Hassan Whiteside takes a 3-point shot and a shot at Erik Spoelstra

Hassan Whiteside continues his war of words against the Miami Heat.

Hassan Whiteside’s season ended on a sour note when he played just 15.2 minutes per game in the Miami Heat’s five-game loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. Whiteside didn’t hesitate to make his frustrations with his playing time known, publicly complaining about his role on numerous occasions despite his ineffectiveness.

There have already been rumblings about the Heat looking to trade Whiteside, who has two years and over $52 million left on his contract. That includes a $27.09 million player option in 2019-20. Heat president Pat Riley hasn’t mentioned anything about a trade yet, but he called out Whiteside for not being ready for the playoffs and acknowledged a disconnect with head coach Erik Spoelstra.

Whiteside doesn’t have much trade value after his postseason debacle, and he only hurt that value and his standing with the Heat even more with his most recent comments. Apparently the big man fancies himself a 3-point shooter who’s being held back by Spoelstra:

Whiteside must have felt emboldened by making both of his 3-point attempts this season, the first two 3-point attempts of his career. Who are we to argue against a career 100 percent 3-point shooter?!

Of course, Whiteside is also a career 62.7 percent free-throw shooter and, at best, a mediocre mid-range shooter. He has plenty of other things to worry about on the basketball court than shooting 3-pointers, but that didn’t stop him from trying to prove a point.

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Miami is in a tough spot with Whiteside and an expensive roster that has a clearly limited ceiling. The Heat already have over $116 million committed to the 2018-19 payroll, so there is little flexibility to improve. Things won’t get easier if Whiteside continues to mouth off and doesn’t resolve things with the franchise.