Justise Winslow Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: 16th Man, Injuries, Richardson, Dragic

January 16th, 2017 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed today that the NBA has granted the team a harship exception, allowing for a 16th player to be added to the roster (Twitter link). According to Spoelstra, Miami has not yet determined which player will be added to the roster using that exemption (Twitter link). However, the Heat coach may simply be waiting until the move is official to formally discuss the team’s newest player — according to reports on Sunday, Miami is prepared to call up Okaro White from its D-League affiliate to take that 16th roster spot.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why the Heat qualify for a hardship exception that allows them to add a 16th player, providing updates on where things stand on sidelined players like Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts, and Justise Winslow.
Meanwhile, Josh Richardson will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks of action, Spoelstra confirmed today (Twitter link). When Richardson is ready to return, the Heat will have to part ways with someone to get back down to 15 players.
In a mailbag for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman discusses the possibility of the Heat matching up with the Magic for a Goran Dragic trade. In Winderman’s view, it makes sense for Miami to be patient if any such deal would involve a 2017 first-round pick, since the Heat would want to be sure that pick lands as high as possible in the draft. Of course, the further Orlando is from the playoff race in the East, the less likely the team is to part with a 2017 pick.
Within the same mailbag, Winderman also suggests that James Johnson and Wayne Ellington are more likely than someone like Derrick Williams to generate interest as trade chips.

Heat Notes: Richardson, Dragic, Reed, Winslow

January 8th, 2017 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are starting to focus on the future as this season continues to unravel, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Dwyane Wade‘s departure for Chicago and Chris Bosh‘s ongoing battle with blood clots robbed Miami of two huge talents. On top of that, second-year forward Justise Winslow is out for the year after shoulder surgery and veteran big man Josh McRoberts is sidelined indefinitely with a foot problem. While this appears to be a lost season, Miami is in position to rebuild quickly. At 11-27 and third in our Reverse Standings, the Heat will have a high draft pick this summer. The final two seasons of Bosh’s contract will probably be cleared away by a medical hardship, making Miami a player on the free agent market again. “It’s a competitive league and everybody wants to be that last team, but who has a coherent plan? Who’s committed to that plan? Who’s disciplined for that plan when there’s a lot of noise and it’s not necessarily getting the results that you want?” said coach Eric Spoelstra. “We’re able to see great promise, hope, and progress with this team. If you know anything about our organization, we have a plan.”

There’s more news out of Miami:

An MRI performed Saturday on guard Josh Richardson‘s left ankle was negative and he is listed as day-to-day, according to Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Center Hassan Whiteside, who has missed four games with a bruised retina, is expected back today.
Willie Reed made an impression on Spoelstra with his play during Whiteside’s absence, Navarro writes in the same piece. The performance of the second-year center, who signed with Miami over the summer, “definitely earned him more minutes, more opportunities,” Spoelstra said.
If the Heat are able to get two draft picks for point guard Goran Dragic, one may come well in the future, speculates Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. A scout told Winderman the Heat are unlikely to get a pick anywhere near the top of this year’s lottery by dealing Dragic.
Miami shouldn’t hesitate to pick up Winslow’s $3.5 million rookie-scale salary for 2018-19, Winderman argues in a separate column. He notes that Winslow, the 10th pick in the 2015 draft, will only be 21 when training camp opens, and although he is coming off a poor shooting season he can contribute as a rebounder, defender and playmaker.

Heat Apply For Disabled Player Exception

January 6th, 2017 at 4:14pm CST by Austin Kent

The Heat have applied for a disabled player exception in light of the recent injury to forward Justise Winslow, tweets Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald. The news comes on the heels of Winslow’s successful but presumably season-ending procedure to repair a torn labrum that he suffered last week.

Although the surgery went well according to a release published on the team’s website, the club will look to add an extra body heading into the second half of the season. Teams have until January 15 to apply for one of the disabled player exceptions and if approved are free to sign a replacement player making up to either 50% of the injured player’s salary or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whichever is lower.

In Miami’s case, should the application be granted, they’ll be free to sign somebody worth up to approximately $1.3MM due to Winslow’s $2.6MM deal without it using up cap space. Though not applicable in this scenario, the non-taxpayer mid-level exception for 2016-17 is $5.6MM.

The Heat are currently down a roster spot already considering that Chris Bosh has yet to be medically cleared to play for the team. In Bosh’s case, the Heat retain the option to apply for a disabled player exception worth the full non-taxpayer MLE, but appear instead to be holding onto Bosh with the intent of waiving him and potentially clearing his contract from their books altogether. More on Bosh’s contract situation in this October feature by USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt.

With Winslow out, one potential replacement that has been mentioned by The Palm Beach Post’s Anthony Chiang is Briante Weber. Weber has thrived this season with Miami’s D-League affiliate and was one of the last cut from the team after training camp. As of Thursday, Chiang notes, teams have been eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts.

Salary information from HoopsHype was used in this report.

Justise Winslow Likely Out For Season

January 4th, 2017 at 9:03pm CST by Austin Kent

Heat sophomore Justise Winslow will probably miss the rest of the 2016/17 season, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The versatile forward injured his shoulder tangling with Al Horford on Friday and will undergo what’s presumed to be season-ending surgery this Thursday.

The news that Winslow had in fact torn his labrum was announced by head coach Erik Spoelstra prior to Miami’s tilt with the Kings on Wednesday.

Winslow had missed the last two games with what the team had listed generically as a “right shoulder injury.” Earlier in the season he missed 16 games with a wrist injury that was said to potentially warrant surgery in its own right.

In 18 games with the Heat this season, Winslow has averaged 10.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, up from 6.4, 5.2 and 1.5 respectively in his rookie year.

Heat Notes: McRoberts, Winslow, Beasley, Whiteside

December 30th, 2016 at 2:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Josh McRoberts will almost certainly choose not to opt out of his contract after suffering a foot injury this week, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. A stress fracture was discovered Tuesday in McRoberts’ left foot that will keep him off the court indefinitely. That virtually eliminates any chance he will hit the open market and try to improve on the more than $6MM the Heat owe him for next season. With McRoberts’ salary on its cap, Miami will have about $40MM in space this summer if Dion Waiters and Willie Reed both opt out as expected.

There’s more news today out of Miami:

The Heat are concerned that Justise Winslow‘s shooting problems will prevent him from ever becoming a great player, Jackson notes in the same story. Winslow ranks last in shooting percentage among the 85 players averaging at least 30 minutes per game, connecting on just 35.2% of his shots from the field and just 20% from 3-point range. “It’s tough,” Winslow said after going 0 for 9 in Thursday’s loss to the Hornets. “I try to rebound, defend. You have to find other ways to make an impact. Just one of those nights.” Miami has already picked up Winslow’s option for 2017/18 and will give the 10th pick of the 2015 draft plenty of time to work out his shooting woes.
The Heat continue to be haunted by their decision to take Michael Beasley ahead of Russell Westbrook in the 2008 draft, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Beasley lasted just two seasons in Miami before being traded to Minnesota for cash and two second-round picks. Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, a former assistant with the Heat, said there were plenty of warning signs before the draft. “I’ll never forget the year they were drafted,” he said. “Not to call out Bease, but we had to drag Bease out of the bed in Vegas to get him to the gym to work out. And Russell Westbrook had already been in that same gym for two hours, full sweat. And [Miami coach Erik Spoelstra] asked Bease, ‘Where you been?’ And it was like, ‘Oh, man, is this how this kid really is? And [Westbrook] went a whole other hour going at the speed that you see him play.”
Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who signed a four-year, $98MM deal over the summer, tells Winderman in a separate story that he doesn’t worry about trying to live up to that contract. “No different than before,” Whiteside said. “The pressure of being cut when I first got here on a non-guaranteed [contract] was a little more pressure than it is now for me.”

Heat Notes: CBA Changes, James Johnson, Winslow

December 17th, 2016 at 8:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Some new provisions in the CBA could work against the Heat in free agency next year, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Because maximum salaries are increasing, it will be more difficult for a team to add more than one max player each year. Miami could have about $40MM available in cap space next summer if Dion Waiters and Willie Reed both opt out and Chris Bosh is cleared from the cap, which could have been enough for two max deals in prior years. Also, mid-level exceptions are increasing, which will help teams without cap space get better players, and minimum salaries are increasing 45%, which will increase cap holds for empty roster spots from about $1MM to $2MM each. The NBA mandates that teams fill 12 roster spots with players or cap holds.

There’s more tonight out of Miami:

Another important change is that teams can now give their own free agents six-year contracts instead of five, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The difference between staying with a team for six years or going somewhere else for four could be $90MM to $100MM over the life of a contract, which reduces the advantages the Heat have enjoyed from their South Beach location and recent playoff success.
Miami’s James Johnson is among the players who might benefit from the increased mid-level exception, Winderman writes in a separate piece. The new MLE is expected to be in the $8MM range, which is about twice what Johnson makes right now. Because Johnson signed a one-year contract over the summer, Miami won’t have his Bird Rights, which means his entire salary will have to come from cap space. Johnson has become a valuable reserve for the Heat, averaging career highs of 10.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Finally back from a troublesome wrist injury, Justise Winslow is making an immediate impact, Winderman states in another story. Winslow’s sore left wrist forced him to miss 16 games and raised the concern of offseason surgery. “He’s doing plays that you cannot see in stats, and that’s huge for the team,” said teammate Goran Dragic. “He can defend multiple positions. He can organize us. And he can find people. So that’s a unique talent.”

Heat Hoping Justise Winslow Can Avoid Wrist Surgery

December 12th, 2016 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat officials believe Justise Winslow is making progress with his wrist injury, although surgery after the season remains an option, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. The second-year forward was ruled out indefinitely last month with pain in his left wrist and will miss his 16th consecutive game tonight.

Team doctors have ruled against surgery for now and are hoping the wrist, which is part of his shooting hand, will heal naturally through a rehab program. However, it has been nearly a full month since Winslow has played, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was asked tonight about the possibility of an operation once the season ends.

“I think right now all of our hopes are that he won’t need it,” Spoelstra said. “That’s why we went through extensive treatment and rest. And right now it looks like we won’t need to go that route.”

“It’s actually gotten significantly better. It was a sprain. He continued to play with it, continued to reaggravate it and then we shut him down we started the process of healing it and then rehabbing it and then restrengthening it. He’s getting better. He’s doing more court work each day. I would say probably now is when you’re starting to say he’s probably getting pretty close to full contact work on the court.”

Winslow was able to participate in today’s team shootaround, but hasn’t taken part in a full practice since being hurt. He has been wearing a wrist brace when he’s not playing basketball, which Spoelstra said he will probably need to do all season.

“That’s just to stabilize it,” the coach said. “Anybody that’s had wrist issues, you have to wear a brace when you’re not active. And it helps. Any little bit helps. [For Winslow] that’s more precautionary. He doesn’t necessarily need it. It’s already starting to feel a lot better.”

Winslow, a second-team all-rookie selection last year, last played on November 14th and has appeared in just nine games all season. X-rays on the wrist were negative, but the injury clearly affecting his shooting percentage, which has fallen to .336 from the field.

Heat Notes: Whiteside, McRoberts, Winslow, Johnson

December 4th, 2016 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers were Hassan Whiteside‘s second choice in free agency, writes Erik Garcia Gunderson in The Miami Herald. Portland reportedly pursued Whiteside, but didn’t get to meet with him before he re-signed with Miami. The center’s first meeting was with Heat president Pat Riley at midnight July 1st, and the only other team he talked with before making a decision was the Mavericks. “Portland was my second option,” Whiteside said before Saturday’s game with the Blazers. “I would have came here.” The Blazers, who used their cap space to add Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli and to re-sign their own free agents, currently have the worst defensive rating in the league.

There’s more news from Miami:

Josh McRoberts may have claimed the Heat’s starting power forward role with his play of late, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. McRoberts has scored in double figures in his last two games and is making a strong push to stay in the starting lineup. That will leave coach Erik Spoelstra with a difficult decision when Justise Winslow is healthy enough to return, Winderman notes, with Winslow possibly being used as a versatile sixth man who can fill in at several positions.
The Heat may trade some of their free agent additions for draft picks if they slip out of contention, Winderman writes in the same column. James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Wayne Ellington will all be eligible for deals starting December 15th. Because of injures and the fact that the playoffs are still a possibility after a slow start, Winderman doesn’t expect any of the three to be moved right away.
Johnson’s scoring has been a pleasant surprise for Miami, notes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The eighth-year forward has the highest scoring average of his career at 9.9 points per game and is shooting a career-best .344 from 3-point range. Johnson, who was sought mainly for his defense, leads all NBA forwards by holding the players he defends to 33.2 percent from the field. Johnson signed a one-year, $4MM deal and will be a free agent again next summer.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Dragic, Hawks, Mahinmi

November 30th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are currently tied for the NBA’s fourth-worst record, as our 2016/17 Reverse Standings show, and the team will continue to be a little shorthanded on its upcoming road trip. According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, Justise Winslow and Dion Waiters didn’t travel with the team to start the three-game trip to Denver, Utah, and Portland. Winslow is still dealing with a left wrist issue, while Waiters is sidelined with a groin injury. It’s not clear if both players will miss the entire road trip, but if the Heat continue to dig a deeper hole and slip in the standings, it will have an impact on the team’s approach leading up to this season’s trade deadline.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

While a trade isn’t necessarily the end goal for the Heat with Goran Dragic, it doesn’t hurt to be able to point to games like Monday’s if the team has to make a case for the point guard’s value, writes Winderman in another piece for The Sun Sentinel. Dragic posted 27 points, 17 assists, and just one turnover in Miami’s loss to Boston on Monday.
The Hawks, who have lost three games in a row and six of seven, recently held a players-only meeting, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “It was just reassuring everybody that we’ve got each other’s back,” one player said of the meeting. “Nobody is pointing fingers at each other. It’s just a matter of us figuring it out together.”
The Hawks are one of eight NBA teams without a D-League affiliate this season, so they haven’t assigned any players to the D-League yet this season. However, the team will likely send rookie DeAndre’ Bembry down to get some playing time very soon, tweets Vivlamore. Bembry has only appeared in seven regular season contests for Atlanta so far, playing sparingly in those games.
Ian Mahinmi made his Wizards debut over the weekend, but his troublesome knees continue to act up, as Chase Hughes of CSNMidAtlantic.com details. The veteran center, who signed a four-year, $64MM deal with Washington in July, missed Monday’s game and looks questionable for Wednesday.

Eastern Notes: Baynes, Heat, Sixers, Humphries

November 16th, 2016 at 11:57am CST by Dana Gauruder

Aron Baynes is a “starting-caliber center” and Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy knows it will be difficult to retain him beyond this season, he acknowledged to the assembled media. Baynes, who can opt out of the final year of his three-year, $20MM contract after the season, racked up 20 points and eight rebounds against the Thunder on Monday with Andre Drummond sidelined by ankle injury. “As the president, I’m not supposed to say this because the guy can be a free agent,” Van Gundy said. “You’re not supposed to promote him but he’s a starting center in the NBA. He’s just playing behind an All-Star. You look around at all the starting centers and Aron’s a starting-caliber center in the league, so it’s not surprising he played as well as he did.” The Pistons signed restricted free agent Boban Marjanovic this summer to a three-year contract in part to protect themselves if they’re unable to re-sign Baynes.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Heat second-year forward Justise Winslow is out indefinitely with a left wrist injury, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Winslow, who is shooting 33.1% from the field, has been nagged by the injury for a few weeks, though X-rays were negative, Jackson adds. “I don’t want to come back too soon and then I take three steps forward and 10 steps backward,” Winslow told Jackson. “I want to get it to where it’s feeling 100 percent, where if I do hit against something, it doesn’t hurt. … I was doing my best to play through it. I could play through it, but it’s a long season.”
Gerald Henderson says the Sixers cannot use injuries as a crutch for another poor start, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Ben Simmons, Nerlens Noel and Jerryd Bayless have been sidelined but the veteran shooting guard is alarmed by the team’s lack of energy. “We do have some good, talented guys and good young guys, and we have enough to be able to compete better than we are,” Henderson told Pompey. “So, we just need to give better effort.” Henderson joined the Sixers on a two-year, $18MM contract this summer, though the second year is not guaranteed.
Hawks power forward Kris Humphries has re-signed with veteran agent Dan Fegan, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. Humphries, who signed a one-year, $4MM contract with Atlanta this offseason, was being represented by Jason Renne and Josh Ketroser. Humphries fired Fegan, who works under the agency Independent Sports & Entertainment, in 2011. Fegan represents a number of NBA players, including DeMarcus Cousins and Chandler Parsons.