After a disappointing season in which Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside complained multiple times about his minutes and got fined for a expletive-laced rant, there are reports that many within the Heat organization are in favor of trading the Marshall University product.
Although Whiteside’s trade value has reportedly hit a low point, Mike Fisher of 247Sports writes that if the Heat add “sweeteners” to a trade involving Whiteside, the Dallas Mavericks would be interested in acquiring the 28-year-old.
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Potential sweeteners that the Heat could offer the Mavericks include guard Josh Richardson, forward Justise Winslow or center Bam Adebayo. Miami could also potentially send its first-round pick from 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 or 2024. The Heat have no control over their first-round pick in 2021 as it is owed to the Phoenix Suns, having been dealt in the trade where the Heat acquired point guard Goran Dragic.
When Whiteside was a free agent in 2016, the Mavericks were interested in signing him. They met with him and offered him a max contract before he decided to re-sign with the Heat. Now that he is available on the trade block, they might be interested in him once again.
During the regular season, Whiteside averaged 14.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game. In the playoffs, however, he only played 15.4 minutes per game and his averages dropped to 5.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
The Heat clearly want to get rid of Whiteside and the rest of his contract (two years, $52 million with a player option for the second year), but the key question is would they be willing to give up a promising piece of their future in order to do so?
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