Robin Lopez, Chicago Bulls
There aren’t many true centers left in the NBA, mostly because big men have adapted to the style of the modern-day centers who can shoot the ball. That hasn’t stopped Robin Lopez from continuing his career as a master of the box out.
As a fan and a reader, your first intention is understandably to kill this move, but I wouldn’t be too quick to cross this one off your list.
Hassan Whiteside is getting paid close to $26 million to essentially be a better version of Lopez, and it may just be more productive for the Heat to move on from their Whiteside experiment, especially with the Heat’s solid young center in Bam Adebayo looking better each week.
If Miami can somehow get Chicago to pull the trigger on Whiteside because their rookie center is out for a few months in Wendell Carter Jr., the Bulls are not battling for a playoff spot anytime soon, and it will be difficult for them to be an attractive location for any solid role players this summer – making Whiteside would be one of their better options.
For Miami, as previously stated, just getting out of the experiment of Whiteside would allow Miami to start anew, and also allow Lopez to backup Adebayo who would start immediately and flourish at center.