Mitchell said he dropped 10 pounds over the offseason and feels better prepared this time around.
In Other News...
Heats Missed Shooter Already Raises Concern Before Camp
Miami spent part of the offseason chasing veteran help on the perimeter, with Bradley Beal and Klay Thompson both on the radar before the roster picture settled elsewhere. Beal ended up back with the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year deal, while Thompson became the more satisfying outcome for Miami after the Beal pursuit fell through.
Now Beal is heading into training camp dealing with an injury, which only adds to the what-if feeling around the Heats missed opportunity. For Miami, the better ending was landing Thompson, whose arrival gives the team the kind of established shooting it was hunting all along, even if the path to getting there came with some frustration. [Read more 🡒]
Spoelstra Just Set The Tone For Miamis New Defensive Core
Erik Spoelstra is already framing Miamis defense around the kind of identity the Heat have long prized, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo at the center of it. The coach pointed to the pair as foundational pieces and, just as importantly, emphasized the need for the rest of the roster to grow into that standard. For a team that has built so much of its edge on defensive discipline, the message was less about a reset than about reinforcing the next version of the same old idea.
Spoelstra also made clear this is still a work in progress, with young players such as Ryan Conwell and Pelle Larsson part of the conversation. He singled out their skill sets and competitiveness, signs that Miami sees more than just depth pieces when it looks down the bench. The bigger task now is blending those pieces into an inside-out defensive structure while the chemistry continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Giannis Just Put The Heat In An Awkward Spotlight Again
Giannis Antetokounmpo managed to turn a routine media day stop into an awkward little spotlight on the Heat, and Bam Adebayo happened to be right there to hear it. In the interview, Antetokounmpo said Miamis visiting locker room is uncomfortable, pointing to a lack of air conditioning, old towels with stains and showers that do not work.
For a franchise that prides itself on the polish of its home environment, the comments landed with a little extra sting because they were so specific and because they came with Adebayo in the room acknowledging Antetokounmpos candor. It is the kind of detail visiting teams notice, but rarely say out loud, and it puts the Heat in the sort of uncomfortable conversation they would probably rather not be having about their own arena. [Read more 🡒]