Whiteside stresses his ‘grind is always happening’
MIAMI — He has spent the summer chronicling his ability to convert outside shots while back home in North Carolina, as well as spoofing a hunt for Pablo Escobar during his recent vacation to Colombia.
But during a summer when fellow Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo has been featured in Instagram videos taking lessons from former Detroit Pistons power forward Rasheed Wallace, Hassan Whiteside made a point Friday to note that he, too, remains driven.
Offering a post on Snapchat and Instagram from the Heat locker room at American-Airlines Arena with a 2:20 a.m. Friday timestamp, Whiteside stressed that he is committed to improvement, even if he hasn’t been public with such offerings this offseason.
“Hey, you know what’s crazy? You know what’s crazy?” he said into the camera. “If people think just because you don’t show it on social media, it ain’t happening. And grind is always happening.
“That’s the problem — too many people think stuff is given to you. Nuh uh.”
Whiteside is one of several Heat players to offer recent workout videos from the team’s training facility, along with Udonis Haslem, Wayne Ellington and others.
Earlier this offseason, Whiteside appeared to take a shot at his detractors in a post on his Instagram and Snapchat accounts, uploading a video that showed him converting an outside shot while working out amid a visit with family in North Carolina.
In the video, Whiteside said, “You don’t know I’ve got that jumper. There’s a difference between you ‘can’t’ shoot and you’re ‘not allowed.’ ”
The Heat, during an uneven playoff performance by Whiteside against the Philadelphia 76ers, often opted for outside-shooting big men such as Kelly Olynyk and James Johnson in place of a player previously perceived as their franchise center of the future.
That Whiteside post came days after the Heat unveiled a mural at the new Brightline train station in downtown Miami. The mural, which is an advertisement for Heat season tickets, features the slogan, “Cut through traffic, finish at the rim.” Next to the “cut through the traffic” portion of the oversized poster is a photo of All-Star guard Goran Dragic. However, next to the portion that reads “finish at the rim” is a photo of Adebayo.
A team spokesman said at the time that the Heat’s basketball operations department was not involved in the selection of the images for the mural.
The Heat in April fined Whiteside a substantial amount for a postgame tirade in the wake of an overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Trade speculation began even before the close of the season, with Whiteside two years into the four-year, $98 million deal he signed on July 1, 2016. He is due $25.4 million next season as the team’s highest-paid player and then hold a player option for $27 million in 2019-20 on the final year on his contract.
Heat President Pat Riley suggested an intervention with Whiteside and coach Erik Spoelstra following the season, with discussions ensuing among the parties.