With Heat, Whiteside finally able to turn potential into performance
Back in late November, the Miami Heat made a seemingly minor roster transaction by waiving underachieving veteran shooting guard Shannon Brown and signing little-known center Hassan Whiteside from the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.
Though he had been drafted in 2010 by the Sacramento Kings, Whiteside only had 19 career NBA games under his belt and had averaged 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 5.8 minutes of action while shooting 44.4 percent from the field. His brief stint with the Kings ended after playing two minutes in his rookie campaign and 18 games in his second season. He played in China and Lebanon before appearing in 64 career NBA D-League games averaging 7.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.30 blocks and 13.5 minutes.
One look at the 7-footer's resume and career stats and it appeared that this would be a developmental signing with an eye towards the future, much in the same vein as Dexter Pittman, Jarvis Varnado, Joel Anthony and other big men to have come and go in recent seasons.
Whiteside spent his first full month with the team in December riding the bench and quietly working on his game behind the scenes with assistant coach Juwan Howard. Once the calendar flipped to 2015, Whiteside exploded onto the scene with six straight games scoring in double-figures, including three double-doubles, to start the new year.
In a flash, Whiteside had solidified a starting role on the squad with consistent performances that showcased his dominance in the paint on both ends.
"That was a great year for development," said coach Erik Spoelstra. "He played less then 200 minutes in his career before this and less then 20 games and now you're looking at 1,100 minutes and just about 50 games. In our system, (it was about) really developing reliability to be able to be counted on to rebound, block shots, and to serve a role and you saw great improvement during the course of the year."
Despite the gains made during Whiteside's time in Miami, team president Pat Riley insisted at the end of the season the team was simply fortunate to have landed him when they did. Though Riley understated the effect the team had on Whiteside's noticeable improvement upon his return to the NBA, Riley sounded eager to see what the big man can accomplish next season with a healthy squad around him.
"First of all, we didn't find him," said Riley. "He was out there for everybody. He slipped through the cracks and he was ready. We were very fortunate to be able to be the one to that said 'Okay, let's sign him to a contract'. We didn't develop Hassan, he just all of a sudden loaded up the box score and everybody had the Blue Book based on who he was or what they thought he was three, four or five years ago.
"We feel very fortunate to have Hassan, it's almost like having a lottery pick that's here with us right now."
Whiteside ended up leading the team in rebounds (482), field goal percentage (.628), and blocks (128) while averaging a double-double of 11.8 points and 10.0 rebounds, along with 2.6 blocks in just 48 games. He had a team-high 22 double-doubles and four games with 20 or more rebounds. He also posted nine games with at least 10 rebounds and five blocks. Not bad for someone who was working on his game in total anonymity at a YMCA gym in Charlotte just weeks before signing with the Heat.
WHAT HE DID RIGHT
Before Whiteside lacerated his hand on the rim near the end of the season that limited him on offense, he had displayed a smooth midrange jumper and a soft touch around the rim. Even with a cast and 10 stitches on his right hand, he still averaged 16.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for the month of April.
In just about every aspect of the game, Whiteside impressed with his polished inside game and knack for securing rebounds in traffic and blocking shots anywhere near his vicinity.
WHERE HE NEEDS TO IMPROVE
The talent and skills are obvious, but the next step Whiteside will need to take is greater mental focus and maturity.
His frustration at opposing players for their rough play in their efforts to try to contain him as well at the referees has been well-documented. Foul trouble persisted and two ejections in one week represented a low point for Whiteside in early March, but to his credit there were no further incidents the rest of the season.
"I don't think there's any doubt that Erik is going to really look at what he can do for this player of his size and not just have him as a 7-foot pick-and-roll lob (or) second-shots dunk player," said Riley. "I think he can be a formidable presence and a formidable option in the offense. He's already talking about it and very excited about trying to implement whatever he does in a pace game to not pass him by three or four times.
"He also has to take the attitude of somebody like Alonzo Mourning that if he didn't get a touch four times down the court, he'd put his big massive hands around my neck."
BEST GAME
Whiteside's profound effect on the Heat's season was just being realized when he dropped jaws with a dominating performance on Jan. 25 in a 96-84 win against the Chicago Bulls. The 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench were impressive enough, but it was the franchise-record 12 blocks to single-handedly smother the Bulls' offisen and complete a rare triple-double that served notice to the rest of the NBA of his skills on both ends of the court.
ADVANCED STATS
26.6 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average, sixth best in the NBA), 61.9 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 18.7 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
LOOKING AHEAD
Miami originally signed Whiteside to a two-year, veteran's minimum contract which locks him in at a bargain price for the upcoming season but will handicap their efforts to re-sign him to a lucrative multi-year contract next summer.
That's because he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2016, with the Heat holding little advantage over other teams for his services. Miami can't offer a longer contract then other suitors -- as they can with impending free agent Goran Dragic -- and they will have to use a portion of their cap space to retain him. Fortunately for the Heat, the NBA's new television deal will translate into a significantly larger salary cap for all teams.
For now, Whiteside will continue his commitment to Miami's player development program over the offseason with an eye towards a much larger role on offense.
"For a guy that wasn't in the league last year, we feel now we have a great opportunity in the next five and a half months to really develop a specific player development program for him," said Spoelstra. "He really improved this year during the season but now we can get really specific in the offseason and hopefully take another jump."
In order for the Heat to get back to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, Spoelstra wants to get the most out of Whiteside because of his unique skill set and towering size.
"We'll put together a very specific program this summer," he said. "I think one of the things I don't want to do is put a ceiling on Hassan. I just want him to commit and he will. I've had discussions with him to be here and working with us for the majority of the summer and then we'll see where that takes us.
"From that specific program are things that I want him to be working on. I'm just very encouraged by the progress he made this year and that's from player development during the season and learning things on the fly without a training camp and without a summer with us."
You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.
