Miami Heat RUMORS: Justise Winslow To Have Small Role As A Rookie?

Justise Winslow flew up draft boards last spring after he was the jack-of-all-trades for a Duke team that went on to win the National Championship. Some people thought Winslow might be a top five pick in the 2015 NBA Draft but he ended up falling all the way to the Miami Heat at number ten. Winslow, although he is just 19, is the type of player that could be an instant rotation player but the team he is on is very deep so he may only have a small role as a rookie, according to Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.

Winslow is a 6 foot-6 small forward with tremendous athleticism and he is also a very good defender. Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade will be the starting wings for the Heat with Gerald Green as one of the backups and Winslow might earn himself some minutes as the other backup if Erik Spoelstra decides to use a ten man rotation. So far Winslow has impressed Miami's superstar.

"He'll continue to get comfortable with what his role is gonna be. He can play in this league. He has the body for it, he has the talent and he has a team around him so that he doesn't have to do too much. This is the perfect situation for him," said Wade.

The key part of that quote though might be the fact that Wade said Winslow won't have to do too much. Winslow will come in and likely be one of the Heat's best defenders immediately but his three point shooting is inconsistent at this point in his career and because of the depth on the roster he may get limited minutes. When on the floor it is unlikely the Heat will run any plays for Winslow so in order to put up number he will likely have to do some dirty work.

In his one season at Duke Winslow put up impressive numbers as he averaged 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds in 39 games while shooting 52 percent from the field and 42 percent from three. In a different situation Winslow might be in the running for NBA Rookie of the Year this season but since he likely won't get enough minutes he will have to settle for being a role player for now. Being eased into the NBA might be the best thing for Winslow's long-term future though as he will be on a time that should win a lot and he should be able to contribute to that winning in some way.

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Miami heat, Miami heat news, Miami heat rumors, Dwyane wade, Luol deng, Erik Spoelstra, NBA, Nba news, Nba rumors, Duke
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