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Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Summary
Even as a Whiteside skeptic, I was a little bit surprised that Whiteside had to settle for a minimum contract with the Kings last offseason. Apparently there just wasn't a market for him. Whiteside can often put up big stats - scoring, hauling in rebounds, and collecting blocks - but his impact on winning often has not seemed to match his box score stats. Whiteside has never been a disciplined defender, often giving up putbacks or biting on pump fakes in order to chase blocks. He also has slow feet on the perimeter, and overall just bad defensive positional awareness. On offense, he is a black hole in that his passing is almost non-existent.
Whiteside's teams have often played better with him off the court, and this caused him to finish many games on the bench even when he was a starter. However, Whiteside can still be a dominant force inside at times, using his size and touch to get buckets. If Whiteside settled for the minimum last offseason, I don't think he's proven anything this season to show that he should demand more than that.
Cap Considerations
Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.7 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. This means that the highest starting salary the Kings could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is $3.2 million. This should be enough to retain Whiteside, since he settled for the minimum of $2.3 million to come to Sacramento. Alternatively, the Kings could use their Mid-Level Exception or Bi-Annual Exception to re-sign Whiteside if he demands more than $3.2 million.
Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Whiteside as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. Since he signed a minimum contract this offseason, teams will hope to get him at the minimum next summer too.
Potential Teams: Raptors, Suns, Hornets, Kings, Lakers
Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.4 million ($1.7 million cap hit) with the Raptors
Actual Contract: 1-year, $2.4 million ($1.7 million cap hit) with the Jazz
As expected, Whiteside signed a one-year minimum contract. The Jazz needed a backup center after dumping Derrick Favors, and was able to sign Whiteside for that role.
Last updated: 8/19/2021
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