Portland Trail Blazers: 3 players facing the most pressure in 2019-20

3. Hassan Whiteside

Hassan Whiteside was on the verge of becoming a star a few years ago with the Miami Heat.

The former second-round draft pick led the NBA in blocks and was voted to the All-Defensive Second Team in 2015-16, then led the league in rebounding in 2016-17.

For whatever reason, the seven-foot center has only regressed from that point. His numbers and playing time went down in each subsequent season before the Heat traded him to Portland this summer.

Whiteside never really made it to that next level to be considered a star, but he did earn himself a contract that pays him like one. This upcoming season is the final year of the max-level deal he signed with the Heat in 2016, for which he’ll be paid $27.1 million by the Blazers.

Given his potential to be a game-changing rebounder and rim protector, and the fact that he’s getting paid almost as much as Lillard and McCollum, there’s going to be pressure on Whiteside to help the Blazers stay among the best of the West.

Jusuf Nurkic, Portland’s starting center for the last two and a half years, suffered a broken leg late last season and has no timetable for his return. The Blazers signed future Hall of Fame big man Pau Gasol in free agency, but he’s 39 years old and coming off his foot surgery. Whiteside is the new man in the middle until further notice.

In addition to team goals, Whiteside will be under pressure to prove that he deserves another big-money contract when he becomes a free agent next summer. There’s still time for the 30-year-old to deliver on the potential he showed not too long ago.