Hassan Whiteside thinks he's going to be able to showcase his passing skills with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Whiteside, who was traded by the Miami Heat to the Blazers this summer, thinks he can get a “triple-double with assists” this season.
“I think I’m going to blossom a lot here,” Whiteside told Jason Quick of The Athletic. “They have so much movement, they have so many different plays and reads, I can probably get a triple-double with assists here. You know, I’ve been getting so many assists and dimes … I’m playing more like a point-center here.
“There’s scrimmages we have where I have six, seven assists like that. I got Dame (Lillard) and CJ (McCollum) — them guys can shoot. All I have to do is give them the ball for an easy assist. It’s so much … it’s so different. You are going to see. You are going to see. Keep this interview.”
This is a bold claim by Hassan Whiteside, who has career averages of 0.6 assists.
The Blazers are hoping Whiteside can recapture his 2016-17 form when he averaged 17.0 points and 14.1 rebounds for the Heat.
Last season in Miami, Whiteside put up 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. He recorded 36 double-doubles, but overall his impact has dipped in recent years.
Whiteside has one year left on his deal. He’ll make $27 million this season and start at center while Jusuf Nurkic recovers from his leg injury.
We'll see if Whiteside gets his assists numbers up in Portland like he says he will.
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