Hassan Whiteside could be destined to join the Los Angeles Lakers once free agency starts on July 1.
All signs seem to indicate that the Lakers would land Whiteside this summer, considering the shot-blocking center's recent claims about his immediate future. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reported that Miami Heat has been in Whiteside's thinking, "but do not appear as the "sole option" for the 27-year-old big man.
"I really don't think it's about loyalty," Whiteside said. "I think it's just about the best situation for myself and that's what I think it is."
Whiteside, who is likely to seek a max contract from a number of suitors, has put the Heat in very difficult situation of retaining his services, with other Heat free agents like Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Joe Johnson also exploring the market this summer. Miami's cap space of more than $43 million won't be enough if all of them pursue lucrative deals from the Heat, with a potential new contract for Wade, Deng or Johnson cutting into that figure.
What makes it more difficult for the Heat, and other teams, is Whiteside lacking Full Bird rights, which means any interested rivals can only sign the 7-foot center within their salary cap-space. But for the Lakers, who have at least $60 million to land one or two max contracts, it gives them a serious gleam of hope to acquire Whiteside, who averaged a career-high 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game last season.
According to ESPN's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers plan to "aggressively" pursue Whiteside in free agency, with rim protection among LA's concern heading into the summer market.
Whiteside would be the perfect signing the Lakers could pull off this summer as they have a glaring need to fill in the center position with a defensive big man. But more importantly, Whiteside seems the most realistic target for the Lakers, with the team running out of free agent options to pursue.
Kevin Durant and DeMar DeRozan, two of the most coveted stars in this year's free agency class, may have excluded Los Angeles in their list of potential summer destinations.
Sam Amick of USA Today reported that there are only a handful of teams guaranteed to have a face-to-face meeting with Durant in July, and none of the mentioned team include the Lakers.
DeRozan, on the other hand, seems to have no intentions in meeting with other NBA teams, except for the Toronto Raptors, predicting the star to remain in the North after a somewhat successful postseason campaign.
"Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan does not plan to schedule meetings with other teams at the start of free agency, opting to focus on working out a contract to return to the Eastern Conference finalists, a source told ESPN.com," Tim McMahon of ESPN reported.
There are certainly other top free agents the Lakers could pursue like Al Horford, Nicolas Batum and restricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. However, their supposed top targets have been trimmed down to one as they look to acquire veteran pieces to bolster their youthful lineup. Nevertheless, Whiteside has become their only realistic target this summer, which could be the only star acquisition they need to get back on track next season.