Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside speaks on beef with Joel Embiid

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside recently spoke about his ongoing beef with Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid.

Miami Heat star Hassan Whiteside is anything but soft. And Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid knows it. Which is why the two centers feuding over such a comment is straight comedy.

"“I mean it’s funny to me. I mean that’s what he does, man. Ever since last year, my very first words to Embiid was, ‘Man, I’m glad to see you back on the court.’ He told me, ‘We’re going to bring the center position back.’ And after they won, he called me, ‘Barbeque chicken.’ So I was waiting to get back at him.”"

Whiteside, who averaged a career-high 17.0 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game in 32.6 minutes of play last season, actually came into the league a bit rough around the edges. After being overlooked several times, causing him to do stints in both the Gatorade League and overseas, he had quite a chip on his shoulder when first joining the Heat in 2014.

Which in turn led to frustration on the court (resulting in unnecessary flagrant fouls) and cringe-worthy soundbites.

So while the big fella may have since then let go of the anger he had regarding being passed over, and found his inner peace, he certainly isn’t a “softy.” And still has no qualms over picking a fight or two over Twitter.

After Miami fell short 119-95 to Philadelphia in their last preseason game, the two centers got into it.

It all started when Whiteside picked up his third foul early in the first quarter, and Embiid motioned to the Heat’s bench to get their guy out. A move that already had the Internet buzzing, increasing tenfold once Bleacher Report tweeted the moment.

The problem however, was that the clip only showed a portion of the interaction between Whiteside and Embiid. Because sure enough, the Heat headliner clapped back, picking on Embiid for shooting 1-of-7 and flopping.

Of course, this exchange wasn’t the end of things either. The 23-year-old had plenty more to say to Whiteside, continuing to point out his early foul trouble.

Now, serious or not, Embiid had to have known the North Carolina-native wouldn’t stand for that. Whiteside may have matured a great deal since the beginning of his NBA journey, but even so, there’s only so much he could let slide.

So, the Miami center did what he does best: made one heck of a joke.

The question now is, is this feud going to continue into the season?

Well, according to Whiteside anyways, it sure sounds like it. But don’t worry, because at least from the 28-year-old’s perspective, it’s all in good fun.

"“It’s not him talking about somebody’s family. It’s not nothing crazy. It’s just basketball. I’m going to talk trash back if somebody talks trash to me. Maybe when I was younger, I would have been a little more angrier, I’d have been a little madder. But, you know, that’s the kind of guy [Embiid] is. He makes jokes. He’s a good player, so it’s all fun to me. I can go all day with it.”"

And there’s a good chance so can Embiid. Which is fine with Heat Nation, and seemingly the majority of basketball fans league-wide.

As for head coach Erik Spoelstra?

"“I’m OK with it… This is two competitive guys, two teams that have big aspirations and both teams are putting a lot of responsiiblity on those big shoulders… it’s almost a throwback to yester year of this league of two dominant impact players at the center position.”"

Phew.

Sadly, the two big men will have to wait a while until their next showdown. The Heat and 76ers won’t face off against one another until February 2, in Philadelphia. After which Miami will once more take on Philadelphia on the road, on Valentine’s Day. The 76ers will then head to South Beach on both February 27, and lastly March 8.

But here’s to a plethora of Whiteside/Embiid Valentine’s Day cards making their rounds on the World Wide Web?

Next: Miami Heat: 3 2017-18 duos to keep an eye on

The Miami Heat may be one of the hardest working teams in the league, but that doesn’t mean the guys can’t have a little amusement here and there too.