The Los Angeles Lakers continue the search for their next great big man and the 16-time NBA champs may have spotted what they are looking for in Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
All of the Lakers' championships were bannered by great centers in George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O'Neal.
The last time the Purple and Gold had a dominant big man in their roster ever since Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were playing for LA during their prime, which resulted to back-to-back championships in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 season.
But the Lakers may finally have a chance to nab their franchise big man in Whiteside, whose name has been thrown to the rumor mill the entire season.
There is a chance Whiteside could find himself playing for another team before the Feb. 18 trade deadline ends simply because he is a pending unrestricted free agent this summer.
The shot-blocking center unleashed his full potential this season, averaging 12.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.9 blocks per game. He is expected to get max contract offers from other teams next season, spelling trouble for the Heat in retaining his service.
If the Heat decides to trade Whiteside, one possible landing spot would be the Lakers, according to Bleacher Report's Joel Cordes and David Murphy. In their trade scenario, the Lakers would send D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Robert Sacre to the Heat for Whiteside, Chris Andersen, and Beno Udrih.
There are two logical reasons why the Lakers should not jump immediately in pursuing Whiteside this season.
Firstly, the team that would trade for Whiteside will also inherit the big man's complicated contract situation with the Heat.
Whiteside's Early Bird exception is preventing Miami from giving him a max contract in the offseason, which will also take full effect for any team who wish to trade for the 7-footer. There is a growing sense from NBA teams that the Heat would just probably keep hold of Whiteside and utilize his skills if ever they reach the playoffs.
"Even with his early Bird restrictions looming in the offseason, keeping Whiteside is Miami's best chance during the playoffs. With Whiteside signed to a minimum contract, it will be hard to get equal value back in a trade," Bobby Marks of The Vertical noted on Yahoo Sports.
The second logical reason is that the Lakers would not give too much, especially Russell and Randle, for a marquee player who has a very slim chance of staying in LA once max contracts from other teams are on the table.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak may be looking for available deals in the trade market, but he has insisted any trade package will not involve their core of young talents.
"Most of the teams that would have interest in our players would have interest in our young players and we covet our young players pretty highly right now. So it would be tough for us to move a young player," Kupchak said told Time Warner Cable Sportsnet host Chris McGee as reported by SB Nation.
Considering all of these, the Lakers would probably wait until free agency to pursue Whiteside despite a certain stiff competition from other NBA teams. But dealing Russell and Randle for Whiteside is not an option very viable for the Lakers organization and fanbase.