NBA Trade Deadline: Ranking value of 5 stars on the market
By Tom West
4. Hassan Whiteside
Dating back to the end of 2015, the Miami Heat trading Hassan Whiteside seemed like a genuine possibility. His lapses in intensity, limited offensive game, near nonexistent passing, and trait of baiting players into blocks by giving them lanes to the basket had caused some concern. Plus, he’s still only played 93 games for the Heat and is heading towards free agency, which creates the worry of his genuine potential and whether or not he truly deserves a huge max contract.
His name has hardly appeared in trade rumors over recent weeks, all while centers such as Dwight Howard and Al Horford have emerged as players who could be on the move before the NBA trade deadline instead.
However, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has reported, Whiteside’s future in Miami is starting to look more uncertain and views in the front office are changing:
"Even before his ejection angered Heat officials Tuesday, there have been serious reservations inside the organization about giving Whiteside the type of contract Miami believes he could attract in free agency, one that could start at $17 million or more. ESPN’s Chris Broussard said the Heat is gauging trade interest in Whiteside, and two people in contact with the Heat told me that Miami appears open to considering a Whiteside trade, if it can dump other salary and get quality talent back, because it knows it’s going to be uncomfortably costly to keep him. Heat officials have expressed frustration with him, for reasons we explained in last Sunday’s column."
While he still isn’t one of the players with the highest chance of being dealt, it is starting to look like the Heat are seriously considering the option of trading him away to bring in some more talent and avoid giving Whiteside such a generous contract. And when considering his body of work and the issues of his mindset and effort, they may be right to do so.
The question of his long-term future will still move on to whichever team he joins if the Heat trade him, though. His dirt cheap, $981,348 contract expires this summer and he’ll want to go after a max contract as the NBA’s leading shot blocker. This does hurt his value, of course, as the chance of him leaving will obviously be a concern; however his defensive impact and value because of it can’t be denied.
When switched on, Whiteside can take over a game unlike any interior defender. He has three triple-doubles already this season — an exceptional feat seeing as he does it all with blocks instead of assists like everyone else. His 3.9 blocks per game is far more than second place DeAndre Jordan with 2.3, and as Whiteside forces players to shoot 11.7 percent lower than normal within six feet (per NBA.com). There’s no denying how easily he can shut down lanes to the basket and prevent easy shots.
Plus, as he leads the NBA in defensive rating, it’s clear how much he can take over when he’s playing with as much intensity as possible.
While Whiteside’s high potential is by no means determined by one number, the Heat do allow their opponents to score fewer points per 100 possessions (2.3, to be exact) when he’s on the bench. In comparison to other stars, who have a greater body of work and less cause for concern about the future, Whiteside can’t be placed too high the top of this list. However, his obvious talent and potential alone still give him significant value.
Next: Jeff Teague