5 NBA players in need of a trade in 2018-19

1. Hassan Whiteside

Consider the Miami Heat as a slightly better version of the Charlotte Hornets. However, unlike Kemba Walker, who is a star, Hassan Whiteside finds himself being phased out of his team’s rotations in a league where his skill-set has rapidly become outdated.

While the Hornets will struggle to trade Walker because of the emotional attachment and the fact that he’s their best player, the Heat will struggle to move Whiteside because his trade value is so low and his contract is undesirable at this point.

It’s alarming how fast this situation went downhill after Miami re-signed its star center to a four-year, $98.4 million deal in 2016. Now, with two years and a whopping $52.5 million left on his contract the massive money he’s owed is only part of the problem.

Even for teams willing to look past his attitude problem and sense of entitlement that’s reared its ugly head over and over for the last few years, Whiteside’s on-court value has taken a massive hit in a small-ball league.

The 29-year-old big man saw his fourth quarter and playoff minutes dwindle in favor of Kelly Olynyk and rookie Bam Adebayo last year, and the Heat were generally more effective on both ends of the floor with those smaller lineups. The team’s cap situation is ugly, and if Pat Riley were able to find a taker for Whiteside, the big man would be on the next plane to his new NBA home within the hour.

Unfortunately for both disgruntled parties, the odds of that happening are low. Whiteside can’t hold his own on the perimeter, he’s on the verge of turning 30 and last year, his numbers shrank to 14.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game — a sizable decline from the 17.0 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game he averaged the year before.

With Erik Spoelstra favoring small-ball lineups that are proven to be more effective, it’s only a matter of time before the seven-footer is discontent with his diminished role and lashes out again. Finding an interested suitor will be a challenge, but Hassan Whiteside needs a change of scenery more than anyone.