Hassan Whiteside made $980,000 with the Miami Heat last season. If reports from the Associated Press are true, after he’d already announced he’s returning to Dade County in a Players’ Tribune piece, then Whiteside will make almost 25 times more than that amount when he inks a four-year, $98 million max deal with the Heat at the conclusion of the moratorium period on July 7.
"I’ve played on eight teams since college — I am not ready for there to be a ninth."
– @YoungWhiteside https://t.co/wvbAYqYAhz
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) July 1, 2016
Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post confirms the report.
And the AP’s Tim Reynolds reiterated what he was tweeting last night, namely that an unnamed Heat player had confirmed Whiteside was returning despite all the talk about Dallas working hard to get him in a Mavs uniform.
We reported exclusively last night that Whiteside told at least one teammate that he was staying. Guess he kept his word.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 1, 2016
Whiteside last season: $980,000.
Whiteside new contract: $98,000,000.
100 times more. That is the definition of keeping it 💯.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 1, 2016
The math works, but he only made $980,000 in one year. Still, his guarantee over the length of the deal is now 100 times more than he made last season, and that is definitely something to be happy about if you’re a guy like Whiteside, who floated around on the periphery of the NBA for a few years before settling in with Miami.
A lot of the confusion about Whiteside’s free agency stemmed from his own cryptic words, but with the big man in the middle for the foreseeable future, the Heat can focus on bringing Dwyane Wade back into the fold again, and use some of that Pat Riley magic during their Sunday visit with Kevin Durant in the Hamptons. Wade’s certainly happy the big man returned.
Big big congrats to @youngwhiteside Your dedication and hard work to the game has finally paid off..#Caniborrow5dollars
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 1, 2016
(The Heat aren’t Durant’s last visit, as had been previously alluded to; the Thunder convinced KD to come back to them one more time after his free agency feting on Friday with the Warriors and Clippers, Saturday with the Spurs and Celtics and Sunday with the Heat. This was a very smart move by Sam Presti after they talked with him for over five hours on Thursday.)
(AP)
