Dallas Mavericks Trade Talk: Is Hassan Whiteside a viable option?

According to reports, Portland Trail Blazers’ Hassan Whiteside may become available at some point this season. Could he become a viable option for the Dallas Mavericks?

Hassan Whiteside is having himself a pretty good season. Portland’s 30-year-old center is averaging over 28-minutes per game this season. In that time he’s averaging 12 boards, 14.9 points, and 1.8 blocks. The rebounds and points are his highest since the 2016-17 season.

Not much is going right in Portland this year and things are shaping up to be a pretty disappointing encore to the majesty of their 2017-18 season. Now according to Hoops Rumors, we’re hearing Mr. Whiteside could be on the trading block at some point this season.

It’s pretty clear Whiteside is a big part of the Trail Blazers team. So why exactly would he be available?

Whiteside’s effort will always fall under question, but entering a free agent season, the Mavs may be able to keep him motivated down the stretch.

First of all, Whiteside is not as good as his stat sheet indicates. He’s a terrible communicator and often a low-effort guy. But that’s one of the reasons he may eventually be available and may be essentially free. He’s also not playing the role intended for him. Injuries to Portland’s front court have forced him to take on a much bigger part than planned. So everyone knows this is only temporary.

The moment Jusuf Nurkic is cleared to play, he’s going to be given the starting job back. And Pau Gasol and Zach Collins are sure to get plenty of front court minutes themselves.

At some point this season, Whiteside could drop from the primary option in the middle, to No. 4 in the big man hierarchy. That’s going to be tough to digest for Hassan, especially since he’s proven he can still get the job done.

The Dallas Mavericks could be in the market for a lead big man this season. Dwight Powell is drawing mixed reviews as is Maxi Kleber. Someone like Whiteside could fill an important role on the Mavs in multiple ways.

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Kristaps Porzingis has been picking up the slack in the rebounding department. He’s averaging a career best on the boards. But as his shot starts to come back and his range moves further out, he may not be available for those rebounds down low anymore. Having another rebounder/shot-blocker would let Rick Carlisle move KP around and spread/space the floor. Whiteside would also draw some of those difficult matchups in the middle since Dallas has exactly no one capable of guarding an elite in-the-paint player.

Not too long ago, Hassan Whiteside was a free agent target of the Dallas Mavericks. The rebounder/shot blocker extraordinaire opted to stay in Miami where the weather was nicer and contract bigger. A growing discontent shipped him to Portland and that same discontentment could move somewhere else this season.

https://twitter.com/GreenRoomInside/status/1197643407100743681

Given his ability this year, the Mavs may want to kick his tires. He’s a free agent in 2020 so the risk is low. Sure the Dallas Mavericks would rather have true starting-caliber SG, but that may never be available. And if one did become an option, he’d probably cost more than Whiteside would. Whiteside’s effort will always fall under question, but entering a free agent season, the Mavs may be able to get him motivated down the stretch.

…but probably not.

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Clearly we’re just talking trade options. There are no Whiteside to the Mavs rumors out there. This is purely speculative but it may be an option down the road and it makes sense to consider all options for this up-and-coming Mavs team.

Published on 11/22/2019 at 12:26 PM
Last updated at 11/22/2019 at 12:27 PM

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