Hassan Whiteside Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Nader, Westbrook, Batum

August 6th, 2016 at 9:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics have a little more than a month to decide what to do with No. 58 pick Abdel Nader, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Teams have until September 10th to submit a required tender offer to second-rounders in order to retain their rights. However, they often have an understanding that the player won’t accept the offer, because if he does and fails to make the 15-man roster, he becomes a free agent. Nader and the Celtics’ front office may disagree on his immediate future, with Boston preferring that Nader agree to spend all of next season with its Maine affiliate in the D-League. But the Iowa State alum, who was the second-leading scorer on the Celtics’ summer league team, may not be willing to make that commitment. “He’s an NBA player, that’s my belief,” said Cervando Tejeda, Nader’s agent. “Right now, we have to decide what the next move is.”

There’s more news from the Eastern Conference:

The Heat may benefit from Russell Westbrook‘s decision to accept an extension with the Thunder, contends Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Winderman points out that Miami has had its options limited by the pursuit of a free agent every offseason since LeBron James left in 2014, and that would have happened again next summer if Westbrook had been available. With him under contract, the Heat may look more seriously at trades involving Goran Dragic or the newly re-signed Hassan Whiteside. The author also notes that next summer will be crucial for Miami because Tyler Johnson will count $19MM against the salary cap starting in 2018 and the Heat will be short on draft picks to deal, already owing the Suns their 2018 and 2021 first-rounders from the trade that brought Dragic to Miami.
Nicolas Batum is philosophical about the roster changes the Hornets experienced over the summer, according to Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. After winning 48 games last season, Charlotte saw Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin and Courtney Lee leave in free agency. The team also rewarded Batum with a $120MM contract over the next five years. “That’s just the NBA,” he said after his French team lost to Australia this afternoon at the Olympics. “We get new teammates. We have to adjust. But we still will have a good team. I’m not complaining about it.”

Blazers Notes: Whiteside, Aminu, Turner, Offseason

August 4th, 2016 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Tuesday, the Trail Blazers blew away their Northwest rivals when it came to offseason spending, committing more than $242MM ($234MM+ guaranteed) to free agent contracts. By comparison, the other four Northwest clubs combined to commit about $85MM to free agents. And the Blazers’ total doesn’t even include the $106MM extension that the club handed out to C.J. McCollum last week.

Considering so many of the Blazers’ big signings were players who were already on the team’s roster, it remains to be seen whether the franchise will take another step forward in the Western Conference picture this season. Zach Lowe of ESPN.com examined the situation in Portland in his latest column, and passed along a few interesting tidbits, so let’s round them up…

According to Lowe, the Blazers would have liked to make a run at Hassan Whiteside in free agency, but were “spurned” by the young center, who didn’t waste much time in agreeing to a new deal with the Heat. With Whiteside no longer in play, the Blazers could have pursued another center like Dwight Howard, Bismack Biyombo, or Ian Mahinmi, but ultimately went in another direction.
The Blazers’ decision to sign McCollum, Allen Crabbe, Evan Turner, Maurice Harkless, and Meyers Leonard to pricey long-term contracts means that the team won’t have any cap room to work with for the foreseeable future. “Good players on favorable contracts are more valuable to us than cap room,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said. “Especially in an era where all 30 teams have cap room — or the ability to get it. … With our interest in extending C.J., we weren’t going to be a cap room team next year, anyway.”
As Lowe observes, the Blazers are currently projected to be in luxury-tax territory in 2017/18 and perhaps 2018/19 as well. However, he notes that if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement includes a new amnesty clause for each team, as the last CBA did, Portland could have an opportunity to avoid that fate.
Stotts tells Lowe that the Blazers intend to play Al-Farouq Aminu almost exclusively at power forward rather than small forward. As Lowe points out, that could be bad news for Noah Vonleh.
Damian Lillard‘s work ethic helps dictate the culture of selflessness in Portland, which will help ensure that all the players with huge new contracts will continue to work hard. Sources tell Lowe that when one recent draft pick entered the NBA “carrying a whiff of entitlement,” the Portland coaching staff pointed to Lillard and essentially said: “He’s way better than you, and he’s working harder.”
Olshey on the Blazers paying $70MM+ to both Crabbe and Turner: “The way the game is being played, plus the dearth of available wings, made us willing to pay a premium for two impact players that fit our model.” The GM is also confident that Turner will improve his outside shooting in Portland.

Southeast Notes: Jack, Magic, Cuban, Whiteside

July 30th, 2016 at 4:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran point guard Jarrett Jack is looking forward to a “new start” in Atlanta after a torn ACL cost him most of last season, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. Jack, who played in just 32 games for the Nets before suffering the injury in January, signed with the Hawks two weeks ago. Jack lives in Atlanta and played at Georgia Tech, so he said the city was an obvious destination. “I was flattered that they called and wanted to take a chance on me, knowing that I’m coming off knee surgery,” he said, “but I’m willing to prove to everybody that I’m more than capable of withstanding the physical challenges of the season and just contributing to the team.” Jack continues to rehab the knee and said he plans to be fully ready by the start of the season. He is about a month away from being cleared for full five-on-five basketball.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Developing chemistry is the next challenge in Orlando after this summer’s huge turnover, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The changes started with the hiring of coach Frank Vogel and continued through a revamped roster that has just six players back from the end of last season. The most notable additions for the Magic were Serge Ibaka, who was acquired in a draft night trade, and Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green, who signed as free agents. “To me, chemistry and togetherness is something you earn, something you achieve and something you work towards by creating this culture where people like to come to work and people are playing for each other,” Vogel said. “You talk about selflessness and a team-first mentality. Whether we’ve been together for five years or are brand new to each other, every year you’ve got to work to achieve chemistry.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who lost DeAndre Jordan to a change of heart in free agency last summer, said he never tried to persuade Heat center Hassan Whiteside to reconsider before this year’s moratorium was lifted, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Whiteside was Dallas’ top target in free agency, but he decided rather quickly to stay in Miami. “Never crossed our mind,” Cuban said in an interview with Dallas radio station 105.3-FM. “… We were happy with the direction we were going in and we had made our pitch to Hassan, but we didn’t really think he was going to leave and we didn’t go back to him and even bring it up.”
Offseason signings have left the Heat with 11 players who are ineligible to be traded before December 15th, Winderman notes in the same piece. In addition to Whiteside, they are Wayne Ellington, Udonis Haslem, Stefan Jankovic, James Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Willie Reed, Dion Waiters, Okaro White and Derrick Williams.

Southeast Notes: Winslow, Howard, Bazemore

July 17th, 2016 at 11:42am CST by Arthur Hill

Pat Riley anointed Justise Winslow as the Heat’s starting small forward for next season, but he hasn’t addressed the larger question of power forward, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Riley expressed his confidence in Winslow during a news conference Saturday, saying the rookie will be penciled in as the starting three for 2016/17. But if Chris Bosh isn’t medically cleared to play, that leaves Josh McRoberts, Luke Babbitt and Udonis Haslem as candidates to start alongside Winslow and Hassan Whiteside on the front line. Riley said even though Winslow is only 20, he’s ready to be an NBA starter. “I remember when James Worthy came to the Lakers and Jamaal Wilkes was incumbent,” Riley said, “and then there came that time, there came that time when it was just a matter of time when James Worthy was going to take his position.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Dwight Howard hopes his return home to Atlanta will revitalize his career, according to Steve Hummer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 30-year-old center, who signed a three-year deal worth $70.5MM with the Hawks, has even changed his number to 8 to signify “a new beginning.” Howard insists that his back, which required surgery in 2012, is no longer a problem. “My back hasn’t been an issue,” he said, “and I don’t think I’ll ever have an issue out of my back for the rest of my career.”
Kent Bazemore‘s comments at the press conference after he re-signed with the Hawks showed how much he wanted to stay in Atlanta, relays K.L. Chouinard of NBA.com. Bazemore, who landed a four-year, $70MM contract in free agency, said it was important to remain with the team he joined two seasons ago. “This is one of the high points of my life,” he said, “and I couldn’t choose a better place to be. I said I wasn’t going to get emotional, but I just love it here, you know. People have just embraced me and it just feels like home, man.”
It’s hard to understand why the Wizards re-signed Marcus Thornton so early in free agency, writes Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic. Thornton, who received a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, projects as a fifth guard, Standig contends, adding that it’s unusual for teams to fill roster spots with those type of players before Summer League begins.

Heat Re-Sign Hassan Whiteside

July 7th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images

July 7th, 4:55pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced via press release.

8:12am: As expected, Whiteside’s pact is a four-year, maximum salary contract, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets.

JULY 1st, 6:59am: Unrestricted free agent Hassan Whiteside has decided to remain in Miami and will re-sign with the Heat, he announced via a post in The Player’s Tribune. The agreed upon terms were not announced, but Whiteside was reportedly seeking a maximum salary offer.

“I’ve played on eight teams since college — from Reno to Sioux Falls to Sichuan, China,” Whiteside wrote in his announcement. “I am not ready for there to be a ninth. I have decided to re-sign with Miami. I just wanted to take this time to tell all the fans how much you mean to this team, and to me. Can’t wait to get back to work and try to bring another championship to Miami. #HeatNation”

The Heat and Mavericks both had the opportunity to make pitches to Whiteside in the early hours of free agency, and the free agent big man left both meetings without an agreement in place, relaying that he would make his final decision this morning. Heading into those early morning meetings, the Mavs were the reported favorites, but ultimately Pat Riley convinced the big man that Miami was the best spot for him to continue his playing career. Portland was also reported to have scheduled a meeting, but it appears the Blazers never had the opportunity to sit down with Whiteside.

For Dallas, this becomes another big name free agent that has spurned the organization, and the second offseason in a row that Mark Cuban and company failed to land their top target. While there was no bizarre stand-off at Whiteside’s home similar to what occurred last summer with DeAndre Jordan, losing out on the big man has to sting. The team will need to regroup and hope it has better luck with point guard Mike Conley, who is reportedly the team’s other free agent priority.

Whiteside appeared in 73 games this past season for Miami, including 45 as a starter. He averaged 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks in 29.1 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .606/.000/.650.

Latest On Kevin Durant

July 3rd, 2016 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:59pm: The Heat are still alive in the race for Durant, according to a tweet from InsideHoops.com. A source says the theory that Durant is deciding between the Thunder and Warriors is untrue.

8:43pm: Durant was impressed by the Celtics’ presentation on Saturday and is still “seriously considering” signing with Boston, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.

7:55pm: Durant is not expected to make an announcement before Monday, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The final decision will come down to the Thunder and Warriors, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A source close to the Warriors told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that Golden State pitched “culture, dynasty, style of play” to Durant, but the source wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in Oklahoma City (Twitter link).

3:25pm: Durant spoke over the phone with Warriors executive Jerry West yesterday, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets. A source told Kawakami that Durant likes the Warriors, but is unsure about leaving the Thunder (Twitter link). Nevertheless, Durant is strongly considering the Warriors and his decision will be released on the Players’ Tribune, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.

9:05am: Kevin Durant plans to make a decision tonight or Monday, but that’s the only certainty as he prepares to meet his fifth and final suitor, writes Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Heat representatives will get the last chance to woo Durant this afternoon, following the Celtics and Spurs, who met with him Saturday, and the Warriors and Clippers, who had meetings Friday. The Thunder have requested a final session with Durant, but he and his representatives have not decided whether to grant that.

Officials from the four teams that have talked with Durant so far haven’t been able to determine whether he is leaning toward any of them, Broussard reports. He speculates that the Clippers may have taken themselves out of the running Saturday night by using a big chunk of their cap space on the three-year, $35MM deal they gave to Austin Rivers.

The Celtics may have improved their bargaining position with Saturday’s commitment by Al Horford, according to Broussard. Durant’s agent, Rich Kleiman, had been trying to convince Horford to join Durant in Oklahoma City, and there may be incentive now to team them up in Boston. However, a source told Broussard that while the Horford addition may enter into Durant’s decision, it won’t be a major factor.

Miami will send owner Micky Arison, chief exective officer Nick Arison, team president Pat Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra, GM Andy Elisburg and executive Alonzo Mourning into today’s session with Durant, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Meeting Durant so close to his deadline puts the Heat in a difficult position, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, who says Riley’s main goal may be to dissuade Durant from choosing the Celtics.

Jackson says the Heat consider themselves an underdog for Durant, but they have several strategies to take on his $26.5MM first-year salary if he does choose Miami. The easiest would be to trade Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts without taking salary back, start Hassan Whiteside‘s contract at $20MM rather than $22MM and try to convince Dwyane Wade to accept the approximately $16MM still left.

Durant reportedly flew to Boston on Friday to visit the city, then made a return flight with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, according to a report from CSNNE. The Celtics were happy with the active role that Brady played in the Durant presentation, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI. Brady joined the Celtics’ contingent along with co-owner Steve Pagliuca, president Danny Ainge and players Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk.

Heat Notes: Johnson, Wade, Haslem, McRoberts

July 3rd, 2016 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The poison-pill contract that the Nets offered to Tyler Johnson will be difficult for Miami to match, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Johnson will receive $50MM over for years, but the deal is heavily backloaded so that most of the money comes in the third and fourth seasons. The payout is $5.628MM in the first season and $5,881,260 in the second, followed by $18,858,765 in season three and $19,631,975 in season four. The Heat already have $70.3MM committed for the 2018/19 season among Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic. Miami will also need cap space in those years to keep Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson. Heat officials will have three days to make their decision once Johnson signs his deal with Brooklyn, but Whiteside and Richardson have already posted farewell messages on social media (Twitter links).

There’s more tonight out of Miami:

The Bucks will meet with Dwyane Wade sometime after the Fourth of July, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Wade began looking at other teams after being unhappy with Miami’s initial contract offer. Milwaukee doesn’t have room to sign Wade to the deal he wants, but it could if it finds a taker for Greg Monroe (Twitter link).
If the Heat give approximately $20MM to Wade and don’t land Kevin Durant, they will have to fill the roster with a $2.9MM room exception and minimum contracts, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Most of the room exception may be needed to re-sign Udonis Haslem. Miami hasn’t pursued Gerald Green since free agency began, but he could become an option if there’s nobody better at a minimum salary. The team appears to have no interest in bringing back Dorell Wright.
Miami may want to think twice about sacrificing Josh McRoberts for cap room, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat may have to move his nearly $5.8MM salary for 2016/17 to create enough cap space to meet Wade’s demands, but if they keep the veteran big man, he might be the starter at power forward next season if Bosh isn’t healthy.

And-Ones: Turner, Whiteside, Parsons, Rubio

July 1st, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Luke Adams

In an interesting interview with Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Evan Turner explained how he ended up reaching an agreement with the Trail Blazers earlier today, expressing confidence that he’ll be a great fit in Portland. Turner suggested that he’d “play in Boston every single day of the week” if all other factors were equal, but the Celtics would have only have offered him about half what the Blazers did, and the C’s likely would’ve reduced his role as well.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

Hassan Whiteside‘s max salary isn’t set in stone yet, according to Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald, who tweets that the young center would be willing to take a little less if Kevin Durant wants to sign with the Heat.
Chandler Parsons called his decision to sign with the Grizzlies the toughest of his life, calling Portland “incredible” and citing Memphis’ coaching staff as a major factor in his choice. Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com has the quotes from Parsons.
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press is skeptical that the Timberwolves will trade Ricky Rubio this summer, tweeting that head coach Tom Thibodeau wants to work with the point guard. Krawczynski expects Rubio to be on Minnesota’s roster when training camp rolls around.
Dubbed last week as the favorites to reach a deal with Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez, the Nets are are still trying to get a deal done with Rodriguez, but sources tell Mike Mazzeo and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that an agreement looks “unlikely.”
The Thunder issued a press release today confirming the hiring of Adrian Griffin as an assistant on Billy Donovan‘s staff, as was reported last month. Vin Bhavnani and former NBA guard Royal Ivey also received promotions and are now assistant coaches, per the team.

Latest On Dwyane Wade

July 1st, 2016 at 7:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:08pm: Wade is in contract talks with the Knicks and Bucks, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Wade has a meeting scheduled with the Bucks that will take place sometime next week, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on Twitter. A meeting with the Knicks could take place next week as well, Windhorst adds.

Sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Wade wants to be compensated for the pay cuts he took in Miami. The Heat remain optimistic about bringing Wade back and their plan is not to replace him with Durant should the 2013/14 MVP sign with Miami. If that happens, the team would look to trade Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts in an attempt to financially take care of Wade.

The Knicks likely won’t have the cap space necessary to provide Wade with his desired contract, after agreeing to sign Joakim Noah to a four-year, $72MM deal, as Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. Of course, Noah’s deal won’t be finalized until after the moratorium, so the possibility of the big man agreeing to take less with the intent of bringing Wade to New York exists.

Wade seems like a strange fit for the Bucks, but he did play his college basketball at nearby Marquette University. Still, after agreeing to sign both Matthew Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic, Milwaukee will likely have to make a corresponding move to offer Wade a sizable contract.

9:26am: Dwyane Wade‘s contract standoff with the Heat has given other teams hope of signing him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Several GMs believe the situation in Miami is becoming serious and have submitted multi-year offers to Wade’s representatives. Some are planning phone calls with Wade today in an effort to get him to end his 13-year association with the Heat (Twitter link).

Miami has been unable to give Wade a firm offer because of the uncertainty surrounding free agent center Hassan Whiteside and the team’s pursuit of Thunder free agent Kevin Durant. The Heat resolved the Whiteside situation early this morning when the parties agreed on a four-year maximum deal. They will meet with Durant on Sunday.

It was reported earlier this week that Wade became frustrated after his initial talks with Miami and instructed his agents to contact the Spurs and Mavericks about his possible availability. Wade also had contentious talks with the Heat last summer before agreeing to a one-year deal worth $20MM. The 34-year-old averaged 19.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 74 games this season.

Latest On Hassan Whiteside

July 1st, 2016 at 3:36am CST by Luke Adams

3:36am: Whiteside is expected to make his decision in the morning, tweets Tim Reynolds.

2:53am: The Heat and Mavericks both had the opportunity to make pitches to Hassan Whiteside in the early hours of free agency, and the free agent big man left both meetings without an agreement in place, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

Still, after a Thursday report indicated that the Mavericks appeared to be the frontrunners for Whiteside, the Heat picked up some momentum with their meeting today, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who suggests (via Twitter) that Miami regained equal footing with Dallas. Reading between the lines, I wonder if that means the Heat expressed a willingness to offer Whiteside a maximum-salary contract.

Heading into Friday morning’s meetings, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) had reported that members of Whiteside’s inner circle didn’t believe the Heat were on the outside looking in, giving them a real chance of signing the young center. Meanwhile, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweeted that Whiteside told at least one of his Miami teammates earlier in the week that he’d be returning to the Heat.

A meeting with the Trail Blazers is also reportedly on Whiteside’s schedule for Friday, though for now it looks like the Heat and Mavericks are the strong frontrunners for his services.