Hassan Whiteside, Chris Bosh Pairing Will Be Critical to Miami Heat's Future
The Miami Heat don't know where they're headed next.
Free agency is threatening to tear apart their foundation. And Father Time is always a worry to NBA cores built mostly around 30-somethings.
But no matter how Miami makes its next move, the focal point of its path back to relevance seems clear. For all the question marks facing this franchise, the frontcourt tandem of Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside brings some badly needed stability.
That alone shows how rocky the once-smooth shores of South Beach have become. In terms of talent, the Bosh-Whiteside pairing looks tremendous. But neither player is free from uncertainty.
Bosh is only one season removed from serving as the third wheel to Miami's Dwyane Wade-LeBron James-led Big Three. The 31-year-old also only recently returned to the hardwood after being forced from it by blood clots on his lung, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
And while Whiteside appears to be a paint-protecting hidden gem, his track record is virtually nonexistent. Before the Heat tossed him a basketball life preserver last November, the 7-footer was polishing his point guard skills at the YMCA in Charlotte, North Carolina. He's also slated to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
These players are more fingers-crossed rays of hope than sturdy building blocks. But with so many unknowns on the rest of this roster, the Heat are left clinging to whatever security Bosh and Whiteside can offer.
Good or bad, this is going to be a busy summer for the Heat.
Goran Dragic must be re-signed once he inevitably declines his $7.5 million player option for 2015-16. If the 29-year-old scores a max contract on his next deal, he'll haul in about $110 million over the next five years.
That's a hefty price to pay. But Miami may have no other option after parting with two future first-round picks to acquire him from the Phoenix Suns in February.
"If he doesn't sign, my ass is going to be in that seat next year," Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley told reporters at his end-of-season press conference. "I'll be writing about it."
Miami also has to wait and see what versatile forward Luol Deng decides to do with his $10.1 million player option. He fills a number of different needs on this team and thrived as a jack of all trades during his debut campaign with the Heat. But it's still too early to tell which route he'll take over the offseason.
The biggest fish to fry, though, is the one who's spent his entire career near Biscayne Bay. Wade holds a $16.1 million player option for next season, but that may not be enough to keep the Heat lifer around.
After missing an average of 19.5 games over the past four seasons, the 33-year-old seems set on finding some long-term security, but the level of compensation accompanying that security is a point of disconnect between player and organization.
"There's a significant difference in what both parties believe he should be paid for the next three seasons," sources told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. "... Though Wade prefers to stay with the Heat...he is now open to considering other teams this summer if the Heat does not (sic) raise its offer."
Clearly, the gap has to be substantial for the parties to consider a divorce, given that their 12-year marriage has produced three NBA titles.
Apparently it is. A Wade associate has reportedly made it known that the 11-time All-Star "would welcome a contract averaging $20 million annually over the next three years," according to Jackson. Miami's initial offer was believed to include an annual salary of less than $10 million, as noted by Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick.
The chasm isn't wide enough to prevent a deal from taking place but would likely force concessions on both sides of the coin. And that would mean yet another sacrifice from Wade—who, believe it or not, has never been the Heat's highest-paid player—and perhaps less flexibility going forward for Miami.
Still, this seems like a move both sides should make.
"Wade and Riley have come too far to falter at this point in the game," wrote ESPN.com's Michael Wallace. "Yes, the honeymoon has long been over, and the nagging spats and nitpicking are more common now than ever. But these two share a professional marriage worth salvaging."
If the Heat can work the books just right, they'll be able to go big-game hunting in the salary-cap-exploding summer of 2016. That happens to be the same offseason when former MVP Kevin Durant hits the open market.
And, no, that isn't a coincidence. As the Miami Herald's Dan Le Batard explained, the Heat are cooking up a pipe dream that might not be as wild as it sounds:
"The Heat can have room for Wade, Bosh, Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside and Durant … but only if Wade opts in for this year and gives them that flexibility by being a free agent in 2016. This requires Wade to have a lot of trust, obviously, and the leap of faith that the team will take care of him in 2016.
It also requires some creativity and relationship-building with Whiteside, who will be tucked away in something called a 'cap hold.'
And it ultimately involves — and this is a big ask — Wade being OK with newcomers who haven’t done much of anything for the organization, like Dragic and Whiteside, earning more than he does.
"
Giant hurdles must be cleared to reach that point, but with a reward like that at stake, there's an understandable willingness to take some risks.
But there's also an undeniable chance for this to go horribly wrong. If Wade doesn't like what he hears at the negotiating table, he might seek out greener pastures elsewhere. And if Wade bolts, it could motivate the likes of Dragic and Deng to do the same.
Coming full circle, then, you can see why Bosh and Whiteside are so critically important to the present and future of this franchise. Frankly, that importance won't really chance regardless of what happens around them.
The Heat can potentially field two elite bigs, both of whom fit perfectly into the league-wide move to a spread-out, attacking game.
If Whiteside's sample size is to be trusted, he's an ideal anchor to protect the rim. He had the highest block percentage of any player who averaged at least 20 minutes per game (9.5). Plus, he held opponents to a lower shooting percentage at the rim (46.5) than All-Defensive frontcourt selections Tim Duncan (46.9), Draymond Green (46.9), DeAndre Jordan (48.5) and Anthony Davis (48.6).
Had Whiteside played enough games to qualify, he would have ranked first in rebound percentage (25.4), second in field-goal percentage (62.8), and fifth in player efficiency rating (26.2). With only 67 career games under his belt, his upside is enormous.
And he's hoping to realize some of that skyscraping potential by rounding out his skill set over the summer:
As for Bosh, he's a unique amalgamation of new-age floor spacing and throw-back skills in the low post.
He ranks fourth among players standing 6'11" or taller with 137 three-point makes over the past two seasons. Both the number and ranking could have improved had he not been shut down at the All-Star break by the aforementioned blood clots.
Bosh also averaged more points per possession on post-up plays (0.84) than LeBron James (0.82), Duncan (0.81) and Dwight Howard (0.75).
On paper, the fit between Bosh and Whiteside looks tighter than an old pair of Wade's capris. Whiteside can bear the brunt of the damage dished out on the low block. Bosh can stretch a defense thin, giving Whiteside optimal spacing around the basket.
There's a reason Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is anxious to see this towering twosome in action.
And, as CBS Sports' Chris Towers noted, there is some statistical evidence that Bosh can bring out the best in Miami's rising star:
Granted, the sample size is minuscule—even by Whiteside's standards. The duo logged just 310 minutes together this past season. That's only a shade more than six full games.
But the possibilities for the Whiteside-Bosh dyad are almost limitless. Surround them with a healthy supporting cast of Josh McRoberts, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem, and this frontcourt looks downright fearsome.
Still, the external activity around them may determine how effective Whiteside and Bosh can be. If the offensive load is being shared by Dragic and Wade, Miami's bigs should have no trouble finding high-percentage scoring plays. Strip those attacking guards from the equation, though, and the post players might be overwhelmed by defensive attention.
Miami's future at this point is one giant mass of mystery, but the significance of Whiteside and Bosh is already apparent—even through these clouds of uncertainty.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.
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