Should the Charlotte Hornets consider signing Hassan Whiteside this offseason?
If the NBA season is finished, then the next thing on the agenda for the Charlotte Hornets is the draft and impending free agency. Could an inside presence be their next big signing?
Well, even if the NBA season wasn’t postponed, it’s just about the time when a lot of teams would be finishing their seasons anyway. The Charlotte Hornets, of course, are one of those teams as they would have missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
So, that means preparing for the offseason and there are plenty of questions surrounding the Hornets. Will they re-sign some of their expiring contracts? Who will they be drafting in the NBA Draft? Will there be any free agents they could bring aboard?
As far as that last question is concerned, there’s a good possibility that could happen and one such free agent is big-man, Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside has been often been coveted by a section of the Charlotte Hornets fanbase and with good reason.
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The 7’0″ center out of Marshall has proven to be one of the better players under the basket, having led the NBA in both total rebounds and blocks in separate seasons. Over his career, he has averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds, but those numbers rose to 16 and 14 respectively this past season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
He also saw his field goal percentage go up this past season to just above 61%, which is a decent improvement from his career average of 58%. Of course, as with most guys his size, he struggles at the free-throw line, shooting just 60% for his career, but that again rose this past year, with Whiteside making nearly 70% of shots at the charity stripe.
So, it would seem Whiteside would be a nice fit for the Hornets and with $45 million in cap space being freed up after the year, they could certainly afford him. That is, of course, if he doesn’t command the same hefty price tag he had in his previous contract.
This isn’t a deep free-agent crop and coming off a great year in Portland, he could be looking to get the maximum that he’s worth. Charlotte might just be interested in keeping what they have and saving it for next year.
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Not to mention, they just put themselves in a similar situation a few years ago with Dwight Howard, who was at the same age Whiteside will be after this summer and had similar skillsets. Howard was effective and aided the Hornets, especially on the glass, but the team finished with the same exact record as the previous season, missing the playoffs yet again.
Perhaps with the right change in personnel, though, the outcome could be different with Whiteside. This is a vastly different team than the one Howard was on, both in team makeup and in coaching staff, so perhaps that type of player would better fit with this particular crew.
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In any case, Hassan Whiteside might be an option worth looking into for the Charlotte Hornets. It all depends on if the front office believes he can work with the young core the Hornets have at the moment and if he can be had for the right price. If so, I say why not?