Portland Trail Blazers: 3 big questions heading into 2019-20
By Jordan Foote
1. Will the Hassan Whiteside experiment work out?
It doesn’t seem like too long ago that Hassan Whiteside was dominating the NBA.
Once one of the most fun young players to watch in the league, the former 33rd overall pick’s career quickly plateaued after he signed his first big contract. Now in the final year of that deal and no longer with a Miami Heat team that didn’t always see eye-to-eye with him, Whiteside has every reason to put the pieces back together in 2019.
With Jusuf Nurkic slated to miss significant time this season, if not the entire campaign, Portland will rely heavily upon Whiteside to produce. Nurkic was the Trail Blazers’ third-best player before he went down, so his shoes won’t be easy to fill.
Despite playing in 25.3 and 23.3 minutes per game over the last two seasons, Whiteside’s per-36 averages remained a marvel. Averaging 19.4 points, 17.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per outing over that span, perhaps he simply needs to be unleashed.
Next. What CJ McCollum’s extension means for the future. dark
It’s long been speculated that a change of scenery could be that’s necessary for Whiteside to tap back into the potential he flashed just a few years ago. Now at the age of 30 and facing what could be his last chance to earn another decent payday, it’s time to find out if that speculation is true. For the sake of the Blazers, let’s hope it is.