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Spoelstra says he and Whiteside are in touch
Coach Erik Spoelstra and Hassan Whiteside have kept in touch.
MIAMI — Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday that concerns about a severe disconnect with center Hassan Whiteside not only are overblown but that the two have been in contact on a regular basis this offseason.
“I have absolutely been in touch with Hassan,” Spoelstra said after taking in a Heat summer-league practice at a Las Vegas high school. “We’ve gotten together for lunch, in constant contact on the phone and in texts.”
In the wake of Spoelstra’s limited usage of Whiteside during both the regular season and playoffs, Heat President Pat Riley said at season’s end, “There has to be an intervention and I’m going to be the intervener. That’s real.”
Riley subsequently dialed back the verbiage after last month’s NBA draft, noting, “You move on and you make the best of it. I think that’s where we are right now.”
Then, amid ongoing speculation about the team trying to deal Whiteside this offseason, Spoelstra attempted Wednesday to paint perceived differences as a non-issue.
“Like many things in this league,” he said, “it’s not what it seems on the outside. It’s pretty normal NBA life. I’m looking forward to the start of the season with a healthy Hassan. I know he’s looking forward to that. And we still have a good part of the summer to get better.
“I think Hassan having an opportunity to start off the season healthy will be a really big boost for us.”
Internal improvement was the focus of
“We’ve gotten together for lunch, in constant contact on the phone and in texts.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
most of Spoelstra’s comments.
Even as others in the Eastern Conference have bolstered their rosters — with the Heat having yet to make a single offseason free-agency addition, as well as having no draft pick in either round last month — Spoelstra said getting Whiteside, Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Rodney McGruder back from 2017-18 ailments, as well as injecting Bam Adebayo and Derrick Jones Jr. further into the mix, gives the Heat hope for continuing strides.
“We have great opportunities for internal growth,” he said. “We think the continuity and the corporate knowledge we bring from one season to another can really help. What we’re seeing is a lot of turnover every single offseason with a lot of teams. That’s not the easiest thing to manage. We bring some familiarity, which we think can be a help.
“When you say is it the exact same team? It’s not, because we weren’t playing with our full roster, where we thought this team could be and where it could grow. In the meantime, other players have gotten a lot better. They’ve improved.”
Spoelstra downplayed the need to shop when getting injured players back can be an upgrade in itself.
“These are new players you’re adding into the mix of already a playoff team,” he said. “That’s something that’s exciting to me.”
In the relaxed setting, Spoelstra addressed several topics in his first media session since season’s
“These are new players you’re adding into the mix of already a playoff team.”
end.
On Jones’ breakout summer: “We were seeing this a few weeks ago and the improvement he is making at rapid rates. It’s exciting to see. We think he is a great addition. That’s how I view it.”
On Adebayo’s play in summer league, “I think he’s gotten better every single game with his decision-making in the opportunities he’s had to have the offense run through him.”
On McGruder being back from the leg injury that cost him the first half of last season: “He’s ready for games tomorrow if he needed to play. He’s in that kind of shape right now, but his skill level is what’s really improved, as well.”
On discussing coaching LeBron James with Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton: “There wasn’t a whole lot to illuminate from my end. I think Luke is the right guy at this time. And Luke is comfortable with that entire environment. He grew up with the Lakers as a player with a team that was in a fishbowl. Golden State, he’s used to that kind of environment, and last year coaching the Lakers, that’s his comfort zone.”
Erik Spoelstra