What’s next for Justise Winslow?

He is nearing the prime of his life and is one of the best athletes in the world, a sinewy mass that contradicts his 20 years of age. But on this particular Thursday, he’s struggling to play the game he’s mastered for over half his life, signals crossing as his body and mind awkwardly work at odds with another. He takes each shot attempt just slightly out of rhythm and hangs his head just a bit lower after each one, the burden of unexpected emotion hanging across his massive shoulders like a yoke.

He is Justise Winslow, a player potentially on the cusp of greatness, and things were supposed to be different.

To say “different” isn’t the same as saying that things have gone badly, although you could certainly make that case based on his woeful 3-of-17 performance during Summer League play in Orlando. Rather, it’s just that Winslow’s life has taken an unexpected turn after he helped lead the Duke Blue Devils to a national title in 2015. The drama that unfolded later that year is already part of draft day lore: the Celtics offered a king’s ransom for the chance to add Winslow, teams passed on Boston’s offer and Winslow unexpectedly slid to the 10th overall selection and the awaiting arms of the Miami Heat.

And, while he hadn’t seen it coming, many believed the slide would prove fortuitous for Winslow. Unlike most lottery-bound teams, Miami already had an established veteran core that wasn’t counting on an immediate impact from their raw-but-promising rookie. They could afford to groom him slowly as he gained experience. The move seemed to pay off as Winslow proved to be a crucial reserve last season, providing stifling defense that belied his youth and inexperience. The future was bright for both Winslow and the Heat.

But this summer has seen an abrupt rewriting of the script in mid-act, with free agency wielding the most haphazard pen. After 13 years, Dwyane Wade has finally walked off Miami’s stage, as have Luol Deng and Joe Johnson, both of whom filled crucial roles during shorter stints with the Heat. The cast left behind is a question mark, equal parts unfulfilled promise and pending disaster, and Winslow is poised to take on a bigger part that no one is sure he can actually play.

Prior to the start of free agency, Winslow had appeared optimistic when asked about how the roster might go through significant change in the coming weeks. His answer, delivered with a carefree smile, seems almost tragic in retrospect. “As long as D-Wade comes back, there’s always hope.”

It was a far more dejected Winslow who spoke after his poor shooting display, less than 24 hours following Wade’s announcement that he was joining the Chicago Bulls. “Crazy things going through my mind,” Winslow muttered to reporters in Orlando.

Free agency is generally an exciting time for NBA fans, watching as players exercise their right to join whichever team they choose. Winslow’s reaction shows a different, often ignored, side of the equation. “I still don’t think I’m over it,” he explained, “It’s just the fact that it’s not too often you get a chance to have one of the greatest of all-time on your team and I’m sure the guys in L.A. feel the same about Kobe and different guys changing teams, guys in Oklahoma City…it’s not too often you play with one of the greats. I think that’s the part that kind of shook me the most, losing that mentor, that friend.”

Wade’s sudden departure has created a vacuum, a void which needs to be filled. When asked if he was ready to be the face of the franchise, Winslow answered, “I think right now, I kind of just need to brush off this game…that’s something that we can visit later but right now I’m just trying to get better. Of course, every player wants to be the face of a franchise but right now I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

Setting aside whether Winslow has any interest in the role, there are also questions regarding whether he’s even qualified to fill it. For one, there’s still a veteran presence on the team more likely to assume a position of leadership: Chris Bosh. There are no clear answers regarding Bosh’s return from his second season-ending battle with blood clots. In lieu of any real information, rumor varies greatly, from the possibility of strife between player and front office to an expectation that Bosh will return to full strength. But make no mistake, if Bosh does indeed return to the lineup, he’s immediately deserving of being the team’s most prominent player.

As for Winslow’s on-court qualifications, those remain unclear after just one season. This was Wade’s team, after all, and Winslow’s role was limited. He managed to excel primarily as a defensive stopper, and shows potential of being elite in this regard. He has the speed and footwork to harass smaller guards but has the strength (at 6-7 and 225 lbs.) to guard larger front court players, even starting at “center” during a playoff matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

Offensively, he’s been a mixed bag. He has a quick first step on dribble drives but was rarely entrusted to create his own scoring opportunities. He was often relegated to catch-and-shoot duty but struggled with his perimeter shot. On a team with ball-dominant guards like Wade and Goran Dragic, Winslow simply didn’t have carte blanche to do his own thing. Now, with his mentor returning home to Chicago, there’s no way of knowing if Winslow can handle an increased scoring load.

But count NBA veteran Juwan Howard, an assistant coach with Miami that led the Heat’s Summer League team, as a believer that Winslow can and will do more. “I trust whatever shot he winds up taking, I feel good about it,” says Howard. “I know he’s worked extremely hard, not only on just his jump shot but overall game, trying to find ways to improve, finding ways to get better as a player.”

That future role, as Howard sees it, is one that maximizes Winslow’s versatility and ability to create opportunities for others, as well as himself. “Justise is a hybrid player. I think he’s a very skilled playmaker that we haven’t seen a lot of. I know last year, in certain sets that he was involved with, he was able to make plays because he had the ball in his hands. This year he’ll have the chance to do even more.”

One wonders if Winslow will be given that chance and, if so, for how long it will last. Wade’s decision to leave Miami has been linked to allegations of friction between him and the front office, one that might have been looking to sever ties with the franchise’s greatest player and, possibly, shed the financial burden of Bosh’s contract. With Wade now in Chicago (completing the first part of the rumored plan), Miami has filled out their roster with inexpensive, short-term contracts. An opportunity to rebuild the team with new superstar-level talent — thereby limiting Winslow’s role — is the presumed endgame.

The plan for Winslow’s development thus becomes an accelerated one. But the context of that development is what changed, with this season becoming an opportunity to prove that he’s worthy of being the team’s centerpiece, or simply a complementary player (albeit a very good one, at least defensively) that could have a role if Miami’s master plan falls into place next summer. Ironically, a similar audition took place in Miami in 2003, when Wade’s electric rookie season and unexpected dominance in the 2004 playoffs, helped cement a decision to trade young, upcoming players for a proven veteran superstar. Miami won their first title just two seasons later.

If Winslow’s career path follows the same trend, you can be assured that the next step will be an unexpected one. But how far that takes him — toward stardom or ordinariness, in Miami or elsewhere — remains largely up to him.

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