Pat Riley optimistic Justise Winslow will join Heat team with familiar faces
MIAMI -- Pat Riley emerged from the Miami Heat draft room late Thursday night with the franchise ecstatic about the selection of Duke forward Justise Winslow with the No. 10 pick in the first round.
With that task completed, Riley must now turn their attention to securing their own players and retaining the nucleus that held so much promise last season.
The longtime Heat president has seen it all throughout his 20 years at the helm of the franchise and is ready for the impending contract negotiations to take place beginning July and is remaining optimistic about the chances chances of retaining Dwyane Wade and re-signing point guard Goran Dragic,.
"When a player has an opportunity to be a free agent, you give him the space and the time to think about that," he said. "Dwyane is a pillar and he's been a part of the root structure and the foundation of this franchise for the last 12 years.
"We know on July 1st, we'll be the first ones that he gets to talk to, and we'll go from there. I'm not a pessimist when it comes to that. We have a lot to offer here."
Amid all the rumors, uncertainty and speculation about what Wade wants and what the team is willing to give him, Riley was clear on his intentions and what has happened so far.
"We want Dwyane back, there's no doubt about that," he said. "I think a lot of things that go on today concerning the hypotheticals on what might happen on July 1, he's been here 12 years so we have cordial conversations with him. There hasn't been any real discussions at all about anything because that can't take place until 12:01 on July 1."
On the subject of Dragic and starting small forward Luol Deng, who can both opt out of their current deals to become unrestricted free agents, Riley also made it clear he wants them back.
"We don't know if they're going to opt in or not," he said. "I do believe they love Miami and love this franchise. We'll try to make a deal. That's what it's about."
Riley also denied reports that the team was seeking to trim payroll by shedding the contracts of some of their veterans.
"We like the team that we have," he said. "We also don't like to add by subtraction either. We have a good team and we could have a great team if we can put everything together. This is also a business as much as it about basketball. But right now we're not actively doing anything but getting ready for July 1."
You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.
