Miami Heat Mailbag: Is re-signing Dion Waiters a priority this summer?

Is re-signing Dion Waiters a priority for the Miami Heat? Are they a dark horse team in the East? Is Justise Winslow expendable. Let’s open up the mail bag.

You can send future mailbag questions to LockedOnHeat@gmail.com. Thanks to those of you who have sent questions. In addition to answering them on the podcast with my co-host David Ramil, I’ll answer them in this weekly column. Let’s do it.

Re-signing Dion Waiters has to be one of the primary priorities during the offseason. I mean, c’mon, the guy is playing lights out and obviously Spo has figured out how to consistently bring this out of him when no other coach could. I feel confident that this is a 50-win team if everyone stays healthy. Do you agree that re-signing Waiters has become a top priority this offseason? – Lee Seaton

Re-signing Dion Waiters could be very important, but it won’t be Miami’s top priority. First, they need to circle the wagon around Gordon Hayward, Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap. Heck, they should probably check on the availability of Jimmy Butler and Paul George too, before inking Waiters to another deal. Only after that will they (a) know if they need Waiters and (b) how much to offer him.

Why do they have to sort out the bigger name free agents first? It’s because more than money. Waiters needs, nay, demands the ball in his hands. Free agents like Hayward or Griffin may not want to play with him. You and I love Waiters, but he still has a reputation you know. If that reputation gets in the way of signing an All-Star, bye bye Waiters.

Here’s the good news, if you’re the Heat. Waiters recently said he wants to be in Miami, and that he doesn’t want to sweat free agency. He likes Miami. His family likes Miami. He wants to be in Miami. He’d probably be willing to give the Heat a South Beach discount, which should make him easier to re-sign regardless of what happens in free agency. But, if the Heat wait too long while taking meetings with other free agents, the market could drive up his price. Rilesburg has to play this carefully if they want to keep Waiters around.

Dion Waiters says he wants to re-sign with the Miami Heat ‘as quick as possible’

Dion Waiters will be a free agent after this season, but he doesn't want to deal with the drama. He just wants to stay with the Miami Heat.

Say Miami was “relatively” healthy all season long like they are now and instead of going 11-30, they went 20-21 in the first half before going on this streak. So after Wednesday nights game, they would be 40-25. Would people be talking about this team as a dark horse to make the Eastern Conference Finals? A lot of doubt about the Heat comes from that poor start. – Billy Kuhn

I don’t necessarily agree that Miami’s poor start was due to injury. Waiters missed nearly 20 games with a groin injury, Justise Winslow was lost after 18 games and Josh Richardson’s been dealing with injuries all season, but the Heat are a team largely turned over. They were a team that expected to have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the starting unit.

Erik Spoelstra needed time to figure what was what. The offense has evolved from too many post-ups with Hassan Whiteside to the beautiful drive-and-kick game they play now. The defense has gotten better. James Johnson has gotten in better shape. Goran Dragic has grown into a leader. Spoelstra got through to Waiters. Rodney McGruder has developed. Luke Babbitt’s figured out how to be effective. The Heat were just bad at the beginning of the year, but they’ve gotten better.

As for the playoffs, they still have a ceiling. They aren’t as good as the Cavaliers, Wizards or Raptors, but no one wants to play the Heat in the first round.

Since the team has been so successful without Winslow on the court, do you think the Heat might look to trade him in the offseason? Maybe package him with our first rounder for an established player? Or do you think his youth and contract are too valuable? He seems like a classic “will be overpaid” guy, so I wouldn’t mind getting rid of him now. – Sam Danes

It depends on what the Heat want to be. Let’s say they run this whole crew back. They can win 48 games and make the playoffs in the East without Winslow next season. But is that all you want to be? Winslow still has a role to play on the Heat, and he’s an upgrade over McGruder (not to mention five years younger). As good as Miami’s perimeter defense has been, they still lack the shutdown corner. The Heat could have used Winslow in their loss to the Pacers on Sunday when Paul George was going off, for instance. They’ll especially need Winslow’s elite one-on-one defense in the playoffs against the likes of George, LeBron James and Jimmy Butler.

I know a lot of fans focus on his offense, and his bad shooting numbers, but there’s a reason Winslow always has a positive plus/minus. He’s Miami’s most disruptive defender. He creates turnovers, which lead to fast breaks. You know how many fast-break points the Heat had against the Pacers? Zero. Winslow leads to points at least indirectly. He has the potential to be as disruptive defensively as Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard. Folks, he’s that good.

Next: Stretch 4: 4 in a row and Dragic's injury

Can the Heat be as good as they are now without Winslow? Sure. Can they be better with him? For sure.

Answered on the podcast: Is Michigan State’s Miles Bridges a good fit for the Miami Heat in the NBA draft?