Pat Riley potentially deepens rift with Hassan Whiteside
Pat Riley may be done with Hassan Whiteside and letting him know through the media.
Hassan Whiteside continues to insist he wants a meeting with Miami Heat officials to discuss his role on the team next season. Judging by Pat Riley’s latest comments, Whiteside might not enjoy that conversation.
The Heat President flatly accused his enigmatic center of not being ready mentally or physically for the team’s first round playoffs series against Philadelphia, according to ESPN. It’s hard to argue with Riley’s assessment if you watched the games. Whiteside was thoroughly dominated by Joel Embiid during each of the five games. The Heat center was so ineffective he only managed to earn 76 minutes from Coach Erik Spoelstra throughout the entire series.
Riley also went on record about the “disconnect” between Whiteside and his coach. He urged both parties to handle the issue themselves, but also offered to step in if the situation required his help. In sharp contrast, Spoelstra tried to downplay any ideas about a rift between he and Whiteside. He characterized criticism about Whiteside’s playoff run as “unfair.”
Judging by Riley’s comments it’s pretty easy to see he’d like to find a new home for Whiteside this summer. At times he looks like a franchise center, but his inconsistency has proven to be maddening for the Heat. There are also serious questions about how his game fits in the modern NBA. Whiteside is an excellent weak side rim protector but he struggles to switch and defend smaller players on the perimeter.
On offense, Whiteside fancies himself as a quality post-up player but the numbers simply don’t bear that out. He averaged less than 0.8 points per post up during the regular season. That makes throwing the ball to him in the post a very inefficient play for the Heat.
His difficulty flourishing in the modern game combined with Riley’s clear irritation with his attitude make Whiteside a prime candidate. Dealing the big man won’t be as easy as it might sound.
The fact that Whiteside is guaranteed over $52 million over the next two years will significantly suppress his trade value. Many teams will value him as a negative asset due to his contract status. That means the Heat may be required to surrender another asset just to get Whiteside off the books. The team would be very hesitant to attach any sort of draft pick or young player of consequence just to shed their center.
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The other option is for the Heat to accept another distressed asset in return. The easiest way for Riley to get rid of Whiteside will be to trade problems with another team. That might not excite Heat fans, but it would at least release them from the torture of their inconsistent center and his massive contract.