Hassan Whiteside, Sacramento Kings
After leading the league in blocks per game a season ago and starting for the Portland Trail Blazers for almost the entire season, Hassan Whiteside took a demotion this offseason and agreed to a one-year, $2.3M deal. Why Whiteside did not have a big market nobody knows, but the 31-year old center can and will still play at a high level.
Not only is Whiteside one of the premier shot-blockers and defensive big men in the entire NBA, but he is also a big body in the low-post. Since the 2014-15 season, Hassan Whiteside has averaged about 14.1 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, while shooting about 58.7% from the floor. He is a threat to go out every night and get a double-double and will be very useful for the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings are looking to replicate the success they had late in the season last year, as they finished 31-41 overall, barely missing the play-in game for the NBA playoffs by about 1.5 games. Sacramento has a lot of positives to take away from last year, like the emergence of De’Aaron Fox as their superstar of the future and the growth of big man Marvin Bagley III.
De’Aaron Fox agreed to a five-year, $163M rookie max-extension with the Kings this offseason, but the other guy in the backcourt may not want to be in Sacramento anymore. Buddy Hiled has voiced his frustrations on social media with the Kings organization and could be on the move sooner than later. Not only can Whiteside come in and create a little more stability within the locker room of this organization, but gives the Kings two solid big guys in Whiteside and Bagley.
The fact that Hassan Whiteside only got paid $2.3M this offseason is really puzzling as it was expected for him to have a bigger market. He did not have any off the court issues in Portland last year and was a great guy to have in the locker room, so it is weird that Whiteside did not get the recognition he deserved. This could be a trend moving forward for shot-blockers in the league that enter free agency, especially if they do not have the ability to play from the perimeter.
