Hassan Whiteside (Photo : El Nuevo Herald/TNS via Getty Images)
The Dallas Mavericks will have two more years of Dirk Nowitzki and now they have to make it worth his while.
With a new lease on life for his superstar, the Mavs can still become a playoff team in the West, but adding a defensive center alongside him along with complementary pieces can make them a potential contender.
The Mavericks is one of the teams heavily linked to Dwight Howard. It figures since they were one of his ardent suitors three years ago. Also, taking him from their arch rival is a good slap in the face for their in-state rival, the Houston Rockets.
However, Howard is wrought with red flags, with his age and his public bickering with James Harden and even Rockets GM Daryl Morey, his history of conflict with coaches-some teams would stay clear of him because of these.
Still, a defensive big man or "rim protector" is now one of the vogue types of players in today's NBA and Howard still fits the bill. The Mavs are obviously seeking one with last year's DeAndre Jordan debacle. Now, they may be pursuing Hassan Whiteside, as revealed by today's indictor of interest-following people on Twitter.
Whiteside is this year's DeAndre, a younger, taller Dwight Howard and as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders described, could be "the most obtainable free agent" because of the Miami Heat's cap situation.
"League sources said this weekend that Whiteside is getting a full max deal - the question is will it be from the HEAT or someone else?" Kyler wrote.
Whiteside is definitely a better target than Howard, primarily because of the age factor and how Whiteside is peaking now while D12 is on the downswing based on his three years with the Rockets where his stats kept dropping.
However, not all Mavericks fans are supportive of their owner's presumed pursuit of the Miami Heat center. Kohl Rast of team site The Smoking Cuban has called out Whiteside's flaws, specifically, his attitude.
"He has been known to be a little bit more of an immature player both on and off the court," Rast wrote. "This isn't always a complete detriment to the team as has been the case with many previous players, but we have also seen that it does not work as well with Coach Carlisle."
It should be recalled that Carlisle had clashes with Rajon Rondo and it has led to the former Celtics guard (for whom the Mavs traded assets like Jae Crowder for) being benched and eventually leaving the team.
Carlisle is one of the few coaches who has their owner's full support and that speaks well for the team's stability. Taking a chance on Whiteside would pose a similar risk and Cuban's pursuit of big names could render him oblivious to red flags that may haunt them in the future.
Is Whiteside worth the risk? The money is not even the issue, but hinging the remaining Nowitzki years with Whiteside as his frontcourt partner could be costly. Then again, what are the Mavericks' other options at center?
