Heat Notes: Whiteside, Udrih, Deng

With trade talk swirling around Hassan Whiteside, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders details the center’s rise and how he has been able to play alongside fellow big man Chris Bosh in a detailed feature. Whiteside is set to hit free agency after the season, but as Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post recently told Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron, Whiteside’s value is very much disproportionate to his $981K contract, and that makes him extremely difficult to trade.

Here’s more out of Miami:

• With Tyler Johnson battling a shoulder injury, Beno Udrih has received more playing time and a result has made himself fit in with the Heat, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel details. Udrih has seen more time on the court in the past week than he had previously since being acquired by Miami in a November trade, Winderman adds. Such has been the case during the point guard’s career because Udrih has been traded four times in 12 seasons, as Winderman notes.
• Luol Deng, who opted into the final season of his contract with Miami over the summer, has a tendency to go unnoticed despite his exceptional defensive skills, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post writes. It will be interesting to see how much teams value Deng’s defense, in terms of dollars, when he hits free agency, especially with him averaging a modest 10.2 points per game this season (which would be a career-low).
• There is a distinct possibility that Goran Dragic‘s success in December compared to his struggles before this month has to do with the point guard playing with more freedom and less of a structured approach, Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald writes. Dragic, whom the Heat re-signed to a five-year, $90MM deal in July, took a while to mesh with Dwyane Wade, but it seems like things have been figured out.