Much to the chagrin of the many NBA teams with boundless cap space to offer in free agency this summer, a truckload of moolah alone doesn’t look like it will be enough to lure in Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
According to a report by Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm/CBS Sports on Thursday, the reigning NBA blocks leader is leaning away from free agent suitors without stable organizations.
From what I’m told, Whiteside is leaning away from teams without stable organizations.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) June 29, 2016
This revelation seems like it would bode poorly for the Lakers who, though they are said to be “aggressively pursuing” the 27-year-old Whiteside, have toiling through the worst three-year stretch in franchise history thanks in part to unstable infrastructure. The Buss family ownership trust appears to be out of touch, both with one another and with the greater landscape of the league. Meanwhile Luke Walton, who was just hired in April, will be the team’s fifth head coach since Phil Jackson’s departure in 2011.
Amongst other teams, Whiteside has also been linked to the Mavericks and the Warriors, organizations with a more solid foundation at the moment.
If Whiteside is indeed placing a premium on team stability in his free agent decision, perhaps no better option exists than the incumbent Miami Heat, a franchise run by the firm grip of Don Pat Riley. The real question is if the Heat are willing to fork over max money to retain Whiteside with other highly-urgent free agent matters also on their agenda.
H/T NBA Reddit
