Heat forward Nikola Jovichwho signed a $62.4 million rookie contract ahead of the 2025/26 season, had a disappointing year, battling back problems and averaging just 7.3 points on .366/.269/.683 shooting in 47 regular season games.
As his new contract comes into effect, Jovic said during the Heat’s media day on Monday that he has not had any back problems in months and is optimistic about being a “spark plug off the bench” in the 2026/27 season. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters that Jovic “ticked all the boxes I wanted him to tick” during the summer and said he was looking forward to what the 23-year-old could bring to the team in the future.
“He was terrific in the (World Cup) qualifiers for Serbia. He’s still a young player,” Spoelstra said, according to Jackson and Anthony Chung of The Herald. “Even though sometimes it feels like I don’t have the patience for that growth…if things don’t go as well as he wants, that’s okay. If he misses a couple of shots, it shouldn’t be doomsday body language. We all make mistakes. He’s worked on that this summer and shown responsibility. He’s going to impact this team with his versatility.”
We’ve got more on the Heat:
- Thermal center Nick Richards admitted his camp was shocked that Miami’s non-guaranteed deal was the best contract offer he received in the 2026 offseason, Jackson tweeted. Richards suggested he’s coming into camp with a chip on his shoulder after thinking the summer was “going to be different.”
- Third year wing Pele Larsonwho cited his new four-year, $60 million deal beginner’s scale up as “Crazy,” said Monday that he expects to take on more ball-handling duties this fall, as Jackson relay. “Maybe we have less point guards” he said. “I’m going from pure wing to (combo guard). … A lot of guys can pick it up. I’ll probably be (point guard) in some lineups. I’ve had the ball more this summer than ever (in the World Cup qualifiers for Sweden), so I’ve been training.”
- After trading for Janice AntecumbaThe Heat faced the question of whether they would have enough 3-pointers around the star big men of Antecumbs and Bam Adebayobut a swingman Simone Fontecchio I don’t think it will be a problem. According to Jackson, Fontecchio said Monday that he had never been on a team with so many experienced 3-point shooters.
- Jackson writes that every player on the roster took the infamous prep test before Heat camp. Playing Davion Mitchell admitted he failed the test last year but said he lost 10 pounds this offseason and is in better shape.
- In case you missed it, we did delivered some hot notes also on Monday, including some highlights of Antetokounmpo’s media day availability.
