Portland Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey believes Hassan Whiteside's pre-existing relationship with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum will make his transition to Portland easier.
The Blazers acquired Whiteside this summer from the Miami Heat. Olshey says Whiteside, Lillard and McCollum often times went to dinner when the Heat came up to Portland to take on the Blazers.
Whiteside, who is very mercurial on and off the court, is looking forward to his fresh start with the Blazers and figures to feast in the paint since he won't get double teamed that much. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are snipers from beyond the arc, so teams won't be able to leave them open on the perimeter when Whiteside has the ball in the post.
This past season, Hassan Whiteside put up 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field with the Heat. He recorded 36 double-doubles. Neil Olshey thinks Whiteside can lead the league in rebounding and be an elite shot-blocker for the Blazers.
Whiteside has one-year left on his deal. He’ll make $27 million next season. The Blazers will start Whiteside to begin the season while Jusuf Nurkic recovers from his leg injury.
Whiteside, 30, has career averages of 13.4 points and 11.4 rebounds in 343 NBA games.
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