One of the bright spots the Miami Heat can look up to these days is Hassan Whiteside. The 26-year-old seven-footer has been a big revelation for the Heat, although his development is still on the upswing and is promising to be one of the future tall men in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
However, that rise comes into question. Will he mature as a Heat or with some other team?
Given that the Heat have a knack for going after big name players, Whiteside could end up being a trade bait at some point.
At the moment, the Heat could look into a possible DeMarcus Cousins trade for the promising player as reported on USA Today. If that won't work, it could be a straight-up trade involving perhaps Chris Bosh. But of the two, the Kings are likely to opt for a younger Whiteside using a max contract if a deal would consummate for the current season.
Moving forward to the offseason, it is no secret that the Heat are making a go at Kevin Durant. But in order for them to do that, they need to unload some players.
Whiteside is unlikely to be the main issue here, seeing his salary doesn't impact the team's budget that much. But the thing is, he will surely be dangled lucrative offers from other teams. Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent, meaning he will have the freedom to pick whichever team he pleases.
So the gist of it all is that if not anytime during the current season, Whiteside may be as good as gone by season's end. The Heat could try to negotiate with the shot-blocking demon, but seeing that most young players are of at least equal caliber, it seems cloudy to think that the Heat will hold on to Whiteside for a fair price.
Will Whiteside shun the Heat soon? Well as they say, money talks.
