The status of free agent center Hassan Whiteside is no longer a question mark after he announced on Friday morning that he’ll be re-signing with the Miami Heat.
No terms of the agreement were announced by Whiteside, who chose Snapchat and The Players Tribune as his forums to acknowledge the signing.
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Whiteside remaining in Miami on a $98 million deal! pic.twitter.com/tm9diee79z
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) July 1, 2016
However, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, Whiteside is inking a max deal that has been estimated at approximately $98 million over four years, based on future salary cap numbers. Heat president Pat Riley had previously stated that getting Whiteside’s signature on a new deal was his main goal.
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Whiteside last season: $980,000.
Whiteside new contract: $98,000,000.
100 times more. That is the definition of keeping it 💯.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 1, 2016
Whiteside’s brief note acknowledged his tumultuous basketball career as one of the reasons for staying:
“I’ve played on eight teams since college — from Reno to Sioux Falls to Sichuan, China. I am not ready for there to be a ninth.”
Riley is now expected to focus on either re-signing Dwyane Wade or making an additional splash in the free agent market.
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