The Miami Heat Tip Off: The Hassan Whiteside conundrum

The latest edition of the Miami Heat Tip-Off, a weekly AllUCanHeat column, is here.

The playoffs have come to an end for the beloved Miami Heat and their attention quickly and desperately turned to the off-season. It doesn’t start with one major issue, but smaller predicaments that surround the future of the Heat roster.

For this week, the immediate concern will revolve around the future of their “franchise” big man, No. 21, Hassan Whiteside. While the potential and talent are there for the former Marshall star, he completely disappeared under pressure on the big stage. What was worse, was his lack of initiative and offense down the floor.

Many will defend the lack of minutes and mismatches that led to his performance, but the majority will agree that from the start he simply looked lost, confused, and just not ready for these playoffs.

Even president Pat Riley had offered some insight to what went down:

"“You’ve got a guy that’s second or third in starting centers in plus-minus, and there’s no doubt that he was in a bad state in the playoffs. Whatever the reasons why, and I have not really sat down with head coach Erik Spoelstra yet, Hassan was less than without a doubt, in the playoffs.”"

So what direction will Miami decide to take this offseason regarding Agent Block?

Upcoming Challenges:

According to a poll taken by hoopsrumors.com, 46 percent of the fans voted that the Heat should definitely trade him if the return value is fair. 39 percent stated that he’s definitely out regardless of what they receive in return.

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The main dilemma in figuring out his fate is that he is constantly being outplayed and more importantly out hustled, by other bigs. Especially in this latest playoff matchup.

Both Joel Embiid and Ersan Ilyasova outmatched Whiteside in the first round and completely embarrassed Miami’s big guy.

Embiid missed the first two games but immediately made a great impact in Game 3, with 23 points and 7 rebounds for that night. Embiid ended with a plus-minus of +9 and +22 in Games 3 and 5, both crucial wins in Miami and Philadelphia. Even the 76ers’ backup center was averaging close to a double-double with 10.0 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game as well throughout the series. That immensely brought down his trade value and that question mark is now looking for the franchise.

That doesn’t mean that every team will overlook his attributes. His four-year, $98 million deal is still in play entering the third year, but after averaging only 5.2 points in 15.4 minutes in the playoffs, his future with Miami is up in the air.

Upcoming Predictions:

The Washington Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks are two teams that come to mind when considering trade options and values.

The Wizards after a quick first-round exit also need to address their frontcourt fast and with an aging Marcin Gortat, they need an athletic big that can play well off both Bradley Beal and John Wall.

With Milwaukee, their franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo needs more help if they wish to retain him after his contract is up. They made a smart play trading for Eric Bledsoe and getting Jabari Parker back healthy in time for the playoffs, but still have major gaping holes that need restructuring, starting with a physically tough guy at the post can help free Antetokounmpo to attack the rim with ease. That will also leave Bledsoe shifting outside the arc for open looks.

Other teams will eventually end up making calls for his services, but it all comes down to a great deal that benefits both teams. Even some future draft picks could work in Miami’s favor.

Next: Miami Heat searching for answers with Hassan Whiteside

The ball’s in Riley’s court and by the looks of it, he wants changes and fast.

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