https://youtu.be/LdayXEdtAts
I’m not sure where it all went so wrong for Hassan Whiteside that he was forced to sign a MINIMUM contract with the KINGS (basically the last place any free agent should ever want to go) when he’s basically in his prime. Sure, he has flaws. Everybody knows about his flaws and they are substantial. One of those flaws is “fake defense”. The other is “having a funny but uncouth Snapchat which reflects poorly on his maturity”. But Whiteside also has anti-flaws, commonly known as “skills”. And one of those skills is turning the washed up piece of deadwood named DeAndre Jordan into even more of a bitch sandwich than he already was. Another one of those skills is executing low-effort slam dunks. That’s deserving of more than a minimum contract, right?
Whiteside spent the entirety of this game feasting on rebounds and feasting on easy buckets near the rim. When you think about the great feasts of history, this feast was right up there. Whiteside’s mass was too much for anybody to handle, even the similarly-massy DeAndre Jordan. It wasn’t Shaq-level dominance, but it was one of the few times in recent memory where I thought to myself, “that guy is vaguely Shaqalicious”. Minus the overpowering back-to-the-basket play, of course.
It’s possible that Whiteside earned himself more playing time with this performance. Great. I love redemption arcs. But the real question is, WHERE IS JABARI? if Whiteside can take advantage of players being out to force himself back into the rotation, then why can’t Jabari? I 100% guarantee that Jabari could give this Kings team a solid 13 PPG per game as long as you gave him the minutes. I also 100% guarantee that Jabari, if he were to play, would subtly destroy the Kings’ chances of making the playoffs, but they’re doing a good enough job of that even without Jabari seeing the court.
Here’s a thought: trade Jabari to the Wizards for whatever garbage they want to send back. Troy Brown Jr., Raul Neto, moldy towels, literal farts, I don’t care. Just send him to the Wizards so he can play and score points and I can finally be happy again.