Hassan Whiteside Should Be On An NBA Roster

The criticisms have been well-documented. Lazy, empty stats, can’t defend in space, not good enough to be a starter.. Hassan Whiteside has been a topic for years when fans of teams bring up center solutions.

At present time – late August, almost two months into NBA Free Agency – the veteran sits unsigned as teams in the association seemingly have begun to agree with the labels that’s been attached to his name.

But, should they?

Production matters

There are always multiple layers to a player, which makes blanket statements a poor starting point. Let’s use the “lazy” moniker as our test.

Becoming even a fringe NBA player requires intense focus, incredible dedication, and a work ethic that separates the serious from the not-so-serious. For Whiteside to not just make it to the league, but spending years putting up wild numbers (14.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks from 2016 to 2020), makes it near impossible for the average basketball observer to justify a description such as “lazy”.

However, within the context of the NBA stars – a group Whiteside was often included in – he does have a tendency to float in and out of games, which puts him at a disadvantage against his peers. In a nutshell, Whiteside isn’t “lazy” when compared to the average basketball player, but he doesn’t excel in the area of devotion when compared the average NBA star.

Is that a problem? If he was asked to play 35 minutes a game, yes. It’s just a complete non-starter to have a guy playing the vast majority of the game while being potentially less engaged than his matchup.

However, Whiteside is no longer tasked with such a role. Instead, the 33-year-old has spent the past two years backing up starting centers in Sacramento and Utah. In limited minutes, the former double-double machine has put up 8.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and has connected on 61.6% of his shot attempts in just 16.9 minutes.

That type of per-minute production is vast, and not a lot of backup centers can match it, especially in such a short minutes allowance.

Which brings us to this.. While Whiteside can’t be trusted to guard in space (one of the criticism points that’s mostly accurate) during the playoffs, the team he’s on still needs to make it to the postseason in the first place, and that’s where he can help.

Costing no more than a minimum contract these days, Whiteside offers substantial value as a productive center who will clean the glass, score on putbacks and lobs, while sending away a few shots per game. For a team trying to maximize their regular season for a shot at the playoffs, that type of production matters.

No risk, whatsoever

As mentioned, Whiteside is not likely to command more than the league’s minimum contract. If a team signs him, and they somehow fail to get traction with him as their backup, he’d cost essentially nothing to get off the roster.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that he wouldn’t cost draft picks to acquire, due to his free agency status. Teams won’t have to make any long-term sacrifices to get him on board, meaning if it doesn’t work out, it’s a conversation followed by mutual goodbyes at the end.

(That’s the worst-case scenario, in fact.)

But really, most teams that have good-to-great locker room chemistry, and organizational cohesion, could turn Whiteside into an asset. He seems to respond to teams where guys like to play with one another, and those are absolutely still around in the NBA today.

One team where Whiteside would make an intriguing fit is the Milwaukee Bucks.

Not only could Whiteside sub in for when Brook Lopez needs a breather, he could also help save Giannis Antetokounmpo from overburdened himself through the course of a long year by simply rebounding the ball, and scoring on putbacks. That’s less effort on the part of Antetokounmpo in trying to constantly sneak in for offensive rebounds, to help give his team another possession. With Whiteside around, Antetokounmpo could key in on other areas.

And, should Whiteside hit a speed bump in the playoffs, Antetokounmpo could easily absorb a large chunk of his minutes. Seems like a win/win.

For now, though, Whiteside sits unsigned. Reputation being the main culprit.

Instead of focusing on Whiteside’s preconceived weaknesses, now might be the time to attack this from a more positive perspective. After all, the man of the hour himself did buy into his new role, thus understanding his shortcomings. That’s fairly crucial to providing a team with a detailed look of how he views himself.

Overall, teams looking for a backup center could do a lot worse, than picking up Whiteside.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.