Erik Spoelstra in contact with Hassan Whiteside
Heat coach excited about team’s health, continuity of roster.
Heat coach says relationship with embattled center not what it appears to be as duo have been in communication all summer.
Perhaps it wasn’t
LAS VEGAS — quite an intervention as Pat
Riley suggested, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his embattled player, center Hassan White
side, have been in communication all summer.
And Spoelstra says that relation- ship is not what it appears to be.
“I have absolutely been in touch with Hassan,” Spoelstra said following the Heat’s summer league practice Wednesday at The Clark High School in Las Vegas.
“We’ve gotten together for lunch, in constant contact on
the phone and in texts. Like many things in this league, 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.”
Following the season, after Whiteside spoke out several times about his frustration over lack of playing time, including one profanity-laced outburst that cost
him an undisclosed fine from the organization, Riley said Spoelstra and Whiteside needed an “intervention.”
Said Riley: “The disconnect between he and Spo that’s going to take a discussion between them and it’s going to take thought on
the part of coach and also Hassan.”
Whiteside is the Heat’s highest-paid player, signing a four-year, $98.4 million contract two summers ago. He still is owed $52.5 million in the final two seasons of the deal.
Spoelstra was much easier on Whiteside during his season-ending news conference, saying he thought the narrative and story lines about Whiteside were “unfair,” adding “I love working with Hassan.”
Whiteside’s numbers declined during the regular season to 14.0 points and 11.4 rebounds while playing 25.3 minutes per game, a dip of more than seven minutes per game from the previous year, when he led the league in rebounding.
Then he was a total non-factor in the postseason, averaging 5.2 points and 6.0 rebounds while playing just 15.4 minutes per game as the Heat were eliminated by Philadelphia in five games.
Now, Spoelstra believes the difference will be a healthy Whiteside. The 7-foot center missed 28 games last season, including 18 because of separate left knee bruises. He sat for nine games in March after injuring his left hip.
“I think Hassan having an opportunity to start off the season healthy will be a really big boost for us,” Spoelstra said.
But it isn’t just a healthy Whiteside that has Spoelstra looking forward to this season despite the fact the Heat have yet to make a move with the exception of signing Derrick Jones Jr. to a standard contract. Riley continues to explore trade options but nothing has materialized.
Spoelstra cited the return of guard Dion Waiters, who played 30 games before having ankle surgery; swingman Rodney McGruder, who played 18 after undergoing surgery in October to repair a stress fracture in his leg; and James Johnson, who had surgery to repair a sports hernia surgery following the season, as optimism that the team will be better.
Miami finished last season 44-38 and sixth in the Eastern Conference.
“I look at all those guys that had some injuries that they were dealing with last year as opportunities,” Spoelstra said. “In my mind, you’re almost adding a new player, adding a Derrick Jones, adding a Rodney McGruder, adding a Dion Waiters, adding a healthy Hassan Whiteside. Having a fully healthy James Johnson. These are new players you’re adding into the mix of already a playoff team. That’s something that’s exciting to me.”
Spoelstra also pointed to the improvement made this summer by center Bam Adebayo and Jones.
“We feel really good about our roster,” he said. “We love the internal growth we’ve had. Guys have had tremendous summers already. You’ve seen the improvement that Bam has made in terms of his skill level and running an offense through him. Being a little bit more offensive-minded.
“We have great opportunities for internal growth. We have a lot of the guys returning . ... 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.”