> Say you are Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. What is your plan for training camp now that Dwyane Wade is long gone and Chris Bosh’s status is, at best, up in the air?
Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: Make sure I try out every one of those 18 water slides at the Atlantis Bahamas resort where the Heat will hold training camp? OK, besides that, my plan would focus on sorting through the multiple options in the backcourt, helping Justise Winslow develop a more reliable and rangier jump shot and watching a now-paid Hassan Whiteside very closely for any signs of slippage or distraction. I also might want to turn whatever Plan B is into Plan A, as far as Chris Bosh is concerned. Two consecutive seasons got sideways due to his blood-clots health scares, and Miami needs that resolved one way or the other. It’s a much bigger on-court cloud than Dwyane Wade‘s departure, where the roster at least offers alternatives. Not so much with Bosh.
Shaun Powell, NBA.com: The first thing is to let go of yesterday. LeBron James and Wade aren’t walking through that door and maybe not Bosh either. Embrace change and begin to emphasize a new philosophy with a new core. The emphasis should be on developing Hassan Whiteside into a star, pump some air in Goran Dragic‘s confidence and stress defense. It’s a new era in Miami and there’s no sense ignoring it.
John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Play fast. Dwyane Wade is a Hall of Famer, but the pace he played at didn’t allow Goran Dragic to be his best with the Heat. Dragic wants to run and he’ll be able to do it more often playing more minutes alongside younger guys like Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson (and Josh Richardson when he returns from his knee injury). Hopefully, Hassan Whiteside can stay engaged (and more disciplined) for longer stretches than he was last season and can, along with Winslow, keep the Heat in the top 10 defensively. More stops will create more chances to run. The Heat have ranked in the bottom eight in pace each of the last four seasons and it’s time for that to change.
Sekou Smith, NBA.com: If I am Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the one thing I know I’m not going to do is bring up the names Dwyane Wade or LeBron James. No sense in torturing myself as a coach knowing those guys are playing elsewhere. And I have to plan to go to work in training camp without Chris Bosh. Until he is cleared for full activity, I have to plan accordingly. It’s all about the youth movement now. Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson have to continue to develop. As a staff, we have to make sure Goran Dragic and Udonis Haslem lead the way for us and show everyone else what it is we expect from this team from a culture standpoint. We are starting from the ground up, rebuilding this program, so I know I’ve got perhaps the greatest challenge of my career ahead of me.
Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: Bosh is on the books for the next three seasons with a salary that eats up roughly one-fourth of Miami’s cap. If Bosh can play in most of the games at his typical All-Star level then they could be competing for the No. 2 seed in the East. But Spoelstra will have no control over that. Whether or not Bosh can contribute, the Heat are going to have to develop a go-to scorer on the perimeter.Every contender needs one, and Spoeltra must find one – which creates a huge opportunity for Goran Dragic.
Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All Ball blog: Sometimes desperation begets inspiration. Last year during the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors, after Hassan Whiteside went down, the Heat ended up trotting out a lineup featuring Justise Winslow at center, surrounded by a bunch of guards and small forwards. And they were fun to watch! They may not have had enough to beat the Raptors, but it was an interesting lineup with room to grow. So this year I’m guessing they return with Whiteside and then spread the floor with shooters and athletes. Obviously a lot is dependent on the health and return of Chris Bosh, but I’m not writing the Heat off just yet.
