MIAMI _ Apparently, it was more than a Hassan Whiteside thing.
Addressing Whiteside's Sunday return to AmericanAirlines Arena with the Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the team's offseason makeover was about more than the enigmatic center.
"For whatever reason," Spoelstra said, "it just happens in this business that I think it was just time to turn a page on that team.
"And it's not anyone's fault. It just felt the time was appropriate."
Whiteside said he could see the change coming, even before he was dealt in July to the Blazers.
"I felt like we didn't get it done, so they're going younger," the center said in the visitors' locker room at AmericanAirlines Arena. "The older guys, the older guys are not playing as much. They're going with the younger group, 22, 21, the guys are real young.
"So they're trying to build something there. Goran (Dragic) is coming off the bench. The older guys are just not playing as many minutes. They're going young. So obviously totally understandable. I'm 30."
And, so, the Heat moved off Whiteside and Josh Richardson, and added Jimmy Butler and Meyers Leonard, as well as rookies Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn in the offseason.
Of moving ahead without Whiteside, Spoelstra said, "we invested a lot into him and he invested a lot into us."
Spoelstra used his pregame media session to clarify his position on Whiteside.
"Despite what people think is, we root for Hassan," he said. "I developed a strong relationship with Hassan here and arguably spent as much time with him as I have any other player.
"I loved his story, I really do. I love guys that have to overcome something and people discount them _ a second-round pick, it didn't work out for Sacramento and then all of a sudden he's playing in the G League."
Spoelstra then turned somewhat nostalgic.
"I remember that first meeting I had with him, right next door, in the lounge right here," he said. "It went for about an hour and a half and that was the real, vulnerable, authentic, Hassan Whiteside.
"And after that discussion, we met as a staff and was like, 'Man, we want to make this happen for this guy.' And if you're around him long enough, there's so many narratives out there. We used to talk about this all the time, we had to weave through all the noise outside just to get to what was real face to face."
Spoelstra said it never was personal.
"The thing that I've always said about it, is Hassan is a good guy," Spoelstra said. "You root for him. He's a good guy in the locker room. I enjoyed him. Once you get to know him, he's got a really dynamic, funny personality, just in a different way.
"It's worked out for both sides right now. And I think he's really happy there. And we feel good about our squad here."
And, so, both agreed it is a new era.
"It's a big difference, the Heat team, than when I was here," Whiteside said, "Four out of the five starters, I never played with, so it's a whole new team.
"I don't have any bitterness toward the Heat or anything. I grew up. I felt like I became an NBA player here. I feel like I faced the trials and tribulations of the NBA coming here."
