Hassan Whiteside exploded onto the scene last season an has flourished into one of the top free agents this summer. There will be a number of NBA teams pursuing him, but there are only a few that are the best fits.
The role of the frontcourt players in the NBA has drastically changed over the past couple of seasons.
With the pace-and-space offensive philosophy sweeping league-wide, the days of having an overpowering power forward and center who rarely see a jump shot exceeding 18 feet are long gone.
However, there are still instances in which teams depend upon an “old school” type of big man to dominate the flow of the game, as we saw with Bismack Biyombo in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Just because the NBA game has become perimeter-oriented doesn’t mean the 7-footers still can’t have a demanding impact.
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One particular center that has a presence that every team needs is Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside has taken over the league in terms of blocking shots and overall rim-protecting–his 3.7 blocks per game average can help support that statement.
Not only does prevent inside scoring, he also wreaks havoc on the glass. At 7’0″ tall with a freakish 7’7″ wingspan, it’s a rare occurrence to see another player out-rebound Whiteside in a game.
The part of Whiteside’s game that is very much a work in progress is on the offensive end. His post game is fairly one-dimensional. He looks to go one dribble into a routine over the shoulder hook shot like typical big men do.
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However, his athleticism and mobility make him extremely dangerous in transition and pick-and-roll situations. Whiteside isn’t on the level of a
DeAndre Jordanyet in pick-and-roll sets, but as he continues to gain experience, he could become just as big of a threat.
Now, he does come with some negatives as well. Even though he is a dominant force defensively, he tend to gamble on blocks when a smaller guard is attacking the basket. The usual result of him doing that is leaving his man open for either a dump-off pass, or to clean up the missed layup.
Late this season though, Whiteside showed a bit more discipline when teams started attacking him with stronger bigs.
Al Jefferson for example, got the best of Whiteside in many post-up situations in the first round of the playoffs, but instead of trying to block everything and picking up fouls, Whiteside would play vertically and if Jefferson did score, then he would have to earn it each and every time.
Because Whiteside was in and out of the D-League many times before becoming a bona fide starter, the Miami Heat got him on an extremely cheap contract. This season, he earned $981,000 and is expected to get a max contract.
By far, he’ll be getting the biggest pay raise of the summer.
With this all being said, there will be a number of teams that will bid for Whiteside’s paint presence.
Let’s take a look at the best fits for him this summer.
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