Heat's Justise Winslow: Likely to start at small forward in 2016-17

Heat president Pat Riley indicated Saturday that he anticipates Winslow will start at small forward during the upcoming season, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reports. "Are we ready for Justise Winslow to start at the 'three?' I am," Riley said.

Analysis:

The Heat have two starting openings on the wing with Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng departing for the Bulls and Lakers, respectively, this offseason, and the defensive-minded Winslow is a leading candidate to claim one of those roles. Though he only averaged 6.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.9 steals last season, the fact that Winslow was able to play big minutes on a veteran Heat squad that took the Raptors to seven games during the second round of the playoffs demonstrates just how much faith the organization has in him. Winslow should see his court time rise a bit in his sophomore season, but he'll need to show significant growth offensively in order to emerge as a high-end fantasy asset. He averaged 16.3 points in 29.0 minutes per game in three games with the Heat in the Orlando Summer League, but shot just 29.8 percent from the floor.