3 Trade Ideas For The Miami Heat And Hassan Whiteside
By Josh Eberley
Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets
The Deal:
Miami Heat send Hassan Whiteside, Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts, Chris Andersen
Charlotte Hornets send Al Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Tyler Hansbrough
Why do the Hornets do this?
Al Jefferson, while once thought a cornerstone, has had a series of issues this season, whether it be injuries, suspensions, or the elevated play of young big men further down the depth chart. He’s also a pending free agent.
The problem with trading for Whiteside is you have to convince him to stay. The Hornets may have the best chance of any NBA team to do this. Whiteside is from North Carolina and the Hornets will have more than $30 million in cap space should they renounce some of their Bird rights.
Whiteside, at 26 years old, is at a perfect age to sign to a long-term deal; if Charlotte believes they can convince them to stay, I believe they could swallow the loss of young Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Why do the Heat do this?
The Heat are minimizing risk, while Jefferson is also a free agent, they’d have his Bird rights and would be able to go over the cap in order to re-sign him. The main prize here is Gilchrist, the fourth-year pro has missed the entire season due to injury and likely won’t be back until next season.
That being said, he just signed a very good contract and is only going to be 23 years old at the start of Miami’s 2016-17 campaign. I think it’s a good haul for the Heat, who again, are making the best of a sticky situation.
Next: Suns and Heat Trade