Hassan Whiteside May Be Writing His Final Chapter With Miami Heat

By Richard Nurse

Often times when you hear stories of breakout players or great finds, it takes a few years before things potentially go bad. But if they do, the conflict usually arises following the signing of a hard-earned, lucrative contract.

Said player usually gets lazy, complacent and aloof while talking a good game about wanting to be the best. But in the case of Hassan Whiteside, all of the joy of his discovery is quickly fading before anyone provides him the big check.

Whiteside went from the new kid on the block to a defensive force with triple-double potential, all sprinkled with bouts of immaturity which seemed to come to a head with Tuesday night’s flagrant foul ejection against the San Antonio Spurs.

“We don’t condone that kind of play,” “Sometimes, we don’t know what he is thinking,” and “Unfortunately, he’s taken a step back [with his reputation],” were all quotes from coach Erik Spoelstra, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh that made it sound like the Miami Heat were over Whiteside after being sent home. It was as if his elbow swing was the last straw in the 7-footer’s short NBA history of tantrums, disengaging and complaints.

However, he was doing pretty well this year. His emotions had been pretty much in check, but his sidetracked focus can be partially tracked back to the team’s uncertainty about his pending free agency status.

The decision to ease Whiteside back from injury by placing him on the bench, paired with the season-long back-and-forth with coach Spoelstra about being caged during fourth quarters were not the typical treatment for someone a team is willing to invest max multi-millions into. So, a few days for everyone to cool off is just what the counselor ordered. Then they can figure out if this combination is a marriage worth saving.

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