Perennially unhappy big man Hassan Whiteside has gained some clarity on his role and future with the Miami Heat. Again. For what seems like the jillionth time.
Speaking with reporters on a conference call in support of the NBA’s game in Africa, Whiteside said that he met with both head coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley (via ESPN.com):
“We had a great talk,” he told reporters on a conference call to discuss Saturday’s NBA game in Africa, in which he plans to play. “I just think it’s trust on both sides. I think that’s the biggest thing … It was about a four-hour meeting. It was a lot about life. It was two hours basketball, two hours life. It was a good meeting.”
It’s smart for both the Heat and him to get back on the same page, because they’re in all likelihood stuck with one another. Whiteside has two years and $52.5 million left on his contract. Teams aren’t just going to pick up that bill for a non-shooting center who gripes about offensive touches and whose effort on defense waxes and wanes depending on the circumstances.
Which isn’t to say Whiteside is untradeable. Timofey Mozgov has been flipped twice this summer, and three times since he signed a four-year, $64 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. So, yeah, Whiteside can be moved. But the Heat would probably need to include a sweetener and/or take back a player with similarly unsavory money. Even then, it’s tough to find a squad that’d be willing to pay this much for the type of player Whiteside is. A theoretical swap built around Evan Turner and filler made some sense, but then the Portland Trail Blazers re-signed Jusuf Nurkic.
All of which lends itself to Whiteside and the Heat staying together, at least into the start of the regular season. That renders this four-hour meeting fairly important. Maybe Whiteside has a better understanding of how the Heat will use him. And maybe they have a better idea on how to keep him happy. We’ll have to wait and see.
