Amid Lillard waiting game, Heat’s Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo move on to international endeavors
MIAMI — As the Miami Heat wait on the domestic drama playing out with a potential trade for Damian Lillard, two of the team’s big men have moved on to international itineraries.
On Monday, Heat 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic was named to Serbia’s preliminary roster for the World Cup. Tuesday, the NBA announced that Heat center Bam Adebayo will be among the coaches for 80 top high-school-age prospects from across Africa at the 19th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, from Friday through Monday at the American International School of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Jovic departed the NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas prior to its completion two weeks ago to begin his work with his national team. Since then, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, citing the workload in leading his team to the 2023 NBA title, has dropped off Serbia’s roster, increasing the chances of a meaningful role for Jovic.
Among those joining Jovic on Serbia’s roster are NBA players Bogdan Bogdanovic and Aleksej Pokusevski.
Serbia’s preliminary-round group also includes South Sudan, China, and Puerto Rico, a schedule that opens for Serbia on Aug. 26. The event being hosted by Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan runs through Sept. 10.
The Heat typically have encouraged international competition for their players as a means to player development. With Jovic, however, it has been an uneven ride regarding injuries, having missed time due to ailments in summer league the past two years, and then most of last season with a back issue.
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Coach Erik Spoelstra was heartened by Jovic’s performance at the start of summer league this month.
“There’s a lot to like about his development so far,” Spoelstra said in Las Vegas during summer league in an interview on WQAM. “You see the rebounding, you see the off-ball awareness defensively, his ability to take a rebound off the glass and push it in transition. These are skills that are really tough to teach. He has great vision.”
Jovic, 20, bulked up over the past year, adding 20 pounds to his lithe 6-foot-11 frame.
“He looked like a kid, he looked like a teenager, as he should have,” Spoelstra said of Jovic’s previous build. “But now he looks like a man. That’s a credit to all the work that he’s put in in the weight room. The last four months have really been about drilling and working behind the scenes.
“But he needs this, he needs the practices, the games, as many minutes as he can get.”
As for Adebayo, it will be a busy two weeks, with the Heat center also to host his annual South Florida youth camp on Aug. 5th at Slam Charter School.
Other NBA players joining Adebayo for the event in South Africa are Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga and Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs. The event also will feature current or former NBA coaches J.B. Bickerstaff, Mike Brown, Dwane Casey, Darvin Ham and Dave Joerger.
Included during Adebayo’s time at the event will be a hospital visit, a Her Time to Play seminar for the female campers and a court unveiling in the Alexandra Township.
As for his annual South Florida event, registration is open for the Bam Youth Basketball Clinic, with details at thebbbfoundation.org.
Adebayo’s event includes 100 scholarship spots for students from Overtown Optimist group, Tees Miami and the Boys and Girls Club.
Williams impresses
Alondes Williams, the former Brooklyn Nets guard who had his moments with the Heat during summer league, has had his rights acquired by the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Williams, 6-4, went undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2022, spending time last season with the Nets and the G League’s Long Island Nets.
In five summer-league appearances with the Heat this month, Williams averaged 6.4 points on .476 percent shooting, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists, in 20.9 per game.
The Skyforce sent the returning player rights of DJ Stewart to the Nets to complete the transaction.
