If Whiteside gets a max deal, or close to it, there is a good chance he reverts to the player he was prior to last season. Miami doesn't seem to be in any hurry to free up the capspace to lock him in longterm, which should raise red flags amongst most front offices. Riley is one of the more intelligent and creative GM's in the league, if Whiteside was worth the money he'd find a way to keep him. Miami's window for competing is now, with Wade, Bosh, and Goran all being on the wrong side of 30. Whiteside should be the type of player they'd want to lock down longterm to be part of their core now and also transition to their next phase after Wade & Bosh are done but they don't seem to be in any hurry to move the pieces to keep him there. He hasn't really impacted the Heat in terms of wins either, which indicates he mostly puts up empty stats like Love in Minnesota or Monte Ellis anywhere he's been.
Something about him makes me think he'll end up in an Erick Dampier situation. He's putting up great stats, although they aren't helping his team win, plus he's on the verge of free agency. He will cash in somewhere but his current team doesn't have any interest on being the ones who will pay him. It's been reported he's a headcase also which makes him a gamble and the Suns are pretty solid at Center already so it would be a bigger gamble for us. There are too many unknowns and variables that come into play with him and considering he'll be getting paid around 15 million a year it's not in the Suns best interest to unload Chandler and Len to bring him in. They just got rid of their resident headcase. They shouldn't be looking to spend max money to bring in another one. This one is more of a unknown also. No one knows what his bottom will be or how he'll play once he's getting paid like a superstar.
If they spend big money on a Center, I'd rather see them go after Howard. At least he's been productive his whole career. With Howard you know what you're getting also in terms of attitude. If he isn't happy here it's already been shown how disruptive he can be, no one knows that with Whiteside. Our training staff might just be able to keep Dwight healthy also, which would help his play and possibly his overall attitude. Howard would also be moveable in the first year or two of a max deal because he's a known talent, if Whiteside isn't producing like he is now then who knows if anyone would be willing to take on his contract. Way too much to risk all around.
