What the DeMarcus Cousins trade means for the Miami Heat, Hassan Whiteside

The lack of return the Sacramento Kings got for DeMarcus Cousins may signal a dry market for NBA centers. That could limit with the Miami Heat can do with Hassan Whiteside.

Any time a top-15 NBA player is on the move, it sends ripple effects throughout the league. We saw this with Kevin Durant this summer, but haven’t seen it in the middle of the season, at a trade deadline, in quite some time — Since the Denver Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks in 2011. With the Sacramento Kings trading DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans this weekend, the rest of the league has just a few days before Thursday’s trade deadline to react. For the Miami Heat, it could mean one of their most valuable assets may not have as much value as once thought.

The Kings got fleeced in the Cousins deal, no doubt about it, but reports indicate that the market may have been dryer than expected for the talented, yet abrasive center.

If that’s the case, as Sports Illustrated’s Jake Fischer writes, the Heat can’t expect to get much in return for Hassan Whiteside, should they test the market.

"Miami could sell high on Goran Dragic, but trading Hassan Whiteside isn’t realistic. The market on Boogie was so dry, it’s hard to imagine the Heat getting good value for their starting center. If the Heat look to rebuild further, they could deal Dragic and try and recover the two picks they sent out in the first place."

As Fischer points out, Dragic becomes the team’s only real trade asset.* The Heat likely won’t trade Dragic unless they get better value in return, either in the form of a super star or multiple, valuable assets.

*Tyler Johnson is a nice player who so far is meeting his contract, but for now he has the right to veto any trade. Justise Winslow, a former lottery pick, is an asset, but he’s out for the rest of the season.

In regards to Whiteside, there just aren’t many teams in need, or interested, in trading for a center.

• The Portland Trail Blazers, who were interested in Whiteside this past summer, already made a move to swap Mason Plumlee for Jusuf Nurkic, and at this point are more interested in cost cutting.
• The Charlotte Hornets acquired Miles Plumlee from the Milwaukee Bucks, and have a nice tag team of Plumlee and Cody Zeller to work around.
• The Bucks traded Plumlee for Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes. Also, Greg Monroe has been better for them this season. Adding a high-priced center like Whiteside doesn’t make sense for them, especially as they try to maintain room to re-sign its young core.
• The Boston Celtics have the assets to make a move on anyone, but that’s the problem. Why trade for Whiteside when they could make a move for Jimmy Butler or Paul George?
• The Dallas Mavericks have been rumored to be after a center. A deal built around Andrew Bogut’s and Deron William’s expiring contracts and their 2017 first-round pick would work, but it doesn’t sound like they were willing to offer that for Cousins, let alone Whiteside.
• Other teams like the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns could have bested the Pelicans’ offer, but didn’t. So why would they do that for Whiteside?

Adding another wrench to the situation is that the Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly made Jahlil Okafor available. Teams may be more willing to trade for a younger player at a small fraction of Whiteside’s price tag.

A popular comment among pro-trade Whiteside Heat fans is that the team can re-sign Willie Reed to a cheaper deal than what Whiteside is making. You don’t think other teams see that, too? A lot of teams missed out on Reed once before, and probably don’t want to do it again.

Next: Mailbag: Why didn't the Heat make an offer for Cousins?

NBA teams just don’t want to invest in bigmen like they used to. Maybe that’s part of the reason Sacramento didn’t get equal return for Cousins. If at any point the Heat decide to move on from Whiteside, they could end up settling much like the Kings.