NBA Rumors: Heat Could Send Hassan Whiteside To Hawks For Package Including Jeremy Lin, Per ‘Fansided’
Despite being hit by multiple injuries, the Miami Heat continue to keep their playoff hopes alive in the 2018-19 NBA season and as of now, they are sitting in the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 21-20 record. However, in order to make a deep playoff run, the Heat should consider improving their depth and get rid of some distractions on their team.
According to Chris Guest of Fansided’s Soaring Down South, the Heat could engage in a trade deal with the Atlanta Hawks before the February NBA trade deadline. In the proposed trade deal, the Heat will be sending Hassan Whiteside and a future first-round pick to the Hawks for Jeremy Lin, Dewayne Dedmon, and Justin Anderson. The deal works on ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine.
The suggested trade that will send Hassan Whiteside to Atlanta will definitely anger lots of Hawks’ fans. Aside from his lucrative deal that runs until the 2019-20 NBA season, Whiteside is known for being a major distraction in Miami. However, it is something that the Hawks should consider if the Heat will be willing to include a future first-round pick.
“Though his raw scoring and rebounding numbers always tend to look fairly stellar, real NBA fans know that Whiteside’s attitude and pouty, Dwight Howard-esque bench behavior will likely drag a team’s morale into the dirt. So why should the Hawks take him on in a trade for Lin? Well, even though the Miami Heat’s second round draft picks are fairly spread out across multiple teams via numerous deals, the only first round pick the Heat are without is the one that was involved this offseason in the Mikal Bridges/Zhaire Smith trade.”
Whatever Comes Next, Jeremy Lin Is Ready For It https://t.co/bCbPklxUMJ
— Nhawj (@hawj44) January 12, 2019
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Jeremy Lin, Dewayne Dedmon, and Justin Anderson could help the Heat become more competitive in the Eastern Conference this season. Lin will be a reliable backup point guard in Miami, especially now that Goran Dragic remains sideline due to injury. Dedmon will give the Heat a big man who has the ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc. This season, the 29-year-old center is averaging 9.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 block, and 1.0 steal on 46.7 percent shooting from the field and 36.0 percent shooting from the three-point range.
It is also worth noting that Lin, Dedmon, and Anderson are all entering the final year of their contracts and will become unrestricted free agents after the 2018-19 NBA season. This will enable the Heat to open a huge chunk of their salary cap space that they could use to chase the likes of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler in the 2019 NBA free agency.
