Players excited about team’s prospects
ORLANDO— The exhale came Friday on the practice court at AmericanAirlines Arena.
No, not just because five grueling sessions of summer camp were over and attention could be turned to the start of summer-league play today, but because even at this early stage of NBA free agency, the Miami Heat again are whole.
Amid a league-wide makeover, with dramatic moves such as DeAndre Jordan’s Friday defection from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Dallas Mavericks, stability has delivered comfort at 601 Biscayne Blvd.
“I mean, obviously, it’s huge,” guard Tyler Johnson said. “If you can keep some chemistry, obviously that’s going to carry over into next season.”
Chemistry and continuity were in short supply last season for the Heat, as injury and illness ravaged the roster.
There was a thought that free agency could do the same.
Instead, Luol Deng opted into the final year on his Heat contract, Goran Dragic agreed to terms to return on the first day of free agency, and Dwyane Wade did the same on the second day.
By Friday, the Heat’s supporting players again were talking about a starting lineup of Hassan Whiteside, Chris Bosh, Deng, Wade and Dragic, and of a far brighter outlook than last season’s lottery finish that led to the drafting of Justise Winslow.
“It’s just excitement, just coming back and having a family,” Whiteside said. “I’m very excited.” How excited? “Definitely top three teams,” he projected of the Heat’s place in the Eastern Conference next season, after ninth place this past season. “I think we’re going to be a really great team.”
While Heat President Pat Riley and his staff looked to further bolster the roster, including a Riley dinner meeting late Thursday with Portland Trail Blazers freeagent forward LaMarcus Aldridge, what already is in place has considerably brightened the outlook.
“Chris Bosh is such a great shooter,” Whiteside said. “And Goran is going to push the tempo. And DWade’s going to do what DWade does. And Lu is going to be tough.”
Because contracts cannot be signed until Thursday, at the end of the NBA’s offseason personnel moratorium, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was banned Friday from discussing the team’s recent personnel strides.
But the returning players on the roster preparing for summer league took care of that.
Guard Zoran Dragic said his brother was committed to the Heat’s outlook since the two arrived at the Feb.19 trading deadline from the Phoenix Suns, with the brothers particularly heartened by Wade’s return.
“With this kind of organization, we’re like a family,” Zoran Dragic said. “I’m very happy that they found agreements, especially with D-Wade. He’s really the heart of this team.”
Instead of the Heat having to force-feed minutes to neophytes next season, as often was the case last season, there now is the ability to maintain a development program while also pushing for playoff seeding.
“It feels really good knowing they’re back,” forward James Ennis said. “We know who the leaders of this team are.”
While Spoelstra eventually will lecture his players about getting ahead of themselves, Friday was not the time. Instead, there was collective relief.
“If you think about the emergence of Hassan, what C.B. and D-Wade bring, and then Lu, who is like a lockdown defender, can space the floor, there’s no reason why we couldn’t be in the top one, two, three in the East with that lineup, and everybody being healthy,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of freak accidents last year. With everybody healthy, there’s no reason why we couldn’t be the top in the East.”
Winslow signs
With salary-cap space no longer a factor in the Heat’s offseason equation, the team moved quickly Friday to sign Winslow.
Although the No. 10 pick in the draft is slotted in at $2,068,000 on the league’s rookie salary scale, teams are allowed to offer as much as a 20-point raise above that figure, which is standard operating procedure for most teams. That would put Winslow’s first-year Heat salary at about $2.5 million.
Under the NBA’s salary scale for first-round picks, Winslow’s contract is guaranteed for the first two seasons, with the Heat holding a team option for the third year and with the right to retain the forward out of Duke with a 27.5-percent raise for the fourth year. If all previous options are picked up, the Heat then would have the right to match any outside offers for Winslow for his fifth season in the league.
“It was nice,” Winslow said of finalizing his first professional contract just over a year after graduating from high school. “The whole money thing is nice, but I’m just out here trying to play the game. It’s nice to get paid for it. That’s a plus.
“It’s just a dream come true. For it to finally happen, sign the contract, it just means a lot.”
Winslow begins summer-league play with the Heat today in Orlando.
Heat second-round pick Josh Richardson remains unsigned. Players are allowed to participate in summer-league games without a contract, which will be the case for the guard out of Tennessee, who was drafted at No. 40.
iwinderman@tribpub.com