Miami Heat: Will Hassan Whiteside Be Worth Max Money?
Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside is now on the verge of being considered as one of the league’s best centers, but is he worth a max contract this summer?
The NBA game has changed and continues to change right before our eyes. It starts with the evolution of the big man and how expectations are no longer about working the post and destroying defenses in the paint, but about stretching the floor and making a 15-18 footer (sometimes even three-pointers) consistently.
However, there still are the centers of the league who live in the paint and benefit from lobs on offense and blocking shots on defense. The first that come to mind right away should be DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, and Rudy Gobert. New to that scene is Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside.
After stints overseas, the D-League, and the Sacramento Kings, Whiteside was signed by Miami in November 2014. Listed at 7’0″ with a monstrous 7’7″ wingspan, Whiteside had all the physical traits to become a force if utilized correctly.
ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: 25 Best Players To Play For The Heat
There wasn’t much hope that he could become a valuable player after appearing in just 19 games in a two-year span with the Kings, but Heat president Pat Riley saw untapped potential in the then 23-year-old and brought him in to add depth to the frontcourt.
As Whiteside was getting a feel for the NBA game, his role increased tremendously when teammate and All-Star power forward Chris Bosh was ruled out for the rest of the season with a blood clot in one of his lungs.
As the 2014-15 season came to an end, the Miami Heat missed out on the playoffs for the first time in six years, but Whiteside had shown promise throughout the way that he could be the next dominant big man in the NBA.
Whiteside ended up playing in 48 games during the 2014-15 season and starting in 32. In just 23.3 minutes per game, he averaged a double-double of 11.8 points and 10 rebounds to go with 2.6 blocks per game. His most dominant performance came against the Chicago Bulls in January as he recorded a triple-double of 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 blocks.
Although his first year with the Heat looked promising, one concern was whether or not Whiteside was strong enough to consistently deal with the physicality that comes with the center position. Those concerns were put to rest over the summer when he posted a picture on his Instagram account looking noticeably bigger than just a few months ago.
Whiteside has continued to be an overwhelming presence in the paint this season as well. He is arguably the best defensive big in the league and leads the NBA in blocks at 3.96 per game–Anthony Davis is second with 2.56. He also ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (62 percent).
There is no doubt that Whiteside is being looked at as one of the up-and-coming stars at the center position, but with that hype comes expectations for both the team and for Whiteside. In other words, he has proven his worth to the Heat, now will he see a max contract come his way? Better yet, does he even deserve it?
As the salary cap rises after this season, there will be an abundance of players who will receive much bigger contracts than they seem to be worth simply because teams will have the extra money to win a bidding war, if thats what it comes to. But putting yourself in Whiteside’s shoes, there should be nothing less than the max coming your way.
Many will make the argument that since Whiteside doesn’t shoot outside of 14 feet, why should he get max money? Well, it’s the same reason the Clippers hunted down DeAndre Jordan during the summer to persuade him to take a max contract with them instead of heading to Dallas.
You could even make the argument that Whiteside has a better overall post-up game on the block than Jordan.
His defensive presence alone is what sets him apart and makes him one of the league’s elite centers. Whiteside can be credited most to Miami’s second overall ranking in defense allowing just 94.4 points per game. It isn’t like Whiteside is swatting away point guards coming in the paint, he gets the majority of his blocks simply by playing his man one-on-one in the post.
No shot is safe when he is in the vicinity, not even a hook shot.
Addressing his lack of range would be quite simple. The league is revolving around players who can make three’s and create off pick-and-roll sets.
Putting Whiteside on any team with shooters would be homicide to opponents because it not only allows him more room to operate on the block, but also to utilize his rebounding ability–which ranks third overall in terms of rebounding percentage at 21.7.
When Whiteside is involved in a pick-and-roll set, he scores 66.7 percent of the time–which ranks third overall among players who have 25 possessions or more.
If you’re a person who is a strong proponent of PER (player efficiency rating), Whiteside has the argument there as well. He his 24.3 PER currently ranks eighth in the NBA and first among centers (yes, even ahead of Andre Drummond).
With an expiring contract after this season that makes him an unrestricted free agent, Whiteside will be one of the hottest products on the market. There is no doubt that he will and should see a max contract thrown his way by multiple NBA teams and not just because of the new salary cap, because this guy actually deserves it.
Next: Each State's All-Time NBA Starting Five
Although he is 26 years old, which is a bit old in terms of a player coming out of their first contract, there is promise that Whiteside will continue to blossom into even more of a dominant presence as he continues to work on every facet of his game.