Add Kendrick Perkins to the list of player-turned-analysts that believes Hassan Whiteside is not as good as most people believe.
Perk, who recently signed a two-year contract with ESPN, was upfront about his criticism of the 30-year-old center during an appearance on “The Jump” with Rachel Nichols.
“The great Pat Riley fooled them, and sold them a used Buick that needed a new transmission,” he described Whiteside at the 3:48 mark of the video.
Whiteside is averaging 14.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in his first 11 games as a Blazer, and is currently Portland’s third leading scorer behind Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The Heat shipped Whiteside to the Blazers in a four-team trade in the offseason.
The Terry Stotts-coached team has been marred by inconsistent team play so far this year, settling for 13th place in the Western Conference after a 4-8 start. The team lost its last two games against the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.
Although he is still tallying double digits in scoring and rebounding most nights, Whiteside has been criticized for his uninspired play at times — especially considering that he is playing in the final season of a four-year, $98 million contract he signed with the Miami Heat in 2016.
His inability to shoot the long ball has also been problematic for the Blazers’ offense, creating spacing issues and lesser driving lanes for Lillard and McCollum. Portland also has few options on the center spot, as Zach Collins just underwent shoulder surgery, while Jusuf Nurkic and Pau Gasol are still recuperating from their own injuries.
TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley also publicly called out Whiteside in one of their shows, but he simply brushed off the notions about his supposed poor play.
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