Moore: Miami Heat Should Trade Hassan Whiteside
Hassan Whiteside is having quite the breakthrough season, averaging 13.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 10 games as a starter. With his value soaring, not only because of his stellar play but because he's due just under $1 million next season, and his potential still unknown, should the Heat consider trading their springy seven-footer before Thursday's deadline?
Well, if Matt Moore of CBS Sports was in the shoes of Pat Riley as team president, that bold move would be a go if he could leverage an impact player like Goran Dragic in return.
"When you've got a player this hot the idea is you'll either look at it and say 'oh he's going to turn into an all-time Heat guy and he's going to be this killer for us' or you look at it and you say 'well, look, Jeremy Lin had a fantastic three weeks and if you leveraged his trade value at the time, the Knicks would be in a lot better situation,'" Moore said on the Marc Hochman Show with Zach Krantz on WQAM. "If you look at the career of Whiteside, it's possible he's going to tail off at some point. You're not going to have a time where his trade value is any higher.
"Whiteside presents an enormous combination of talent, upside, and then positional value. You can package him to try and make a significant upgrade which I think will help the Heat more than hoping that he turns into, you know, Hakeem Olajuwon."
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Meanwhile there is some confusion among the NBA media whether Whiteside is even tradeable before the deadline because of how his contract is structured. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweeted as much in December.
Whether Whiteside can or cannot be moved before the deadline, when asked which player his potential seems most comparable to, Moore threw out a name Heat fans know well from his days with the Knicks.
"If he hits Marcus Camby as his highest peak that's a really great return considering the investment."
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