NBA
#10 Miami HEAT: Justise Winslow
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Justise Winslow played his way into being a top-10 NBA draft pick after a highly successful run with Duke in the NCAA tournament. Winslow was originally viewed as a late lottery pick, but after averaging 14.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in the tournament, he shot up the draft boards to the HEAT at No.10.
The HEAT add a player considered by many to be one of the most complete players in the draft. Miami was reportedly seeking a player that could step onto the court and contribute immediately as they view their team as close to competing in the Eastern Conference. Winslow will bring effort and hustle to the floor each and every night.
At 6’6, 225 pounds, Winslow built a reputation in his only year at Duke as a great perimeter defender that played with a ton of confidence. On the offensive side of the ball, he’s drawn comparisons at times to James Harden with his ability to drive to the basket and initiate contact in order to get to the foul line. Winslow can also step back and hit the three-point shot at times, but that will be an area to improve on as he only attempted 2.8 three-point shots at Duke. Winslow was used primarily as a stretch-four in college and will have to adjust to shooting over quicker and bigger guys at the NBA level. But he did convert on nearly 42 percent of the three-pointers that he did take.
Winslow could be used in some catch-and-shoot situations working off of the pick-and-roll. Having point guard Goran Dragic back next season will be key in setting up Winslow on those kinds of plays. Dragic is a player that thrives in finding open teammates in pick-and-rolls and Winslow could greatly benefit with Dragic running the offense. Dragic will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and will be seeking a near-max deal.
Winslow could also carve out a big role on the defensive side of the ball. He excelled on defense at Duke and could fill the role held by Luol Deng should Deng opt to not to return to the team next season. Winslow will benefit by playing around some veteran players in Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, should he return next season. It seems like the HEAT may have targeted Winslow early in the draft process and were hoping he’d fall to them at the 10th pick. They picked up a high-character guy that should fit well in head coach Erik Spoelstra’s system.
