MIAMI _ A year later, Hassan Whiteside is looking at it as a relaxed afternoon at Bayfront Park, Sunday's annual appearance at Dew NBA 3X, the nationwide three-on-three basketball competition.
A year ago, Whiteside was pelted with questions at the event about his impending free agency, cryptically offering, "I really don't think it's about loyalty. I think it's just about the best situation for myself."
Shortly thereafter, loyalty and the best financial situation proved to be one and the same, with Whiteside agreeing July 1 to his four-year, $98 million contract.
Now locked into one of the largest deals in franchise history, Whiteside said he feels at ease as Sunday's appearance looms, able to view the Miami Heat with a long view, as a franchise cornerstone.
"Now I wonder who we're going to draft," he said the day after he purchased his mother a six-bedroom home in the Charlotte area. "Last year, it wasn't like that. I didn't know what team I was going to be on or who I was going to playing with. Now I can kind of lock in, look at the Heat. I've been watching a lot of basketball."
That pursuit has put his head back into the game, as the game continues to evolve. For as much as the Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert emerged this season, for as much as the Los Angeles Clippers' DeAndre Jordan set the recent bar for big-man contracts, small ball increasingly has become the way in the NBA. That much was apparent with the Golden State Warriors succeeding small in Thursday's Game 1 of the NBA Finals and Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson marginalized in his team's loss.
Whiteside recognizes that element, as well, considering how the Heat often surrounded him with shooters this past season amid the team's rise from 11-30 to a 41-41 finish. It is why few have low-post centers linked to the Heat at No. 14 in the NBA draft.
"I'm very excited, very excited," Whiteside said of that June 22 first step in resetting the roster. "I've seen they've got so many young guys in this draft, from big guys that can shoot to guards that play-make."
As Whiteside spoke, the Heat were confirming backup center Willie Reed informing them of his plans to opt out of his contract and become a free agent.
While Reed's decision is financially driven, the Heat's countermove also will speak to just how much they believe Whiteside will be right and ready for his second full season as the team's starting center. If Whiteside can provide 38 minutes on a nightly basis, it is possible that backup center becomes a backburner concern in free agency, perhaps to next take a look at Keith Benson, after his solid season with the Heat's D-League affiliate.
Last year's 3-on-3 event had Whiteside discussing his free agency on June 26. This year, that is the date Whiteside will be at the NBA's first-ever awards show, in competition for the league's blocked shot of the year. It all has been part of the whirlwind.
Even after agreeing to terms last summer, Whiteside still found himself without the permanency that resulted from settling into his $7.3 million Miami Beach home. Now, even with the trips to see his mother in North Carolina or breaks elsewhere in the tropics, he has the type of footing never quite there during his initial time with the Heat and those previous playing stops over four continents.
"Just being able to just have a place where I can always return, I can always go back home to Miami," he said. "It's always better. And there's always a gym there."
Already there have been late-night shooting sessions at AmericanAirlines Arena, his thumbprint granting any-hour entry.
A year ago, as the clock ticked down to his free agency, he viewed each appearance as potentially last at the facility.
"I can use their facility even after July," he said with a laugh. "I know I'll be here. I didn't really have a house myself last year. I didn't really have my own place I could call home."
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