NBA Rumors: Miami Heat Sign off Hassan Whiteside

Dec 20, 2015 08:20 AM EST

The Miami Heat roster has been plagued with trade rumors since the NBA offseason. Two names first appeared in the trading block rumor mill, Mario Chalmers, and Chris Andersen. While the NBA team denied any talks on Chalmers' move, the former teammate of LeBron James saw himself exiting the Miami Heat locker room eventually. Chalmers is now part of the Memphis Grizzlies - a trade that now sees him blossoming in another basketball squad. As for Andersen, his future remains unknown. Midway through the NBA regular season this year, another Miami Heat star is rumored to possibly face the trading block soon: Hassan Whiteside.

The entry of Whiteside to the Chris Bosh squad saw fans of the Miami Heat thrilled for the big man. With the decision of James to head back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the trio of big men in the Dwyane Wade team was one man down. Hence, Whiteside's entrance helped keep the NBA championship hope alive. It appears, however, that the former Sacramento Kings that the rumor mill is churning out a different tune.

Amid these rumors, Pat Riley speaks out. The Miami Heat president slammed the speculations on Whiteside's possible exit from the NBA team. Sharing that the said star has been a valuable member of the Miami Heat roster, Riley belied the speculations of trade.

"I can guarantee you there have been no discussions about the BS that you have read in the newspapers the last couple of days," stated Riley of the rumors regarding Whiteside's trade, according to the Miami Herald. "I like our team and I want to see where we're headed." Among the NBA teams said to be possible landing places for Whiteside are the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings.

Riley also praised the Miami Heat squad, sharing that the NBA team has a "great depth." 

He went on to say, "I think we have a three-tiered team which is we have a group of great veterans, mid-aged veterans, and then we have youth. We have a lot of spirit. There's a lot of energy with our young guys. Probably some of our best defenders are our young players. They're trying to get their offensive games to match their defensive games."

For his part, Whiteside also shared his sentiments on the trade talks. Acknowledging the existence of the speculations, the Miami Heat star shrugged off the comments. 

He said via the Real GM, "I just saw it. It's just rumors. I mean, it's just rumors, I guess. I don't really know how factual it is. But I'm just going to keep playing basketball." 

He added, "A lot of people are speculating. I just keep playing basketball every day. I'm just going to keep coming in and doing the same thing I've been doing. I'm not really listening to all that other stuff. I'm just going to keep coming out and just playing basketball and keep trying to win games."