KENDALL, Fla. _ Amid the conjecture about where the Miami Heat stand in the wake of Dwyane Wade's free-agency shift to the Chicago Bulls, the team's players won't accept the notion that they don't have a shot.
Especially that notion.
Because for all the doubts about the outside shooting that coach Erik Spoelstra will have at his disposal, the work this offseason has been relentless at AmericanAirlines Arena, amid the hope that players such as Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters and Briante Weber can take the type of strides previously achieved by Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson.
"They tell you that, that if you just trust the process that it's going to be a jump from what you shot," Weber said Thursday during a visit to the Heat's youth camp at Miami-Dade College's Kendall campus. "And they're going to tell you where your shots are going to come from, which makes you definitely confident when you get into a game situation."
The process has been ongoing with the Heat's developmental staff for years, with an emphasis on that element of the game during this portion of the offseason.
"It's fun. It's a learning experience," Weber said of those sessions with Heat assistant coaches Dan Craig and Chris Quinn, as well as other members of Spoelstra's developmental staff. "It's not all good. You have to be well-coached and just take constructive criticism when they tell you what you can fix, and you can't be down about it, because they're definitely trying to help you and benefit you."
For Weber, a consistent shot could be the ticket to something more than his brief tryout at the end of last season. For Winslow, it could open the door to locking down a long-term role as the Heat's starting small forward, as projected by Heat President Pat Riley. And for Waiters, it is among the reasons why he was available for a mere $2.9 million salary for the coming season.
Weber said the sessions are exhaustive but also instructive, at a juncture when there is time to focus on a single element of the game, with training camp not to open until the last week of September.
"Coach Quinn is definitely a shooter," he said of the former Heat guard. "So learning from him is definitely a great opportunity because he always tells it he's never missed two in a row, and I've never seen it since I've been here, him miss two in a row.
"So this definitely is something fun to do, just to get the confidence up. They definitely instill confidence in us with shooting, because we're capable shooters."
For Weber, much has changed since he first took the Heat's practice court prior to summer league. Not only is Wade gone, but the competition has increased in the backcourt, with Waiters and 3-point specialist Wayne Ellington added to the mix.
"I mean, I've never shied away from competition," he said, having worked his way into the Heat mix after going undrafted in 2015 following a devastating knee injury during his senior season at Virginia Commonwealth. "I'm all about competing and all that. To be honest, they're two-guards; I'm a point guard. So, I mean, at the same time it's still a fight. But I just get a chance to play against them, play defense against them, still learn some things in camp and go from there."
Weber said the exhale remains a month after Wade's departure.
"It was breathtaking for me. It wasn't expected," he said. "I was trying to learn something from him this coming year, just in training camp. And for whatever reason, he made his decision, and I can't be mad at him for making it for his benefit."
To Weber and the rest of the recast backcourt, it has come to be viewed as an opportunity.
"We're just trying to fill in a void with D-Wade leaving," he said, "And it's minutes and it's opportunities for a lot of people to show up and showcase what they can do. And me being one of them, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be here."
