2019/20 Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside has signed with the Sacramento Kings. The big seven-footer will return to where he was first drafted.
Ex Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside now has an NBA team for the 2021 season. The seven-foot big has signed with the Sacramento Kings on a one-year deal.
NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski shared the news in the later rounds of free agency.
Free agent center Hassan Whiteside has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 25, 2020
Though Whiteside led the league in blocks in the 2019/20 season, his inconsistency on both ends of the court meant that he could not secure a multi-year deal worth any significant money.
It took around five days for him to be signed, reflecting his poor on-court standing in the NBA center’s ranks.
The Blazers effectively replaced him with Ex Kings center Harry Giles, showing that Whiteside didn’t have value as a backup big.
Whiteside does still have value in this league, but he needs to play consistently on both ends of the court if he wants to be in the NBA any longer than outside of this 2021 season. Effort is his main problem, but he is a starting center on an NBA team if he could address this.
On the Kings, where he was drafted all the way back in 2010, he will have a chance to play significant minutes. The only other competition for the center position is Richaun Holmes.
We wish Whiteside all the best for the future on the Kings.