The Sacramento Kings have signed Hassan Whiteside to a one-year deal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent center Hassan Whiteside has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 25, 2020
James Ham confirmed the news and added that the contract is a league minimum deal.
Confirming that Hassan Whiteside has signed a one-year, league minimum deal with Kings.
— James Ham (@James_HamNBCS) November 25, 2020
It's hard to be too mad about a minimum contract for one year. It's very much an indication of where Whiteside's current value is. Although Whiteside averaged 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game last season, Zach Lowe summed it up well last week when he described Whiteside as a can of Pringles, just empty calories. Whiteside is a big body, he will put up stats, but he hasn't historically helped his teams as much as the numbers might suggest.
This brings Whiteside's journey full circle as he was originally drafted in the second round by the Kings in 2010. He spent two unimpressive years with the Kings before leaving the NBA entirely. He spent two years playing overseas before finding his way back to the league and earning a lucrative contract from the Miami Heat.
Sure, the Kings lost Bogi. But it's ok, we have Hassan Whiteside.
Unibrow would work as the Power Forward Klam!
It’s not OK, we have Whiteside.
Should help the tank. Empty stats guy and a proven loser. Monte knows what he’s doing. Should have signed Cousins on that minimum deal as well.
It is hard for me to buy the “Monte knows what he is doing” line. I honestly don’t know what evidence we have of that yet.
Agreed. Nothing has been out of the box thinking or looks like there is a vision…yet.
What would something like that look like?
Not signing Whiteside.
In fairness, not having a legitimate center on the roster would be outside the box.
He did come from Houston.
To 1 year for the minimum? I mean it’s totally possible you could actually flip him for something of value at the deadline to a contender. I can’t stand Whiteside as a player but this is about the lowest risk move possible.
Paging ArcoThunder!
There’s also the simultaneous line that he’s playing for a high draft pick next year…so if he doesn’t know what he’s doing, does that mean we’re making playoffs!?
The last two seasons, the “proven loser” has substantially improved his teams’ performance (two pretty good teams) while on the floor.
He’s a mixed effort guy, but does impact the floor most nights. Let’s hope he doesn’t play a lot.
That was on two teams with a strong structure, good coaches and strong leaders on the floor. And still he only got a one year, minimum deal. What does that tell you?
Also, we want Bagley to develop with Luke as coach and surrounding him with me-first guys like Whiteside, Parker and Buddy?
And it’s not as if a one year deal gives much opportunity to build his value and flip him for assets.
This is a clear WTF move and Monte is now looking a bit less shiny and wonderful to me. YMMV.
Not sure a one year minimum contract is going to impact in any way how I feel about a GM….
Dearest DeMarcus deserves nothing less than the max.
I mean I can’t stand Whiteside but 1 year at league minimum? Sure, whatever.
Exactly how I feel.
Yeah for sure. Best case scenario, he has a couple big games (he always does), and we’re able to flip him at the deadline for a late 1st to a playoff team desperate for a big. Crazier things have happened, and if it does we’ll look pretty smart. That’s the optimist in me haha
Yeah it would not shock me if he has some value at the deadline to a contender who needs some size to matchup with the Lakers in the playoffs. He played pretty well in couple of those games for the Blazers.
Random fact of the day, the Kings now have more 2nd round picks and undrafted players on the roster than 1st round picks:
FIRST ROUND: 7
Fox, Buddy, Bagley, Hali, Barnes, Joseph, Parker
SECOND ROUND: 8
Whiteside, Nemanja, Holmes, James, Guy, Woodard, Ramsey, Jeffries (undrafted)
Real question: Is that out of the ordinary? I mean, how does it stack up against other teams? Just asking because that doesn’t surprise me, or sound odd. I would think it’s probably pretty normal given the salary cap… No?
I was truly going to give Monte a pass on letting Bogdanovic go. I really was.
But this?
The sum total of Kings activity this off season has been to lose Alex Len, Kent Bazemore, Harry Giles, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and has managed to backfill those guys with…Hassan Whiteside.
F me, I’m pissed right now.
Tank city baby.
Wow bemoaning the loss of Bazemore is too much. The guy shot 37% FGs and thought he was a Top 10 NBA scorer. You can’t win with high volume bricklayers even if they are high energy on the other end. At the best you have a net neutral player. DaQuan Jeffries is the better younger player and our GM duly noted and acted on this.
Preach
I’m really high on Jeffries also. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people.
I think Woodard has more upside than Jeffries.
People are really sleeping on DaQuan. Based on the eye test (which I know is bullshit) he seems to be solid every time he’s on the court. Okay shooter, decent defender, super athletic, and doesn’t make mistakes. Not bad for an undrafted guy
I’m glad we gave DaQuan DaQualifying offer.
The bigger issue is per Sam Amick that this Whitesise signing is Vivek still meddling and playing GM ! Where have you gone Pete D !
I want to believe Monte has a solid plan but I can’t understand the angle of this signing. He is not a mentor or positive influence on young players. He does not have good work ethic. He doesn’t make us a better team. If he plays his impact will only be negative on the development or chemistry of players we want to keep. If he does not play (or hardly), what is the purpose? I would rather take a flier on a young player with potential. Please help me understand…
Pb/Ag lining – perhaps it’s a trade deadline chip for another 2nd rounder or another asset to help us move in the top 3 next draft.
We can only hope.
I don’t think he would be an asset based on name alone, based on the deal he just fetched in free agency. So if he is somehow a trade asset, I would assume that means he is playing. Which would suck for us as fans.
There will be a contender who gets a serious injury to their big man and will be willing to trade a pick or young player who isn’t getting playing time for Whiteside as a stopgap. The same way Portland traded for him when Nurkic went down
That, to me, is the only upside scenario of this signing. I just wish it came along with a player who brought a better attitude and work ethic.
This pick wreaks of desperation. Whiteside was the last 5 available in free agency. Before that we had Holmes; who I like , and Bagley; who isn’t really a 5 and hasn’t played much due to injuries. Monte had to bring in a body to fill out the front court roster. Enter Hassan Whiteside. I’m totally unimpressed. We should have kept Len.
From what I’ve heard the Kings tried to re-sign Len but he ultimately chose the Raptors. Not gonna blame the guy though. If I’m offered the same amount of money, I’d choose the Raptors over the Kings. Probably the only way Len re-signs if we overpay a little bit.
I’ll give a little bit of props to Monte for not overpaying role players who does not move the needle that much for the Kings. i mean it’s not like Whiteside was #1 on their list. I’ve seen reports where they were interested on some free agents and they just didn’t sign with us. I guess Whiteside was their plan C or plan D and was the only one who accepted the minimum that was offered by the Kings.
Jesus, one year on a minimum and everyone acts like the whole future is in jeopardy.
If you thought the team was going to run fast breaks while depending on Holmes and Bjelica to secure rebounds, that would not be ideal.
And if he steps out of line one time you can cut him. I hate watching him play basketball but this is pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things.
Bingo!
Back to your point in another thread…does anyone think the Kings are making the playoffs this year?
If any of my comments in other places have ever suggested that the Kings had hope of making the playoffs, I was either hacked, or in the midst of a severe blackout.
No no.. I was agreeing with a previous question by you to me asking if I thought the Kings could even sniff the playoffs this year.
In any event, I may have been blacked out.
Wait, so you think Whiteside is going to help the team run fast breaks? Is that a good thing at this point?
You’re suggesting another year of Lose Walton walk-it-upcourt would be better than playing fast?
I disagree.
“Whiteside” and “playing fast” do not belong in the same discussion.
fast breaks don’t require all 5 guys to lead the break.
And there you have it. All he needs to do is get it to a guard and haul ass to get a putback, if necessary.
And protect the rim on a break the other way, which he does far better than anyone else on the team, maybe ever.
But they require your big man to outlet pass.
Does Whiteside like to bring the ball up the court? I’m trying to think of his game but can’t conjure any memories. Maybe it’s just unremarkable.
No, that’s Buddy’s job.
ducks
They miss Dewayne Dedman
And WCS as well I guess. At least he knew he couldn’t shoot a three.
I mean, if you don’t want to win games, Holmes/Bagley/Bjelly sounds like an elite frontcourt to me.
Yeah, I’m sensing a mixed message here from some of the regulars.
Oy:
We’re back to this stuff again.
My apologies. It only seems like everyone because of the histrionics.
I see more mentions of histrionics than actual histrionics.
There are some people who disagree with you, and I know you tend to confuse the two.
I see outright condemnations of a guy who has been on the job for a couple of months, and is tasked with untangling the radioactive shit-web that VD left behind. Does that seem warranted, particularly in light of adding a serviceable center on a one-year minimum contract? Is this “it” for the organization?
“Outright condemnations?” I think that is quite a bit of a stretch. I’m on record that I’m not impressed so far, especially when it comes to this Whiteside signing, but I haven’t seen anything to the level of which you mention.
Otis said there were people that disagreed with me, so my reply wasn’t about you specifically.
But seriously, read some of these posts, you’d think they’d made Lose Walton the GM-for-Life.
Just looked it up, an 8 year vet’s minimum salary is $2.3M
Obviously the worst signing ever. This alone will cause the Kings to lose all their draft picks.
I wonder, has there been a lower deal for a FA under age 32, who just averaged a double double (15pts/13reb for Hassan) on a playoff team, without any injury. In recent history of course. Hmmm. I can’t think of any similar examples.
Yeah but the NBA FO pays part of the salary. I think the Kings pay 1.62 mill or something like that. According to some guy named Larry, it’s the 2 year league minimum they owe Whiteside, the league FO pays the rest. Which is 700-750K. I’m not doing math today.
Dumb!!
LeTank Whiteside
The Frenchification of his name took me by surprise.
🤔 …same
A great addition to help with the tank. Next up, trading Richaun Holmes, who is actually a solid player who can help win games and that simply will not do for this years team.
We should totally win 32 games this year. Maybe we can grab the #10 pick.
I love Richaun, but no one is above being moved.
Welcome back to hell big fella!
People ask, “Why are you a Kings fan?” For moments like this my friend, for a moment like this…
I’m pretty sure, if I ever get a hug from another Kings Herald member, I would just burst into tears and sob out the last 14 years of frustration.
(Virtual hug)
Yes! Bring on the tank!
Fans: “DO SOMETHING!”
Monte: “Hold my beer.”
Marty After Monte does something:I’m sensing that tanking is going to be difficult for some to accept.
Seriously, no shit.
Comment for the win!
I feel the Tank, but I still want to watch an entertaining and hustling basketball team…
Give Tyson Chandler a retirement contract to mentor our one young big.
Or young guys to compete, where are your guys McNair?
Hartenstein? Gimme some Zhou Qi!
I’ve been pushing for Hartenstein since the Rockets cut him.
Nuggets looking at him with no backup 5 behind Jokic, so we’ll see his real talent this year while we play Whiteside
No true Centers behind Jokic, but 4 guys 6’10 and taller. Porter, Bol, Vonleh, Nnaji.
YES! You can tank without signing old washed players who want minutes.
Exactly. Why not a young player who is happy to be there, with a good attitude, who pushes his teammates in practice and wants to work harder than everybody else just so they can stay on? Give me that guy all day over a pouty, lazy, entitled player who “just wants to get his 2k rating up.”
Well we DID have DJ Wilson coming in, but our ineptitude to perform any normal basketball functions shows up to bite us again.
Come on. Nobody knowns why that Bogi sign and trade failed.
99% sure it was his snake of an agent.
I agree, which is why we can’t blame Monte or anybody else in the FO for it.
I don’t get this line of thinking. The trade could not have been completed without Bogi agreeing to the contract at some point. The ATL contract ballpark amount was mentioned around that time too, so I don’t think that deal was going to happen at a number that MIL was comfortable with.
Supposedly Milwaukee was gonna pay BB8 a certain amount of $ that they could only pay him if they traded Bledsoe to the Kings. Once they traded Bledsoe to NO, they couldn’t pay BB8 as much as they said they’d pay him.
Yeah that’s what I heard from KOC on one of the Ringer NBA podcasts.
The sad part: One can make a fairly solid case that this in the top 5 most high profile free agent signings in Kings history. I’m gonna need a spare liver.
Just here for the comments
I would have preferred they just gave the roster spot to Chimezie Metu and embraced a full youth movement.
Signing Whiteside signals to me the Kings are still trying to tread water in the West. I mean, what is the point?
Metu is the perfect target. Whiteside is the opposite.
He looks like a very good prospect, bouncy, well-coordinated.
We had DJ Wilson coming in, but we KANGZed a sign-and-trade so that’s what we get.
It’s. a. YEAR.
Excellent. Maybe the 2022 draft is as loaded as the 2021. Looking forward to the 10th pick next time around.
Do you really believe that anyone thinks that Whiteside is the difference between the lottery and the eighth seed?
We signed a young guy who likely can’t contribute much this year. Whiteside is on a one-year contract. Do you not see any point in having one serviceable center on the roster when the season starts?
But, but… Kings have Holmes. Isn’t he a serviceable center?
Well, no. He’s small at center, and like Whiteside, hasn’t been able to stretch the floor. HW gives us the opportunity to not be out-rebounded every game, and at worst, spends seventy-games on the team.
On a sidenote, I think Holmes will become a decent three-point shooter. He really has a nice touch on his free throws, and makes a good percentage of them.
He needs to rebuild his shot to be consistent from 3. He has nice touch, but he has a brutal hitch in his shot that has actually gotten worse since his Sixers days.
How many minutes will he need to not become a locker room distraction? 20 per game? This is a really, really bad look.
Just imagine when both he and Buddy start complaining. That cancer can spread.
If this is a move where we hope to flip him at the deadline for a 2nd rounder then that means
A) He’s getting consistent minutes to show his value
B) Less minutes for Holmes and Bagley
C) I bet no one trades for him and he gets cut anyway for the pre-playoff buyout market. Lose-Lose situation
It’s a one year deal which means he has a no trade clause. It’s trade him to a contender or cut to unload him
There will be plenty of distractions with the horrible coaching. Throw in the complaining from Buddy before the trade deadline. I doubt Hassan becomes the biggest complainer in the locker room.
But, Hassan does have some powerful veteran insights that can help the kids make sense of this crazy world:
He’s also the victim of one of the great NBA Twitter burns of all time…
Ever since then his plus minus has been good. Maybe it was a wake up call!
Just about any reaction to this signing is an overreaction.
I wish I had stopped reading at this wise take.
I don’t know about that because I would pencil him for about 20-25 MPG, he may even be our starting center.
So a lame duck year where we tank for a high pick during a stacked 2021 draft. Walton will be gone. Halliburton will develop. Test Bagley again. Try to get interest in Buddy trade. Then start rebuild in 2022.
With new head coach
It’ll be another Covid affected season anyways
Ew!
Until proven otherwise, this (to me) has Ranadive stench all over it.
Ship him out to a “contender” that needs a big at the deadline and I’ll change my mind.
That’s why he was available to us on the most minimum contract available, because the contending teams forgot or something.
Whiteside doesn’t need to do anything other than rebound, block shock shots, and not be a pain in the ass. His record shows that he can do the first two, we’ll see about the last one.
There wasn’t much else out there, so on a one year minimum this isn’t that bad.
There is always more out there. The Kings could use that money and roster spot on a young player from the G-League or who went undrafted. The Kings could have nabbed Killian Tillie before the Grizz did.
Why the hell did McNair wait until now!!??
Yeah, he really should have made a play on day one for Anthony Davis or another all-star caliber big. What a maroon. Future destroyed.