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Miami Heat: Was Hassan Whiteside being limited in hopes that he may opt out?

By Kenneth Wilson

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 25: Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat looks on against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at American Airlines Arena on February 25, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 25: Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat looks on against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at American Airlines Arena on February 25, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Hassan Whiteside has an interesting decision coming up near the end of June. Will he decide to opt into $27,093,018 million to return to the Miami Heat, or will he go?

The Miami Heat had a very peculiar season in this past year. It saw quite a few players miss time with injury. It saw players emerge and take on new roles. It also saw some players fall off, not reaching the goals or expectations that had been set for them. It even saw some players outright disappear at times, including center Hassan Whiteside.

When it comes to the Whiteside’s curious case, things are a bit more jumbled up than any one of the explanations above can account for. To be honest, at times, he was an example of them all.

There were moments when Whiteside flashed that ability that earned him the lucrative contract, amassing double-doubles in court times that didn’t surpass 20 mins, or even in one half of play. However, there were also times where no one knew where Whiteside was, even though he was sitting right there on the bench.

It’s so easy to point to things such as a lack of effort, conditioning, or discipline on the court, which were all things that hurt Whiteside this past season. These things had hurt him in prior seasons as well though,but the Miami Heat still allowed Whiteside to earn his minutes and play through these things. This season though, Whiteside minutes were noticeably down.

In comparison to the first year of the latest deal Whiteside signed with the Miami Heat in the 2016-2017 season, his minutes were down significantly. They dropped down to 23.3 minutes per game this season from 32.6 minutes of playing time back in year one of this deal. If you take a look back at just last season, there is a noticeable drop off in minutes per game there as well.

What also sticks out is the fact that Whiteside has only had one season where he started in every game that he played for the Miami Heat, and that was the first year of this latest deal. It is also worth mentioning that he has never played in 82 games in any season during his career.

With the elevator-like nature of his tenure with the Heat thus far, with the seeming elevator-like nature of his commitment to basketball, combined with the fact that he has a decision on whether to opt out coming up soon, it begs a question about Hassan Whiteside and the Miami Heat.

Do they want him to opt out of his contract? Have they played the scenario the way they have, limiting his minutes and experimenting with Whiteside limited rotations in hopes that he would maybe think about leaving?

Honestly, it would be hard to imagine Coach Erik Spoelstra participating in something of that nature, but it would not be that hard envisioning Team President Pat Riley calling for those shots. If I were coach Spoelstra or Pat Riley, I would surely be playing it that way and with those hopes and intentions in mind.

Whiteside has seemed less and less motivated since the day he signed that deal. He hasn’t been cancerous to the locker room, that can be admitted, but he also hasn’t been the rebounding, shot-blocking, tip-dunking machine that he was before landing his lucrative deal with the Miami Heat.

The Heat were in a very vulnerable place when Whiteside was able to fleece them into that deal. They were in need of a big-time player, and Whiteside seemed to be that kind of player who could helped to change the franchise with his defensive abilities, but that never seemed to materialize.

There is a great chance his demise was aided by the advancement of the three-point shot in today’s game-planning and strategy, however, this type of scenario couldn’t have been envisioned when he was given the deal.

They may not say it out right, or to any one out loud, but there is almost certainty that someone wants Whiteside to opt out. Perhaps Spoelstra does, but he will never admit it. Riley would say it to Hassan Whiteside, but it would never come up publicly. Whatever happens with this scenario, let’s hope both sides work to fix it before it get’s any worse than it already is.

He needs a fresh start. So do the Miami Heat.

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