Summer still uneven for Kasparas Jakucionis as Heat fall to Pistons in Vegas

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Jul 17, 2025

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There likely won’t be many, if any days, this season when Kasparas Jakucionis will have the opportunity to be the leading man for the Miami Heat. Thursday at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, was one that came practically by default.

And again left questions about the guard out of Illinois taken at No. 20 last month by the Heat.

With Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson having left summer league, and with Keshad Johnson given the day off, Jakucionis stood as the focus for the Heat in what turned into a 108-88 loss to the Detroit Pistons on the UNLV campus.

Still struggling to find his shot during summer league, save for a single breakout game, Jakucionis, this time closed with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting (1 of 6 on 3-pointers), with five rebounds, three assists and five turnovers.

There were flashes along the way from the Lithuanian and an attacking approach that allowed him to close 6 of 6 from the foul line, but it largely was an uneven afternoon, now with the Heat down to one final game remaining in their summer schedule on Friday.

Five Degrees of Heat from Thursday’s game:

— 1. For starters: As is typical during the waning stages of summer league, Thursday was an opportunity for the Heat to feature components of the summer roster who largely had been playing in support — or not playing at all.

That had the Heat, beyond Jakucionis and two-way player Vlad Goldin, opening with a lineup rounded out by Erik Stevenson, Marcus Williams and Dain Dainja.

Stevenson, who converted a game-clinching 3-pointer on Monday against the Boston Celtics, is a 6-foot-4 26-year-old guard who has spent the past two seasons in the G League and France.

Williams is a 22-year-old 6-2 guard who went undrafted last month out of San Francisco.

Dainja is a 23-year-old 6-9 power forward who went undrafted last month out of Memphis.

Also in the Heat mix Thursday was 24-year-old 6-6 forward Myron Gardner, a G League player the past two years who suffered a hand injury at the end of the Heat’s play at the California Classic last week and had not played since.

Gardner led the Heat with 19 points, with Stevenson scoring 15.

— 2. Jakucionis returns: After being given Monday night’s victory off, Jakucionis opened as a primary playmaker and saw his shooting struggles continue, at 0 for 3 from the field, including 0 for 2 on 3-pointers, in his opening stint.

Jakucionis’ first basket came on a driving layup in the second period, then falling to 1 of 7 from the field, before following up by converting a 3-pointer.

Save for last Friday’s 24-point breakout against the Atlanta Hawks, the summer largely has been a struggle.

Unlike recent offseasons, when first-round picks Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. made solid summer statements, the 6-6 Jakucionis could arrive to training camp with plenty to prove to have a chance for a rotation spot.

— 3. Already gone: After a pair of solid outings in the wake of criticism from coach Erik Spoelstra, Ware departed summer league two games before the conclusion.

Such scheduling is not unusual for players who spent the previous season in the NBA, with Jaquez also leaving summer league early a year ago.

Guard Pelle Larsson, another returning player in summer league, had left the Heat after Monday’s game against the Celtics to begin work with the Swedish national team.

Ware ultimately made his statements when needed, with 21 points and nine rebounds in Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then 21 points and 15 rebounds Monday against the Celtics.

— 4. The big thing: With Ware out, Goldin got his opportunity in the summer starting lineup and continued to leave questions about his rebounding.

This time the 7-footer who went undrafted out of Michigan after his Final Four appearance at Florida Atlantic, closed with six points and five rebounds in 20 minutes.

The Heat remain with questions with their depth at center, in the wake of Kevin Love being sent out in last week’s trade for Norman Powell.

— 5. Up next: The Heat conclude their summer-league schedule with a Friday 7 p.m. Eastern game against the Milwaukee Bucks (ESPN+), having been eliminated from contention for the weekend’s playoff round. The Heat entered the Las Vegas NBA Summer League as defending champion, winning the title game a year ago in sudden-death overtime.

Among those on the Bucks’ summer roster is former Heat guard Jamaree Bouyea.