The biggest question facing the Miami Heat this offseason surrounds the future of Hassan Whiteside. There is some obvious tension regarding him and starting center Erik Spoelstra, much of it stemming from Whiteside openly griping about how he doesn’t like the way Spoelstra uses him in the offense or within Miami’s rotations.
Whiteside struggled in Miami’s first-round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, and questions exist about how a player with his more old school skillset fits within what the Heat want to do offensively. Dion Waiters wants him to use this as a way to motivate himself to get better, but a report indicates that might not happen in Miami.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Heat president Pat Riley is open to possibly moving the center if he can get a good deal.
Amid his public comments that he would intervene in the Whiteside/Erik Spoelstra disconnect, Riley is now mulling what to do with Whiteside, according to someone close to the situation.
If the Heat can snag a high-quality rotation piece for Whiteside, it’s a no-brainer, because his dissatisfaction with his role and playing time, and the unevenness of his play, have exasperated numerous Heat people.
The issue, as Jackson points out, is that it’s really hard to find a deal that involves getting rid of Whiteside and getting the high-quality rotation piece that Riley ostensibly wants. Whiteside is due $25.4 million next season, and if he opts into his player option for the following year (which he will almost certainly do), he’d make $27.1 million. That’s a ton of money for a player who seems like he might possess a game that is something of a relic in today’s NBA.
But hey, all you need is one team to think a player will help them win a championship and anything is possible. It remains to be seen if that will happen, but Riley is reportedly open to seeing what the market has to say.
(Via Miami Herald)
