In the lane

DION’S COMMITMENT?: As if there is any doubt that money talks, Dion Waiters again was effusive in his praise of the Heat’s culture during a phone-in interview on WQAM, but again stopped short of guaranteeing a return in free agency. “I want to be there,” Waiters said after calling in later than expected, having gotten himself caught up in an intense on-line game of Grand

Theft Auto. “When that time comes and we sit down, we’ve just got to make it happen. Let’s get it over with as quick as possible.” After again being sold the benefits of a return by host Marc Hochman, Waiters did not go all-in with the bait. “I think so,” he said of re-signing. “I think I’ll be confident and I think I’ll be back. Just, we got to make it work, and hopefully everything could come together full circle.” One thing that became apparent is that Heat President Pat Riley won’t have trouble with his own sales job. “He’s a cool, smooth dude. He’s just laid back. He knows the vibe,” Waiters said of Riley. “He’s got one of those vibes you like to be around.” INSIDE STUFF: Sometimes the best way to get a read on a value of a draft slot is to get a read on what the team directly ahead is thinking. With the Denver Nuggets selecting at No. 13, one spot ahead of the Heat, General Manager Tim Connelly was kind enough to oblige on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio. Asked if the quality of the draft will last to his spot, Connelly said, “I think we’ll certainly get a good player if we stay at that position. My guess is there’s a first tier of players around eight or nine, depending on the team. And I think after that, I’ll think you’ll see a bunch of different names.” Connelly said he believed it would be difficult to move into those first eight or nine selections, hinting his team could target a defensive-minded big man. Of OG Anunoby, a player who has been linked to both the Heat and Nuggets, Connelly said he expects the Indiana forward to have his name called early on draft night, despite his season-ending knee injury. And if a team is looking into trading into the Heat’s area of the draft, the Nuggets might wind up preempting the Heat. “That pick right now is not yet a player. It’s an asset,” Connelly said. “If we can improve our team by trading that pick for a guy that fills a bunch of needs, by all means we’d do so.” INSIDE STUFF, TOO: Then there is the fallout of the Washington Wizards’ seven-game second-round demise at the hands of the Celtics, with center Marcin Gortat, he of the limited touches, wondering if there is an appreciation for his contributions, raising the very type of questions at a time the league is playing smaller that were asked a year ago before the Heat made a $98 million commitment to Hassan Whiteside. “Somebody has to take sacrifices on this team. We can’t have five guys scoring every game 20 points. It’s impossible,” Gortat said in his season-ending media session. “I know there’s a lot of freaking idiots looking down the columns for the points telling me that, ‘You only score four or six points; team lost because of you.’ That’s how it is. That’s how people picture that. But people that know basketball, they know what I bring to the table.” Riley has spoken of bigger numbers going forward for Whiteside. The Wizards’ situation raised questions of whether that is possible in a perimeter-driven league.