The Miami Heat isn’t even two months into its offseason yet, but it has already been an eventful one for forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
There have been basketball workouts with NBA skills trainer Chris Brickley in New York, there have been basketball workouts at Kaseya Center and there has also been some time spent as a member of the media.
Jaquez is one of four NBA players who were selected to serve as media correspondents for this year’s NBA Finals series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. Jaquez took on that role on the NBA’s social platforms for Sunday’s Game 2 in Oklahoma City.
“It was a lot of fun,” Jaquez said of that experience during a Tuesday appearance to interact and take photos with young campers at Jr. Heat Basketball Camp at SLAM! Miami charter school. “It gave me a different perspective on the media. I got to go check in on some of the meetings and how so much work gets put into broadcasting the NBA to the rest of the world. I think people don’t really think about it. Not that they think that it’s hard or easy, they just don’t really get to see what it’s like. And it was a great experience to talk to the people behind the cameras about how they put this whole production together to the world. For me to be a part of it for a day was really cool.”
Jaquez even got an opportunity to be on the other side of interviews, asking Pacers and Thunder players questions during his short stint as a media correspondent.
“It was a lot more fun, I’ll tell you that,” Jaquez said of being the one to ask questions instead of answer them. “I tried to think of some good questions, some things that I know that I always get and are very common questions. So I tried to think outside the box and give some fun questions that I would like to answer.”
But Jaquez has also been busy on the court in recent weeks after taking a brief break from basketball once the Heat was swept out of the first round of the playoffs in late April.
“When the season ended, I took some time away just to decompress, gather my thoughts, really get to a place of peace,” Jaquez, 24, said. “Now I’m full steam ahead. I’ve been in the gym every single day, working on my mind, body, spirit, my jump shot, defense. Really just getting my body and mind in tune to get ready for this next season.”
Jaquez has plenty to work on this offseason, as his production dipped across the board this past season after being named to the NBA’s All-Rookie first team for his impressive work in the previous season.
Jaquez averaged fewer points (8.6 per game this season compared to 11.9 per game last season) while shooting a worse percentage from the field (46.1% this season compared to 48.9% last season) and three-point range (31.1% this season compared to 32.2% last season) this regular season than last regular season. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals per game in 66 regular-season appearances (17 starts) in his second NBA season.
Becoming a more reliable three-point shooter is among Jaquez’s top priorities this offseason. Not only did Jaquez shoot just 31.1% on threes this past regular season, but NBA tracking stats say that 111 of his 119 three-point attempts this past regular season were either open or wide open (defender at least four feet away) with teams consistently helping off of him and daring him to take outside shots.
Some of that developmental work came with Brickley in New York last month. But most of that work has come in the Heat’s facilities in Miami in recent weeks and will come in Los Angeles later this offseason.
“Whenever I’m in New York, I always hit him up,” Jaquez said of working with Brickley. “He’s been a great trainer for so many guys throughout the NBA. He’s got a great reputation and I’ve gotten to develop a relationship with him. I saw him actually in Miami during F1 and I told him I was going to be in New York and I let him know that we should get some work in. He’s a great basketball mind, really personable guy, wants to help guys get better. Anytime I’m in New York, I always try to work with him.”
Jaquez is also working to become a mentally stronger player after his shaky second NBA season eventually led to him dropping out of the Heat’s rotation in the final weeks of the season.
“I’m working with a mental coach to try to just help myself become present in the moments, try to tune out all the noise and just really focus on what’s important,” said Jaquez, who is due $3.9 million next season in the third year of his rookie contract.
The coming weeks will bring the NBA Draft, free agency and likely plenty of trades around the league — a time that creates some uneasiness for players throughout the NBA because of all the roster changes that will happen. But on Tuesday, Jaquez found himself appreciative of the moment at hand at Jr. Heat Basketball Camp.
“It’s always great,” Jaquez said after speaking and taking photos with young campers at Jr. Heat Basketball Camp at SLAM! Miami charter school. “This is the next generation of hoopers, next generation of Heat fans. So it’s always great to go and show your face and interact and let them know that we’re real people. We’re not just people that you see on TV, but you can come talk to us and give advice and be that person that they can look up to.”