According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Hassan Whiteside has been traded from the Miami Heat to the Portland Trail Blazers for Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard. On his career, Whiteside has averaged 13.4 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.
Portland Trail Blazers Trade for Hassan Whiteside
In return for Whiteside, the Heat will get Leonard and Harkless. Leonard is a solid backup center who stepped up for the Blazers when Jusuf Nurkic went down. At age 26, Leonard will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Harkless is a serviceable small forward that should add to the Heat’s bench. Also at age 26, Harkless will be an unrestricted free agent next summer as well. More importantly, the trade gives the Heat more options as they try to find a way to finalize the Jimmy Butler trade.
Miami is finalizing a trade to send center Hassan Whiteside to Portland for Mo Harkless and Meyers Leonard, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
Once a league cast off, Whiteside came back to the NBA in 2014 when the Miami Heat gave him a chance. He proved to be a dominating force inside, so much so that he earned a four-year $98 million deal in 2016 from the Heat. As the league shifted away from slow, post-up bigs, Whiteside struggled to live up to that contract. The Heat began preparing for life after Whiteside and started Bam Adebayo in his place last March. A few weeks ago he opted into his player option for next season but grumbled about coming off the bench. Now he’ll be spending that time with the Portland Trail Blazers instead.
By no means is Whiteside a bad player, just an overpaid one. An elite rim protector, Whiteside knows how to use his huge frame and length to alter shots. He’s a shot-blocking menace that led the league in blocks in 2015-16. He’s also a glass-cleaning monster that regularly finishes in the top 10 for rebounds per game. Offensively, Whiteside thrives off easy points from putbacks and lobs. While Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic recovers from a devastating leg injury, Whiteside will be the de facto starter. At age 29 and with an outdated skillset, this might be Whiteside’s last chance to start.
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