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Hassan Whiteside: Atlanta Hawks’ free agency option?

By John Buhler

Nov 3, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) blocks the shot of Atlanta Hawks forward Tiago Splitter (11) during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) blocks the shot of Atlanta Hawks forward Tiago Splitter (11) during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Hassan Whiteside has become an important player for the Miami Heat the last two years. Would the Atlanta Hawks target Whiteside in 2016 free agency?

While the Miami Heat finished with the 10th worst record in the 2014-15 NBA season, the first year since LeBron James went back home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, one promising thing that can from the Heat’s sub-.500 season was the discovery of starting center Hassan Whiteside.

Whiteside was a former second round pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Marshall University. After being out of the league for two seasons, Hassan Whiteside made a name for himself as a great shot blocker and low post player for Erik Spoelstra’s 2014-15 Miami Heat.

Arguably the biggest offseason situation surrounding the Miami Heat this upcoming summer is what to do about Hassan Whiteside, as he is about to command a huge pay increase as he hits free agency. While Whiteside does qualify for Early Bird Rights with the Heat this summer, he may want to truly test the market to see if he is worth more than the $6 million that option would give him.

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Whiteside could command an $80 million contract this summer, should he not sign a one-year deal before the NBA Salary Cap really explodes in Summer of 2017.

As painful as it may sound at the moment for the Atlanta Hawks, All-Star center Al Horford may end up being wooed away from Atlanta as he is one of the three biggest names to hit free agency this summer along with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, both of whom should sign one-year deals to stay with their respective teams before again hitting free agency Summer 2017.

Should Al Horford leave Atlanta via free agency this summer, Basketball Insiders’ Jesse Blancarte argues that Hassan Whiteside could serve as an adequate replacement for the Atlanta Hawks at center. Horford has played out of position at center his entire NBA career and may want to play power forward like he did at the University of Florida.

Atlanta would have to pay Hassan Whiteside handsomely to get him to come to Atlanta, but it won’t cost the team nearly as much as it would to re-sign Al Horford, even if Atlanta uses Bird Rights to their advantage with Horford’s new maximum contract.

Hassan Whiteside would give the Atlanta Hawks a greater low post presence defensively and on the glass than they have in Al Horford, but will lose a great deal of what makes Horford a special player in the first place with his lateral quickness and sharp-shooting set shot from mid-range.

Obviously, the Atlanta Hawks’ two biggest priorities are to re-sign Al Horford and starting small forward Kent Bazemore this offseason. Both players seem to love playing for Atlanta, but keep in mind this is a business and they may sign somewhere else.

However signing Hassan Whiteside as a replacement for Al Horford is a nice secondary option should the Hawks not come to terms with Horford on a new deal to stay in Atlanta long-term.

Whiteside did say in Blancarte’s article that he wants “to go to a team that’s about winning, that has a good understanding of what it takes to win and a good city with a good fan base.” Atlanta has a rabid fan base about its basketball team, as the Hawks went to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2015.

Next: Tiago Splitter: A difference maker off the Atlanta bench

While the Atlanta Hawks would certainly prefer to re-sign Al Horford than any other signing the organization could make during the 2016 free agency period, they will need to heavily scout Hassan Whiteside to see if he could serve as a potential replacement for Horford should he leave Atlanta after this season.

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