Whiteside grooms Olynyk for the Heat: Just go with the flow
MIAMI SHORES Hassan Whiteside said this is a time to go against the numbers. He wants Kelly Olynyk to take a free-flowing approach in his freeagency shift from the Boston Celtics to the Miami Heat.
Even if the otherwise.
Playing with a man-bun last season with the Celtics, Olynyk averaged more points, rebounds and assists, while shooting at decidedly higher percentages, than when his long hair flowed freely beneath a headband.
But Saturday, while participating in a charity softball game at Barry University, Whiteside cast his vote against those not-soadvanced analytics.
“Long hair,” he said. “Let the Miami breeze just blow it.”
Even, Whiteside said, if it hassomewonderinghow the outside-shooting, playmaking 7-footer wound up with his four-year, $50 millionHeat contract.
“He’s a little bit underviewed because he looks like a surfer,” Whiteside said with a smile. “But he can definitely play.”
It hasn’t been all laughs and giggles between the two.
It was during aMarch 9, 2015, game between the Celtics and Heat that Whiteside took exception to the pesky play ofOlynyk, his running shove toppling Olynyk to the court and leaving Whiteside ejected with a Flagrant 2 foul, suspended for the Heat’s ensuing game. statistics say
Now the two are teammates, and just as Heat captainUdonisHaslem has moved from fierce foe to loyal teammate with rivals over the years, Whiteside and Olynyk also have moved on.
Olynyk, in fact, said the two moved on almost immediately.
“He apologized right after the game,” Olynyk said shortly after signing his Heat contract. “That was a few years ago, I think beforehe signedhis big deal. I just told him he’s a great player and he’s got superb upside and talent, ‘don’t let emotions or temper of whatever it is, don’t let that hold you back and prevent you from being great. You have a great opportunity.’
“I just want to see him succeed and be great. And he did. Ever since then, we’ve been close. He texted me after I signed my deal and said welcome to Miami.”
The respect is now mutual, with Whiteside on Saturday calling Olynyk, “a versatile big, a big that can shoot, that can stretch the floor and can do a lot of different things. He’s not easy to guard. I think he’s a lot better than what people are giving him credit for.”
To this point, much of the focus on Olynyk has been on physical play that some believe crosses the line.
“As a player,” Olynyk said, “you’re just going out there and trying to play hard every single night, whether it’s practice, a game, individual workout in the weight room. You’re trying to go as hard as you can to be the best player you can every single night. Andforme, I’m trying todo what I can to helpmy team win, whether it’s rebound, pass, shoot, score, set screens, whatever it is, you’ve got to do what you can to help yourteamcome out on top, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Forward James Johnson said Olynyk’s makeup makes him aHeat fit under coach Erik Spoelstra.
“The Miami Heat’s culture is not for everyone and we don’t fit everybody’s needs or their style of play,” Johnson said. “But I’m sure when Pat Riley and Spo, they all talk, they’re all on the same page with things, they all have the same feelingKelly Olynyk is aMiami Heat guy, and that’s why theywent after him.
“Every time I see him go out there and play, he plays as hard as he can. I don’t see him doing too much jawing or anything like that. He just lets his game do the talking.”
iwinderman@sunsentinel .com, Twitter @iraheatbeat, facebook.com/ ira.winderman