As the Miami Heat's unique rookie Kasparas Jakucionis was selected with the team's first-round pick in the last NBA Draft, his first year will be one focused on development. While Jakucionis' skill level gives the Heat a bright future, the production won't come immediately, as this week, he has been sent down to the G League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce to hone in on his craft.

It would be a frustrating start to the season, mostly due to dealing with a strained groin, which made him miss the first seven games of the season. Before that, he missed a good portion of the preseason and training camp with a wrist injury, but when made available recently, he couldn't find his way into a rotation that has been firing on all cylinders, leading to the G League decision.

While some may see this as a demotion of some sort, it serves no purpose to not have Jakucionis get no reps, which the rookie echoed the same sentiments, according to The Miami Herald.

“I just need live basketball, to be honest,” Jakucionis said. “And just running and doing everything that you need to do on the basketball court. So I would say just playing.”

“I missed it a lot,” Jakucionis continued about getting back to the court. “That’s all I’ve done basically in my life. So, yeah, I’ve missed playing. But now I feel good, I feel healthy, and I feel way happier.”

Heat's Erik Spoelstra on Kasparas Jakucionis heading to G League

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Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra looks on against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second quarter at Kaseya Center.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With the Heat taking on the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Jakucionis has played in two G League games with the Skyforce, averaging 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals per game while shooting 30.8% from the field and three of nine from deep.

“The most important thing right now is he just needs to play,” Spoelstra said before Monday's game against the  New York Knicks. “It’s not even necessarily about evaluating him right now. He had some good weeks during the summer. And then it was just unfortunate that he had the injury. He even asked me, ‘What do I need to work on?’ And I was like, ‘Don’t stress out about that right now.’ It’s about getting out there and playing, and then we’ll take that next step when it comes.”

Jakucionis would label it as a “good thing” of playing a stint at the G League level, using it as a way to improve and work out any flaws he may have, like with turnovers. At any rate, Miami is 8-6 ahead of its matchup against the Warriors.