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"With Gobert being out there and with me coming in, I think it's a great fit. "I think it's a great fit for me," he said. The Jazz, coming off a league-best record last season, are in position to do just that. I wanted to go to a team that's ready to win now."
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"I don't want to be at home watching the playoffs like I have the last two years. "Free agency this year, regardless of the money, I just wanted to go somewhere where we were going to win," Whiteside said. What was? Joining a team that could compete for a title. He would have been comfortable going back and being teammates again with Damian Lillard, who called Whiteside "the best defensive center, shot-blocking center in the league" (a statement Gobert had some fun with following a Jazz win), but comfort and familiarity weren't at the top of his list. In 2019-20 with the Blazers, he averaged 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and led the league in blocks with 2.9 per game.
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Considering Portland was where he had one of his best individual seasons that says a lot about the opportunity Whiteside sees in Utah. Whiteside turned down other offers to come to the Jazz, including one from the Portland Trail Blazers, his former team that wanted him to return. "I think these are gonna be the best, the freest rolls I'll have in a long time." "Just the way these guys play, they're so spaced out," Whiteside said.
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On offense, Gobert's screens are often the reason the "blender" is initiated, allowing for the Jazz's free flowing offense to run.Ī winning team that values a shot-blocking, rim-running big man that much? It didn't take much else to convince Whiteside to come on board. On defense, the team funnels players into the paint where the intimidating Frenchman awaits. The Jazz have built a system around Gobert. You know we're gonna talk."Īnd it's been watching what Gobert has done in Utah that made it such an attractive landing spot for Whiteside. There's never been any rivalry, but it's just been always us competing against each other. "At the end of the day, I'm always happy to see a big man succeed in the league, especially somebody that blocks shots the same as I do. We were just competing," Whiteside said this week from Las Vegas. So how are things between them now? According to Whiteside, everything is good. Over the years, the two centers have traded quips on social media and through the press. In fact, that was the topic of the very first question. During the summer of 2019, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a four-team trade.SALT LAKE CITY - Once Hassan Whiteside sat down for his first press conference as a member of the Utah Jazz, it didn't take long for the 7-foot-1 elephant in the room to be brought up: His relationship with Rudy Gobert. Whiteside also averaged a double-double for the Heat during the 2017-19 seasons despite missing time both seasons because of a hip injury. He responded with his best season, averaging 17 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, leading the NBA in rebounds. He was even better the next season, leading the NBA in blocks and being named to the All-Defensive Second Team.ĭuring the summer of 2016, Whiteside was rewarded with a four-year, $98 million contract. Whiteside finished fourth in the NBA’s Most-Improved Player voting. He appeared in 48 games for the Heat during the 2014-15 campaign, including 32 starts, averaging 11.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. Later that year, Whiteside caught on with the Miami Heat and became a regular contributor. Whiteside was briefly with the Memphis Grizzlies during the early part of the 2014-15 season but didn’t appear in any games. He began the 2013-14 season back in Lebanon, only to return to China after being released in April. In the spring of 2013, he left Lebanon for the Chinese NBL, where he found immediate success. Whiteside began the 2012-13 season in the G League but soon left for a team in Lebanon. However, he made just one appearance for the Kings during his rookie season and 18 the following year, spending most of that time in the D-League with the Reno Bighorns or recovering from a partially torn patellar tendon. The Sacramento Kings made Whiteside the 33rd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.