By Ethan J. Skolnick

The Heat practice court was a bit less crowded Sunday, after Miami trimmed its roster to the maximum 15 for Wednesday’s season opener.

“The front office did a great job of putting talent around,” Dwyane Wade said. “As a player and a coach, you want talent…I think the biggest thing is all of us don’t need to be what we were independent of each other. We got to find our new identity as a group together.”

That new group, from the start of last season? Amar’e Stoudemire, Gerald Green, Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and three players who joined the team during last season — Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson.

Of the seven former HEAT players being replaced, only two are expected to start the season on an NBA roster.The upgrades should benefit the additions, too.

“It’s great for me,” Stoudemire said, “because I can rest my body a little more.”

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