Miami Heat Rumors 2016: Hassan Whiteside's Max Deal Too Expensive For Team
The Miami Heat is currently mum on whether to keep or ditch center Hassan Whiteside once he becomes a free agent after the season. The latest roundups from NBA rumor mills indicate that Heat is not keen on keeping Whiteside on a highly expensive max contract.
Despite the lack of reliable report to confirm the rumor, it seems that the feeling is quite mutual. The 26-year-old 7-foot-shot-blocking center somewhat indicated that he does not intend to stay with Miami next season although he did say that it's quite early to arrive at such unconfirmed conclusion.
"They haven't talked about [free agency]. They want to see how far we get this season with this team. Playoffs will speak a lot. I hope [there's interest]. I like the organization. Pat Riley is always going to do a great job of adding people that are going to help you win. It's not hard to sell to come to Miami. You can always recruit great talent," remarked Whiteside as quoted by Yibada.
When he hits the free agency market in the offseason, Whiteside's $21 million salary is likely too high for Miami to even consider him a re-signing of contract unless the team comes up with creative scheme with its other free agents and players to accommodate such an expensive buy as reported by ESPN.
Whiteside appears to have proven his worth with the Heat since the All-Star break. Currently, the center is averaging 13.9 points and 11.8 rebounds with 3.7 blocks per game. With his performance, the center is clearly contributing his part to boost Heat's playoff chances in the Eastern Conference as mentioned in a report by Sports World News.
Meanwhile, Heat is reportedly eyeing to get Kevin Durant to their fold in July which could potentially erase Whiteside's chances of staying with the team. But with so many other teams interested to sign him in, a Durant-to-Miami scenario is unlikely to materialize.
