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Miami Heat’s Kasparas Jakucionis remains unfazed by ongoing trade rumors involving Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Despite the intense external noise extending to the Lithuanian combo guard, Jakucionis is focusing strictly on his personal development and an upcoming summer stint with the senior national team of his home country in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Qualifiers. “It’s part of it,” the Vilnius native explained during an appearance at the Jr. Heat Basketball Camp on Tuesday. “I really don’t pay too much attention to that because I can’t really control it. So I’m just trying to focus on what I do, on the court, off the court.”
“I really don’t pay too much attention on that, you know, because I can’t really control it,” Kasparas Jakucionis of the trade speculation, some of which has come with his name attached. “So I’m just trying to focus on what I do on the court, off the court, trying to get better.” For now, it’s been about working out at Kaseya Center and continuing to stand as a potential face of the Heat’s future, which included a Tuesday appearance at the team’s youth camp at Slam Miami.
Instead worrying about speculation, he has focused on his game. “Like paint decisions,” he said of figuring the best ways to play in traffic. “Obviously the weight room, trying to put some more weight, more strength.”
The Heat were aggressive in trying to land Giannis Antetokounmpo at the February trade deadline, when league sources say they thought a deal would get done before the Bucks ultimately backed away. This time around, with league sources indicating that the package is likely to include Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., either Pelle Larsson or Kasparas Jakučionis and draft capital (they can offer up to three first round picks), Miami is still widely seen as the frontrunner in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.
The Lithuanian national team has revealed its shortened 15-player roster for the July World Cup qualifying window, with three NBA players making the list. The squad includes Matas Buzelis, Jonas Valanciunas, and Kasparas Jakucionis, giving Lithuania a strong NBA presence heading into the summer window. However, one major name is missing from the candidate list. Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis was not included in the 30-man roster.
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The Miami Heat could consider pivoting to pursuit of another star player should they fail to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman said in a Wednesday appearance on 104.3 WQAM. Winderman said he feels the Heat are "primed to make a deal" due to an abundance of young players including Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson and Kasparas Jakucionis. "Honestly, if they get a signal it's not going to be Giannis, I think they explore Kawhi [Leonard]. I think they explore Ja [Morant]," Winderman said. "You can't get stale, especially in this market."
The Lithuanian national team has revealed its preliminary 30-player roster for the July World Cup qualifying window, with three NBA players making the list. The squad includes Matas Buzelis, Jonas Valanciunas, and Kasparas Jakucionis, giving the team strong NBA presence heading into the summer window.
Kasparas Jakucionis will be representing Lithuania during the upcoming summer window of the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers, the Lithuanian Basketball Association announced. The young Miami Heat guard is set to join the national team for two important Group D games in July. Lithuania will face Great Britain on July 2 before taking on Italy on July 5.
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Zachary Weinberger: Heat handled business agianst the Wizards, 152-136, scoring the second-highest scoring game in franchise history. Jaime Jaquez led with 32, Kel’el Ware with 24, 19, 8 blocks. Andrew Wiggins 21, Pelle Larsson 16, 7 rebs. Kasparas Jakucionis 14, Bam Adebayo 14, 9, 7 assists. Up next is 2 against Raptors on the road. #HeatNation
Most of that playing time for Jakucionis has come in the last three months, as he has appeared in 40 of the last 42 games after logging only 53.7 seconds in the NBA through the Heat’s first 26 games of the season. He has also played double-digit minutes in 34 of those 40 appearances over the last three months, with most of those opportunities coming in a bench role. “Kas just continues to get better,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “If you watch where he was in summer league compared to now, it’s really a credit to his work ethic. He spent a lot of time with [Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn] in all the pre-practice and post-practice sessions. He’s improved quite a bit. He’s earned this.”
Jakucionis entered Tuesday’s game in Charlotte shooting a team-best 53 of 123 (43.1 percent) from three-point range this season. Among the 271 NBA players who have attempted more than 100 threes this season, Jakucionis owns the 10th-best three-point percentage. “He’s one of those guys that’s always working on it. So he’s seen really good improvement,” Spoelstra said. “He’s refined some things just to simplify his shot, but he had really good touch before even getting here. But it’s the work ethic. It’s the consistency every single day. He’s relentless with it and taking the appropriate ones. “He’s getting a lot of open catch-and-shoot threes right now. I’m sure at some point the scouting report will change, as teams start to see him more often. But that shooting has been a good boost to our offense.”
But the Heat wasn’t concerned, as coaches and scouts pointed out that Jakucionis shot an impressive 41.4 percent on threes through Jan. 1, 2025 at Illinois before his three-point efficiency plummeted while battling a left forearm injury over the second half of his only college season. “I’m always confident from three-point range,” said Jakucionis, who doesn’t turn 20 until May 29. “One day it doesn’t go in, another it goes. So it just depends. But, yeah, in college, I didn’t shoot the best. But also there weren’t that many games to be honest. It was only one year. And the forearm injury maybe affected me at that moment. But going through it, I think it helped me overall. And then just try to be more consistent.”
