Hassan Whiteside Fined by Heat for Rant About Playing Time

The Miami Heat reportedly fined big man Hassan Whiteside for his comments following Saturday's loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported the news, noting the fine was for comments detrimental to the team.

The penalty comes after Whiteside expressed his frustration with playing a mere 20 minutes in the 110-109 overtime defeat. Jackson noted he questioned his future with the organization after he wasn't used in the critical late-game situations.

"Man, it's annoying," Whiteside said, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "Why we matching up? We got one of the best centers in the league. Why we matching up? A lot of teams don’t have a good center. They’re going to use their strength.

"It's bulls-t. It’s really bulls--t, man," Whiteside continued. "There's a lot of teams that could use a center. S--t. That's bull--t."

Whiteside finished with 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the loss but wasn't a factor down the stretch as Caris LeVert's basket in the final 40 seconds of overtime proved to be the winner for Brooklyn. Miami's big man didn't even see the court in the fourth quarter or the extra period.

He is averaging just 25.6 minutes per game this season after posting a career-high 32.6 a night last season. It appeared as if Whiteside was going to be a critical building block for the Heat, but the 28-year-old's long-term future with the franchise could now be in doubt.

According to Spotrac, he has a player option for the 2018-19 campaign on his four-year deal worth more than $98 million.

This is not the best time of year for an off-court distraction, either, as the Heat attempt to lock down a favorable postseason seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

They currently sit in the eighth spot in the standings but are just a half-game behind the seventh-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and 1.5 games behind the Washington Wizards for the sixth seed.