The Portland Trail Blazers have traded center Meyers Leonard and forward Mo Harkless to the Miami Heat for center Hassan Whiteside, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Whiteside's move to Rip City is expected to make up for the foreseeable absence of injured center Jusuf Nurkic, who saw his season end after suffering a leg fracture at the end of the regular season.
The Blazers have been active this offseason, recently trading for Atlanta Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore, retaining Rodney Hood over a two-year deal and drafting North Carolina's Nassir Little, who slipped down the board on draft night.
Whiteside was clearly discontent with the Heat organization after the big man saw his minutes dwindle during the past two seasons through a slew of injuries. This should prove as a fresh start for the 7-footer, who recently opted into the least year of his four-year, $98 million deal.
Portland has quickly made the moves to once again put this team in contention, as general manager Neil Olshey indeed promised most of the offseason moves would come via trade rather than free agent signings.
The Blazers will have a shot-blocking presence at center along with a monster at the offensive boards, which could only bode well for a perimeter-oriented team in search of rounding up its roster.
Leonard showed glimpses of brilliance during this past offseason, which he will be asked to reproduce in Miami.
Harkless was likely the odd man out in Rip City after the acquisition of Bazemore and Hood's return, now likely to fill in for the absence of Josh Richardson by playing under Jimmy Butler, if the previously-lined trade goes through effectively after hitting a snag hours ago.
This trade represents new beginnings for all involved and the chance to both franchises to have a different outlook coming into this 2019-20 season.
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