Whiteside unsure of future with Heat; calls limited minutes 'bulls---'
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Hassan Whiteside isn't a happy camper.
After totaling just 20 minutes of playing time during the Miami Heat's 110-109 overtime loss at home to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, Whiteside - who played in his second game after missing nine with a hip flexor - was fuming over his team once again sitting him because the opposition elected to go small in its frontcourt.
"Man, it's annoying, you know. Why we matching up? We got one of the best centers in the league. Why we matching up?," said Whiteside afterward, according to The Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman. "A lot of teams don't have a good center. They're going to use their strength.
"It's bullshit. It's really bullshit, man. There's a lot of teams that could use a center. Shit. That's bullshit."
Whiteside didn't see the floor again after the 3:55 mark of the third quarter against Brooklyn, as Miami was denied a chance to clinch a berth in the playoffs after failing to qualify last year. He finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and a steal on 5-of-10 shooting.
"No. I don’t know if it is because of a minutes restriction or what. The minutes have been like that all year. It’s just really frustrating and it's been frustrating," said Whiteside when asked if it's time to go higher up in the organization to seek answers about his playing time.
"It's tough. I don't know, man, it's crazy. I don't understand it."
His frustrations can be traced back to the start of the regular season. Whiteside missed a stretch of five games from Oct. 21 through Oct. 30 with a bone bruise in his knee and was kept on what he considered to be a minutes restriction upon returning, which he couldn't explain.
Whiteside is under contract with Miami next season for $25.4 million, with a player option of $27 million in 2019-20. As far as his future in South Beach is concerned, the 28-year-old didn't sound confident he even has one.
"I don't know, maybe," he added.
His minutes entering Saturday's meeting with Brooklyn (25.7) were down 6.9 from the 2016-17 campaign when he averaged a career-high 32.6.