Just two months after trading for Hassan Whiteside, Portland Trail Blazers fans seem intent to inevitably move on from him, here’s why that’s a bad idea.
When the Portland Trail Blazers first dealt Moe Harkless and Meyers Leonard for Hassan Whiteside, the social media response was controversial at best. Many Miami Heat fans were happy to be rid of a player that could potentially clash with their newly acquired star Jimmy Butler. Other Trail Blazers fans were less than optimistic about picking up an albatross contract when this new addition doesn’t fit the perimeter-oriented era of modern basketball.
But at the end of the day, Hassan Whiteside‘s natural talent is undeniable and should be an immediate improvement over Enes Kanter until Jusuf Nurkic returns back to his prior form. For that reason, Portland Trail Blazers fans need to stop advocating for trade packages that include Whiteside.
Until Nurkic comes back and proves he can play at a relatively healthy level, there’s no reason to even consider a trade involving Whiteside. With Zach Collins expected to slide into the starting power forward role, the bench depth at center includes an unproven Skal Labissiere and a lethargic version of Pau Gasol that’s three years past his expiration date.
But if retaining Hassan on the basis that he’s logically the best option available on the team (as well as the fact there are no great replacements left on the free agent market), let his statistics do the talking. Two weeks ago, we ran an anonymous poll comparing Hassan to three of the league’s best rim-running centers. An incredible 75 percent of people chose Whiteside’s production over the likes of Andre Drummond, Clint Capela and Steven Adams.
Player C is Hassan Whiteside. The others are Andre Drummond, Clint Capela and Steven Adams, in order.
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) August 31, 2019
This was from a supposed "down year" from Whiteside. The league has forgotten how great he really is when he's focused. Blazers got a real steal here. https://t.co/pCviV16sUP
These stats were taken from the 2018-19 NBA season, where Whiteside was seen as a locker room cancer with attitude problems and was forced to compete with the distraction of splitting starting minutes with another young player on the roster. Portland offers Whiteside the chance to play in a comfortable environment where he can thrive. Considering he has logged less than 10,000 minutes over the course of his career and sustained no major injuries, we may have yet to see the best version of Whiteside now that he should be happier than ever with his current role.
It makes no sense to be waving him around in trade discussions now that his value is at an all-time low. After all, Portland acquired this former Defensive Player of the Year candidate for just two role players. There’s just no reasonable scenario where the Blazers get a fair return on the player Hassan could prove to be.
Even if Nurkic returns healthy and Hassan is playing well, why would we reward Whiteside’s positive performance by trading him? Doesn’t it make much more sense to retain him and boost the production of a weak frontcourt bench? Hassan could fill a role awfully similar to Serge Ibaka for the Toronto Raptors, serving as an invaluable defensive presence in the post during their championship run.
There’s also the chance Whiteside realizes his value has diminished around the league and chooses to re-up with Portland. If he’s not going to secure a big payday elsewhere, it makes sense to go the route of Rodney Hood and remain with an organization that values and actually wants you to stick around (unlike Miami). Judging by a recent poll ran on Thursday, that possibility may not be outside the realm of reality.
Am I crazy for thinking Hassan Whiteside is better than Kevin Love RIGHT NOW? Why do the fans want to trade him so bad? Last season the narrative was that Hassan was having a down year and had attitude problems and he still had better stats than Drummond, Capela and Steven Adams.
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) September 12, 2019
Despite being made out as a headcase and locker room cancer by the national media, 56 percent of voters said they would prefer him on the team over an often-rumored trade target like Kevin Love. If the general perception of Hassan is already that high, just imagine what it will look like when Whiteside starts balling out for the Blazers and proves he can be a valuable cog in a championship machine.
Portland media and Blazers fans alike. Hear me out. Let’s give Hassan a genuine chance to prove his worth before dangling him around like a discount coupon at Trader Joe’s. We believe he might just surprise us this year, like a world where Trader Joe’s even offers coupons in the first place.