The Dallas Mavericks are wasting no time addressing their big man this summer in free agency. They are definitely making sure they don’t get the DeAndre Jordan treatment for the second time around, and already have their big man in mind. Tim MacMahon of ESPN said in a radio interview in Miami that the Mavericks will get the first meeting with Whiteside at 12:01 a.m.
“Absolutely no questions asked. The financial negotiations with the Mavericks will take all of one second. Max. One second max for the max. If you’re going to try and recruit Hassan Whiteside you can haggle about money, but he’s gonna cross you off his list and move on.”
For the Mavericks to sit with Whiteside over Dwight Howard first lets you know that they prefer him more. You really can’t blame them since Whiteside is the younger of the two, and has more upside to him. Dwight has been struggling with some health issues over the past couple of seasons also so that is going to work against him trying to get a max deal. The real question is if Hassan Whiteside really worth it?
Whiteside should definitely get whatever he can but I’m not sold on the big man getting max dollars. When you think of max deals you think of a player who can take you to the next level and deliver a title. I’m not sure if just one full regular season is enough to prove you deserve a max deal.
One thing for sure is that this is the time of the year when a lot of players tend to get overpaid, but I’m not mad at them. They should get everything they can and more. Pat Riley is going to have to open up the checkbook if he wants to keep his prized big man.
