Heat looking for Whiteside 2.0
Reed impresses in summer league.
“He’s been tremendous. He brings us a shot-blocking presence around the rim.” Dan Craig, Heat assistant coach
ORLANDO — Typically, these are the times, during the NBA’s summer league, when journeymen players attempt to write stories of career redemption.
Then there is Miami Heat summer-league center Willie Reed, whose best hope of taking the long-awaited next step is to rewrite a story familiar to Heat followers.
“They want me to play like Hassan Whiteside,” he said before the Heat took Tuesday off from their five-game schedule at the Orlando Pro Summer League. “That[’s] what I want to be.” So Hassan Whiteside 2.0? “I like that,” he said. “Two. Point. Oh. I like that.”
No, the 6-foot-10 journeyman does not possess the height of Whiteside. Nor is he as fluid offensively.
But the parallels between the stories are undeniable. Both have been released by the Sacramento Kings. Both have been cut by the
Memphis Grizzlies. Both played in the Middle East and made hasty retreats. Both have endured world tours in search of a basketball livelihood.
And then there’s this: When Whiteside was signed out of the NBA Development League last season by the Heat, he was replaced on the roster of the Iowa Energy by Reed.
And the double-doubles kept on flowing.
“Hassan is the perfect example of making the most of an opportunity,” long-time coach Bob Donewald Jr. said. “And Willie could be next.”
Donewald, who is among those scouting at the Orlando summer league, speaks from a unique perspective. He is the coach of the Energy, having guided both Whiteside and Reed there this past season.
“He’s really, really coachable, which is important, especially when you’re a borderline guy,” Donewald said as he watches Reed try to take the next step. “He was first one there, last one to leave, a little bit like Hassan.
“The one thing we stressed with both of those guys is the amount of work you’ve got to put in to get better. And both of them accepted it and Hassan has moved on, and hopefully Willie.”
After averaging19.8 points, 12.1rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots in the D-League, Reed, 25, has emerged as the Heat’s most consistent performer of summer league, averaging 12.3 points on 56-percent shooting and eight rebounds in the Heat’s 3-0 showing going into Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers (5 p.m., NBA TV).
Reed was supposed to be playing this week for the Pacers, one of four NBA teams that had given him previous tryouts, along with the Kings, Grizzlies and Brooklyn. But after Indiana drafted big man Myles Turner, Reed opted to play for the Heat.
“A guy like that, in the right situation, the right opportunity, I can see him being on an NBA roster as a third center,” said Heat scout Chet Kammerer, who helped put together the Heat’s summer roster. “He is very active defensively and he protects the paint.”
Reed’s Heat chances could come down to whether the Heat deal veteran Chris Andersen, who turned 37 Tuesday, in order to alleviate some of their luxury-tax burden. Otherwise, the Heat would appear set at center with Whiteside, Birdman and Udonis Haslem as a third-string option.
“He’s been tremendous,” said Heat assistant coach Dan Craig, who is guiding the Heat’s summer roster. “He brings great energy. He brings us a shot-blocking presence around the rim. And he’s a high-motor big, that really it’s contagious with everybody else watching him. And he gives you extra possessions with his offensive rebounding.”
After going undrafted in 2011following his time under Rick Majerus at Saint Louis, Reed has mostly bided his time in the D-League. He by- passed a non-guaranteed contract from the Clippers at one point and picked up $30,000 in April for playing in the short season in the Dominican Republic.
While it is not unusual for prospects to defect to other teams between summer leagues, Reed said he remains committed to the Heat for the upcoming Las Vegas summer league, as well.
“They really like me so far, what I’ve done in practice. So just want to keep it up and hopefully I can get a contract,” he said. “They want me to be a shot-blocker, to create havoc, to kind of play like Hassan Whiteside. So I’m just trying to bring that energy and do exactly what they want me to do and hopefully everything else works out.”
Donewald thinks it just might, that the Heat might lift yet another double-double center from his DLeague roster.
“Big guys take a little longer,” Donewald said. “I think that’s a huge thing. I think big guys take longer to develop in terms of maturity. I think they take longer in terms of body movement and filling out and coordination.
“Hassan is a perfect example and I think Willie can hopefully be the next one.”