Miami Heat Training camp is set to begin in a few days, but an important question must be asked. Who will be battling for the starting five positions?
With Miami Heat training camp slated to open on October 1st at Kaiser University’s West Palm Beach campus, numerous amount of questions will arise. Possibly the most important question that will raise itself from the ashes: who will be battling for the five starting slots? Welcome to the Training Camp Battles series!
Over the next few days, I will be looking into each of the five starting slots. This will foster a discussion of who will be fighting for the starting spot and ultimately who I believe will win the battle.
Today’s battle: Point Guard.
The Contenders
Entering training camp, Miami has big questions at point guard. Do they stick with the Slovenian veteran in Goran Dragić or do they hand over the keys to the ship to Justise Winslow? At a recent local event, Winslow stated his desire to be the Miami’s lead guard:
"“I’m looking forward to playing point guard this season…we’ll see how that works out, but that’s my plan, to play and be the point guard for this team”"
Winslow’s numbers made leaps and bounds last season when playing his desired position, rather than his drafted position of small forward. HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy noted Winslow’s number spike in the following graphic.
Justise Winslow at point guard: 15.2 points, 5.5 boards, 5.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.6 threes (shooting 47.1% from field and 37.5% from three).
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) January 28, 2019
Justise Winslow on the wing: 8.3 points, 5.3 boards, 4.4 assists, .7 steals, .8 threes (shooting 33.3% from field and 25.8% from three). pic.twitter.com/Wf9LHc7ZeV
On the other hand, Dragić is entering his sixth season in a Miami Heat uniform. Since arriving via trade during the 2014-15 season, Dragić has started at point guard in 268 out of a possible 282 games played. The only 14 games that Dragić played in but didn’t start came last season, with Winslow filling in that role.
Whether those numbers are noise or news — considering Dragić has been battling a nagging knee injury for quite some time — the path to a starting role is quickly diminishing, especially in Miami. The Miami Heat were extremely active in trade talks involving Dragić, searching for suitors to undertake the final $19.2M remaining on his contract.
The Verdict
While Miami hasn’t always displayed the commitment to their young studs as the building blocks of the franchise, they have instead been caught reaching for star players to help bring the Miami Heat their fourth NBA title. With trade rumors that encompassed star players like Chris Paul, John Wall, and Bradley Beal being thrown around all summer, Miami understands that executing a deal for such players would ultimately mean gutting the youthful core — and they seem to be okay with that.
A key portion of that youthful core is Justise Winslow. Entering his 5th season, Miami should be willing to allow Justise Winslow to become the starting point guard in hopes that the former Duke Blue Devil has a career year. This scenario would be a win-win situation for Miami.
On one end of the spectrum, Miami can find their point guard of the future with Winslow locked under contract at $13M per year through the 2021-22 season. On the opposite end, if Winslow has a career year at his preferred position, his trade value ultimately rises. At 6-foot7-inches and the ability to guard multiple positions, Winslow’s services would be a commodity that every NBA franchise would be in on.
The question mark for Winslow this season will revolve around his consistency, not his position. The final call from this direction says that Justise Winslow will be the starting point guard for the Miami Heat this season, in case you hadn’t figured it out already.