Justise Winslow is excited to join the Miami Heat, a team that can quickly return to the playoffs after dropping to the lottery in 14-15.

“I’m looking forward to going out there and winning championships,” he said. “That’s what this organization is about. We’ve got the tools, the talent to do it. Getting it all together with the core they have, finding ways to complement that and really impact the game. The Heat expect to win every year. That’s the kind of culture that coach [team president Pat] Riley has built and I’m happy to be there.”

Winslow plans to become a rotation player on a deep Heat team.

“I just feel like I can impact the game in so many ways,” he said. “I’ll be there out on the court; I don’t know how many minutes. I don’t know if I’m starting or coming off the bench. Regardless, when I’m out there I’ll affect the game. Regardless of what team I was going to be on, I was going to be aggressive, play my game, and try to win. It definitely helps that the team I’m on is not in a rebuilding stage.”

The Portland Trail Blazers have shifted this offseason to fully build around Damian Lillard following the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge.

“We had a lot of veteran free agents, [but our offseason plan] was all based on LaMarcus’s decision,” Neil Olshey said. “We had brought some guys in prior to July 3 when LaMarcus informed us he wasn’t coming back, that we felt could play either way — they could be really good additions to our current group or they could be guys we could move in another direction. We were preparing for this opportunity. We were kind of trying to play both ends against the middle and then LaMarcus informed us he wasn’t coming back, so we went full bore with guys in the same career arc as Damian Lillard.

“Damian’s our best player right now. He’s a two-time All-Star. We’re going to bring in players that complement Damian, his skill set, how we want to play, and who can grow with him as he continues to improve.”

Brandon Jennings was in favor of the Detroit Pistons re-signing Reggie Jackson this offseason despite the fact they play the same position.

"Bringing in Reggie Jackson was smart," Jennings said. "I'm supposed to be out, really, for nine months, and they need a point guard. ...

"My main thing is just to get healthy. Hey, if I have to come off the bench and be the sixth man or whatever, I'm fine with that. Man, I just want to play basketball again. I just want to get back on the court and have fun."

Jennings made his comments on "The Point Game Podcast," hosted by the Comcast SportsNet's Jabari Young and Vincent Goodwill.

Even as he's been physically limited in preparing his game for a comeback, he's also been getting mentally ready.

"I actually had time to sit back, and I really started studying other players' games," Jennings said. "I got this highlight tape on Kenny Anderson, Tim Hardaway, and I've been studying a lot on James Harden lately, how he just gets to the free throw line easily."

The Washington Wizards played their best basketball when they went small in the playoffs with Paul Pierce at power forward.

Otto Porter emerged in the playoffs and would like to play some stretch four this season.

“Definitely, because that’s who the NBA is transitioning, you know, to smaller lineups," said Porter when asked about playing the 4. "So being able to stretch out as a four is going to be key, and that is something with our coaching we might end up doing. It’s definitely something I’ll be comfortable with.”

The New York Knicks only have four of the 17 players that were in training camp with the team a year ago as Phil Jackson has worked to turn over the roster.

Carmelo Anthony, Jose Calderon, Langston Galloway and Cleanthony Early are the only four players still on the Knicks' roster.

The Knicks have traded away the likes of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr., while Amar'e Stoudemire was waived and Andrea Bargnani walked in free agency.

Jackson focused on defense in retooling his roster.

"That's because defense creates offense," said Jackson. "From Bill Russell and even to [this year's] championship Golden State Warriors, this has always been the case."

The Golden State Warriors have reached agreement on a deal with free agent sharpshooter Jarell Eddie, league sources told RealGM.

Eddie will join Ian Clark and Chris Babb on a training camp deal to compete for the Warriors’ final roster spot. At 6-foot-7, Eddie possesses the size and shooting to fulfill a reserve role opened by the departure of Justin Holiday. Several NBA and overseas teams pursued the former 2014 undrafted forward before his commitment to Golden State.

Eddie won the NBA D-League’s three-point shootout in his first professional year last season. In 44 games with the Austin Spurs, Eddie averaged 12.9 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 45.2 percent from three-point land.

Eddie played summer league for the Indiana Pacers in Orlando and the champion San Antonio Spurs in Las Vegas. He scored 10.9 points and connected at 46.3 percent on 5.6 averaged three-point shots per game over seven contests.

Out of Virginia Tech, Eddie spent part of last season with the Atlanta Hawks on a 10-day contract.

Jimmy Butler is working on his ball handling and believes he could play more point guard next season.

"First off, I think I am a point guard,” Butler said without joking. “So I’ve done a heck of a lot of ball screen work, ball handling, getting into the paint and still handling, floaters, all that stuff point guards do. If I get a chance, high pick and roll more. I want some triple doubles.

"I’ve got to get my handle right so I can pass and get it to guys where they can make shots. I told Fred. You ask what position I play, I say point guard.”

Butler was also asked about his reported rift with Derrick Rose.

“We didn’t win; that’s it,” Butler said in a cut-it-out tone. “When you don’t win somebody has to find something to blame it on because we had a very good team and we were supposed to win. So why not throw out a guy like myself, who had a pretty decent year, and Derrick coming back and say they were clashing. That was a story everyone wanted to talk about and it worked. Everybody is fine. We just want to win. I laugh at it. I know what’s really going on. Everybody doesn’t. He knows. We’re fine. Whenever we win all of this is going right out the window. We start winning at the beginning of the season it’s not an issue anymore.”