The Miami Heat have agreed to trade Hassan Whiteside to the Portland Trail Blazers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. Headed to Miami in the swap will be Mo Harkless and Meyers Leonard.
The trade will give Portland a very capable spot starter while Jusuf Nurkic recovers from the drastic leg injury that cut short his 2018-19 campaign. Although his role has decreased in Miami of late, Whiteside remains one of the most productive rebounding bigs in the league.
In just 23 minutes of work last year, Whiteside averaged 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game and earlier this offseason he picked up his player option worth $27 million.
Eastbound in the trade will be roughly $22.8 million in combined salaries to Leonard and Harkless. The two role players could fit right in with Miami’s style of play but their may be subsequent moves after the trade.
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel the deal could help alleviate the cap clearing issues that were preventing the Heat from completing their sign-and-trade for Jimmy Butler.
