Pelle Larsson’s new deal in Miami does more than reward a productive season. It raises the bar for Nikola Jovic.
The Heat are reportedly signing Larsson to a four-year, $60 million rookie-scale contract extension, and that move puts a spotlight squarely on Jovic as the 2026-27 season approaches. A second-round pick just cashed in ahead of a former first-rounder who still has to turn flashes into something more consistent.
Larsson earned the bump with real production. In 70 games, including 54 starts, he averaged 11.4 points on 49.6 percent shooting, along with 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
He also posted the sixth-best win share on the Heat last season at 4.1 and logged the fifth-most minutes on the roster with 1,849. His game fits anywhere - start him, bring him off the bench, it doesn’t change much.
He defends hard, scores at all three levels and can work with or without the ball.
Jovic, by contrast, is still trying to prove he belongs in the nightly rotation on a team that’s pushing to win now. He has not appeared in 50 games in a regular season, and last year he finished with 7.3 points on 36.6 percent shooting, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 47 games with one start.
The Heat already handed Jovic a four-year, $62.4 million rookie-scale extension last summer, and that deal is set to begin this league year. At 23, he has had chances and a longer runway than most.
The question is no longer whether he has talent. It’s whether he can finally convert that talent into dependable production.
Even at 6-10 and 205 pounds, Jovic has never really played like a traditional big. He prefers the perimeter and the three-point line, leaning on guard-like skills that don’t always line up with his frame. That’s part of the challenge, especially with Larsson looking more naturally suited to the kind of role Jovic is still trying to claim.
Miami has gone all in this summer, and Jovic still has a path. It just isn’t an easy one. He’ll likely have to beat out Simone Fontecchio in training camp to back up Andrew Wiggins at small forward.
There is at least some reason for optimism. Jovic played this summer in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers and put up strong numbers in four games, averaging 20 points on 66.7 percent shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Serbia went 4-0, and his best showing came against Bosnia and Herzegovina, when he scored 32 points on 73.3 percent shooting and added two rebounds.
Still, the Heat may ask him to fill a different role than the one he just played internationally. The standard is the same either way.
If the impact doesn’t match the promise, the conversations get a lot tougher. Jovic has reached the point where production matters more than projection.
In Other News...
Heat Season May Come Down To These Unsettled Rotation Spots
The Heats rotation picture is still taking shape, and a few familiar names could end up mattering more than anyone outside the locker room expects. Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith, Simone Fontecchio and Bobby Portis all sit in that gray area between proven contributors and players still trying to define exactly what their role will be in Miamis system. For a team that tends to squeeze value out of the margins, those backend decisions can wind up carrying real weight by the time the season settles in.
Jovics shooting and size, Smiths health and defensive value, Fontecchios outside touch and Portis fit in the mix each offer a different path to stabilizing the bench. But each also comes with questions that keep the picture from being cleanly mapped out right now, which is why these spots feel so pivotal. If Miami gets the right answers from this group, the rotation looks a lot deeper and more flexible. If not, the Heat may spend the season searching for the exact combination that gives them the best chance to keep pace. [Read more 🡒]
Bam Adebayo Could Decide How Far This New Heat Era Goes
Bam Adebayo has spent years as the steady piece around whichever version of the Heat has been asking the most of him, but the 2026-27 season could ask something different entirely. With Giannis Antetokounmpo now in the mix, Adebayos role no longer looks like simple frontcourt support. It could become one of the defining factors in how this new Heat era actually functions, especially with his value tied so closely to both his defense and whether his offense can scale upward alongside another star.
The fit is what makes this so intriguing, because Adebayo is being judged on more than the box score. Miami needs him to anchor the defensive end without losing the versatility that has made him so reliable, while also finding enough shooting to make life easier next to Antetokounmpo. If he lands on the right side of that equation, the ceiling for this roster changes fast. If not, the Heat could discover that even a new era still comes back to the same old question: how much can Adebayo really bend the game? [Read more 🡒]
Heat Still Have One Spot For A Veteran Who Could Matter Most
The Heat have done most of their heavy lifting for the season after landing Giannis Antetokounmpo and adding several veterans, but there is still one opening left on the roster. In a league where the buyout market can quickly change the shape of a contender, Miamis flexibility gives it a chance to keep one last seat open for the right kind of midseason addition.
Names like DAngelo Russell, Zach LaVine and Brook Lopez have already come up as possible targets if they become available, and each would bring a different kind of value depending on how their situations unfold. For Miami, the appeal is obvious: one more experienced piece could matter most when the games tighten up later in the year, even if the team has to wait a while before the market reveals who is truly there. [Read more 🡒]