Heat to sign young forward to extension after career-best season

Nikola Jovic has shown what he can provide to Miami Heat

The 22-year-old power forward is coming off his best statistical season — averaging 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 45.6% from the field and 37.1% from three-point range — but he was limited to 46 games after breaking a bone in his right hand in February. He was able to return for the playoff series against Cleveland and scored 24 points in Game 4, Charania states in a full story.

Jovic was primarily used off the bench last season, starting just 10 games after making 38 starts the year before. He said at Monday’s media day that he hopes to have a chance to compete for a starting role in training camp.

Jovic will make $4.4M this season in the final year of his rookie contract. The extension will run through the 2029-30 season, and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald notes that he’s currently the team’s only player who’s under contract past 2028/29.

The Heat selected Jovic with the 27th pick in the 2022 draft, but he battled injuries as a rookie and only appeared in 15 games. His role has expanded over the past two seasons, and the extension appears to cement his status as part of the team’s foundation moving forward.

Jovic is the fifth member of the 2022 draft class to receive an extension, joining Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Williams, as our tracker shows. Teams have until Oct. 20, the day before the start of the regular season, to finalize rookie scale extensions. Players who don’t receive them will become restricted free agents next summer if their teams extend qualifying offers.

As Winderman recently noted, Miami also has important extension decisions upcoming with Tyler Herro and Norman Powell that will determine the team’s financial flexibility for at least the rest of the decade.