The Los Angeles Lakers Should Stay Away from Hassan Whiteside at All Costs
Heading into free agency with more cap space than any other NBA team—and a clear desire to distance themselves from last year’s Kobe-centric sideshow—the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly plan to make a steep offer to Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside this summer, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne:
"The Los Angeles Lakers plan to aggressively pursue Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside when NBA free agency starts, according to league sources. With rim protection and perimeter shooting ranking as the Lakers' foremost areas of concern heading into the open market, sources told ESPN that Whiteside has emerged as a priority target.
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On paper and in a vacuum, Whiteside makes sense in a Lakers jersey. But instead of splurging on a big-name free agent who may stunt his young core’s development, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak needs to show restraint.
Yes, Whiteside's in his prime at 27 years old and one of the best rim protectors in basketball. Last season, according to Basketball-Reference.com, he finished seventh in PER and win shares per 48 minutes, second in total rebound percentage and fourth in true shooting percentage. He's a possible antidote against teams that want to go small; When engaged, he can dominate.
As billboard-splashy and symbolically progressive as a Whiteside signing would be, an endless desert remains between the Lakers and a playoff spot—let alone championship contention—regardless of which free agents they acquire this summer.
With D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and (presumably) Jordan Clarkson to serve as their foundation, the Lakers should make every decision with development as the primary goal. This isn't complicated.
Pay Whiteside upward of $95 million, and the entire concept of a meticulous rebuild goes out the window.
No rules frown upon young teams that sign quality players, but the Lakers don't know what they have. Whatever it is needs time to grow. It needs positive influence, experience and mentorship.
The Lakers finally have a clean slate in more ways than one. There is no pecking order. It's a perfect opportunity to start over and build from the ground up, atop whatever principles new head coach Luke Walton and his coaching staff want to instill.
This isn't about wins and losses. It's about forming something special and protecting the core.
How can someone look at Whiteside's recent history, both on and off the floor, and not think there's a good chance he could wreck it before the first brick is laid?
The red flags are everywhere. In Pat Riley’s South Beach cocoon, with veterans like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem as a support system, Whiteside still rankled his teammates. Relationships improved after Wade ripped into him two years ago, but things haven't gone as smoothly as they could've.
Now imagine what happens if Whiteside becomes the highest-paid player in Los Angeles, joining a roster with a first-year head coach and Nick Young (31) and Lou Williams (29) as its two oldest players.
The infrastructure isn't there—and we haven't even mentioned his on-court deficiencies.
Whiteside takes plays off, unnecessarily chases blocks and lets foul trouble dramatically reduce his impact on a possession-by-possession basis. He’s an unwilling passer with 36 assists throughout his entire career, and Miami's assist rate was highest when Whiteside was off the floor last season, per NBA.com. Certain skill sets are better than others. A black hole in the post isn't great.
It's also hard to picture him sacrificing touches in a losing situation.
He has the athleticism, length and power to set substantive screens and roll hard, opening up the floor for everybody else. But would he do so in L.A.? Cutting to the basket over and over again can be exhausting and tiresome, especially on a team that only has one player who can wound a rotating defense with next-level vision.
There's a reasonable fear, wherever he winds up, that Whiteside won't exhibit relentless effort when he doesn't touch the ball. Sacrifice is only tolerable when you're winning, and the Lakers are virtually guaranteed to be in the lottery next season (L.A.'s first-round pick is once again Philadelphia-bound unless it lands in the top three).
On defense, Whiteside is technically an upgrade. However, Miami was a better defensive rebounding team with him on the bench last year, per NBA.com. He's cement-footed on the perimeter, gets exposed in space and tries too often to mask geometric mistakes with his awesome physical characteristics.
Here’s one example from Miami’s first-round matchup against the Charlotte Hornets in April:
The Hornets use Whiteside’s man to screen for their ball-handler (exactly what teams did to Roy Hibbert last season) and drag him out of the paint.
Instead of sagging back and forcing Walker to either pull up or make a tough pass, Whiteside appears more concerned with his own man, Al Jefferson. He’s out of position and lazily greets Walker standing straight up, so the Charlotte point guard responds by worming his way right on by for a reverse layup.
Whiteside is the ideal center to play beside a stretch 4 such as Ingram, but the second-overall pick is still a few years away from being able to fill that role on a consistent basis, particularly on defense. Los Angeles' spacing would be brutal with Whiteside and Randle, which could hurt the development of Russell, Clarkson and Ingram.
The Lakers can max Whiteside out and ostensibly fill their void at center for the next four years. Otherwise, they can go after a cheaper option, targeting someone who’d help establish a positive culture based on hard work, discipline and unselfish play.
Joakim Noah is a fantastic alternative for a team that boasted the worst interior defense in the league last season. The 31-year-old can’t drag the Lakers into the postseason; he’s declining and injury-prone.
But should Walton look to inaugurate basic principles from Golden State’s system, one key piece is a pass-first big. Plant Noah at the elbow, and let Russell and Clarkson run split-action on the weak side.
With only a few years left in his career, Noah may have no interest in playing for a rebuilding team, but a two-year maximum contract (with a player option in Year 2) could lure him in. Let him be a good influence as a starting center who knows what it takes to win.
Noah doesn’t need shots to be happy. He rebounds, hustles and is one of the most communicative defensive anchors in league history. On an impressionable young team, that type of player is more than ideal. Kupchak all but said so himself at a press conference when discussing the need for veteran leadership:
"History tells you that a bunch of young guys on a team is probably not a good thing. They look around for leadership, look around for advice from somebody who’s been through this a couple times, and if there’s nobody to talk to, then they really don’t know how to handle the situation, so I think we will look to add veteran leadership, and hopefully it’s not only guys that can add leadership but guys that can win games.
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The Lakers could also target Festus Ezeli, Bismack Biyombo or even Cole Aldrich on long-term deals, with the older Timofey Mozgov (29), Ian Mahinmi (29) and Zaza Pachulia (32) serving as Plan B stopgaps.
Whiteside, who has started 75 games throughout his NBA career, is not a franchise-altering talent, and the Lakers shouldn’t dispense max contracts like Band-Aids in the middle of reconstructive surgery. It’s perfectly acceptable instead to be patient and resist the temptation to cut corners.
They don't need him right now.
If the Lakers want to continuously bank on free agency instead of maximizing the assets they’ve been gifted through the draft, fine. But doing so shows an unwillingness to adapt.
Every team has cap space. Every team is looking at the top stars when they hit the open market, and numerous situations around the league are more opportune for players who prioritize winning above everything else. The Lakers can become one of those teams by establishing a supportive culture with the promising pieces they already have, not plopping $95 million down for Whiteside and turning time into their enemy.
A jumpy offseason may be the direct product of Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss, who doesn't have all the time in the world to oversee a lengthy rebuild. But short-term moves will only set this franchise back.
This doesn't mean the Lakers should turn into Sam Hinkie's Philadelphia 76ers and ignore every free agent available, but now is as good a time as ever to behave like every other franchise in the league.
It’s time to dig in for the long haul. Step 1: leave Hassan Whiteside alone.
A max contract for Whiteside is what the market dictates he’ll receive, but it’s easy to see why giving him one could be problematic.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Salary-cap information courtesy of Spotrac.
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