Former Miami Heat center, Hassan Whiteside, has yet to find a new NBA deal. I wonder why this is the case for the big man?
*Editors Note: He has since signed a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, but this also applies to why it may have taken so long.
The Miami Heat have a certain set of norms, practices, and procedures that they follow and go by within the organization. We call this the Miami Heat Culture.
Here’s the thing about that though. When you play for the Miami Heat, you are either one of those guys before you arrive, so talented that they give you a chance to buy in, to which you either do or don’t, and in that case, aren’t there for long.
Well, it took longer than usual in one particular case but that’s inevitably what happened here too. We are talking about Hassan Whiteside.
Yet to be able to find a deal for next season in this NBA Free Agency period thus far, Whiteside remains available on the open market to be had by some team or another. Which team and when said team will move is the question though and one that is yet to be determined.
With that in mind though, it really makes you wonder. Why hasn’t a guy that put up the numbers he did last season been signed?
If you followed the saga between him and Miami, then it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. In case you weren’t though, let’s go into a few things here.
The Miami Heat did all they could with and for Hassan Whiteside. This included giving him another shot, rewarding him for the work he did, and enduring a lot more than they should have.
His Attitude Is A Major Setback For Him
The Miami Heat did all they could for Whiteside. They gave him a chance, straight out of the YMCA.
He performed admirably in that shot too, earning himself a $100 million dollar deal in the process. After he got the deal though, it all started to go downhill.
He turned back into a pumpkin. The guy that he was that eventually found himself out of the league shortly after being drafted out of Marshall returned.
All too often, it was about Whiteside. That means, only about Whiteside.
First of all, the Miami Heat are definitely not going to put up with a “me guy”, but you have to at least be able to act like a “team guy” enough so that teams want you around. No matter how talented, obviously and at some point, organizations get sick of the schtick.
That seems to be the case here. He will eventually sign somewhere, but after being humbled by the process or maybe not, considering the guy we are talking about.
That’s the first thing that is probably keeping him from being signed, his approach to the game and how he carries himself. That isn’t the only thing though.
Former Miami Heat big man, Hassan Whiteside, isn’t on a team right now. The way he moves and plays the game has a bit to do with it as well.
He’s A Plodder
The Miami Heat needed a guy like Hassan Whiteside last season during the NBA Finals. They absolutely struggled with protecting the rim, the paint, and in dealing with the size of the Lakers, period.
They were fully aware of that deficiency when they shipped him off though. The Blazers still found a role for him with their guy, Jusuf Nurkic, out.
Let’s stick there though. Nurk is of the new breed of big men.
Basically, over the last few years, we have tried to push the narrative that the league is totally going away from big men, but that isn’t exactly true anymore. The league is going away from a certain type of big man.
The lumbering, plodding, Hassan Whiteside-Roy Hibbert types that don’t impact the game in a myriad of areas are the bigs that the league is shifting away from and phasing out. The Jusuf Nurkic, Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jokic types are all the vogue though.
They are all 7 feet tall or near that, so to say it’s going away from bigs period, is just false. Again, they are going away from the not so fleet of foot, less mobile, 7-foot guys who only stand in or near the paint.
That’s the second reason why he has probably yet to sign a deal. That isn’t saying that he won’t, but that’s why he’s had to wait so long.
This next one is a real doozy though.
The Miami Heat didn’t make any splash moves this offseason, just those under the radar types. The Detroit Pistons tried to shock the world though, but perhaps not in a good way.
Because The Detroit Pistons Already Have 38 Big Men In Tow
I am not sure if you follow the news closely outside of your favorite team, but if you have, then you have certainly seen what the Detroit Pistons are doing. They are cornering the market on big men and paying good money to do it.
This one is kind of tongue in cheek but there may also be something to it. If they hadn’t gone so crazy in the beginning and if Whiteside knew his market would be this dry, he might be a Piston right now.
Had he known he wouldn’t have an offer, he would have jumped at the Mason Plumlee contract, one can only assume. Since they are filled to the brim with big men though and Jerami Grant, who we won’t get into right now for the money they awarded him, they likely have no use for a guy of Hassan’s ilk right now.
I can assure you of that, actually. I know something else for certain, their fans probably would be alright if they didn’t sign or draft a center for the next year or so.
The former Miami Heat big is without a team right now, although I am sure he will sign at some point. As far as why it hasn’t happened yet though, these are probably a few of the reasons why.