MIAMI _ The immediate goals for Hassan Whiteside are as simple as ripping rebounds out of opponents' hands, slapping shots back in their faces.
It is not necessarily the most accommodating approach to winning over friends, but that's not what matters at the moment.
But soon enough, it might.
Because a year after being pursued as a top target in NBA free agency, Whiteside could be positioned as pursuer, seeking to help bolster a Miami Heat roster very much in the need of bolstering.
To appreciate how much that might matter is to appreciate comments this past week from Dwyane Wade about his own free-agency courtship by the Chicago Bulls, comments that make it sound, at least in Wade's view, that Pat Riley as leading recruiter may no longer be the direction of the NBA.
"The league is different today," Wade told ESPN. "The league is all about relationships, player relationships. Obviously presidents and GMs have their job to do to put teams together, but when it comes to free agency, that's player relationships more than anything."
That certainly was the case when Wade served as point man when it came to getting LeBron James and Chris Bosh alongside for what would prove to be a run to four consecutive NBA Finals and two NBA championships.
But with Wade's departure, the question is whether Riley can enter a room with a member of the roster to offer up as enticement, something that wasn't the case when it came to pitching Kevin Durant in July.
And that could come down to whether Whiteside _ introvert in many aspects beyond social media _ can provide any sway when Riley is reloaded with cap cash this summer.
"I can hint something to guys," Whiteside said.
But he said getting into a room with a free agent also is about being in a room with them previously. That's what could make this season's All-Star selections significant to the Heat beyond a reward for Whiteside.
"When you start being around those guys a lot more, when you're making the All-Star Game and when you're making those different events where you get to meet the best players and hang around, that's especially when you can build a bond with a lot of those guys," he said. "I think that's where a lot of recruitment comes from."
Whiteside, with his late arrival among the star set, has yet to make an All-Star Game, and also, at 27, somewhat aged out of the opportunity to work with USA Basketball on the latest national teams.
But he said what he does on the court can send its own message. He said before re-signing with the Heat in July he had been pitched by many of the same players he now could wind up helping recruit in free agency, now under contract to the Heat for four seasons at $98 million.
"I think what really surprised me in free agency is how many guys wanted to come play with me, and were really looking for where I was going," he said. "That was a big surprise for me."
Although his is an aggressive approach on the court, Whiteside said opponents recognize that it's nothing personal, going as far as to have a running conversation with social-media contemporary Joel Embiid during Monday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
"They all know it's all a game. It's all trying to get the fans into it. It's all on the court," Whiteside said. "A lot of guys know that. A lot 'em don't take it personal."
Whiteside, in fact, contends such moments of defensive demolition could become a selling point for Riley, as the Heat president heads out in July to lure the impending free-agency likes of Gordon Hayward and Blake Griffin.
"I'm like insurance," Whiteside said of his unique mayhem. "I feel like I'm insurance for a lot of guys, especially when you have a shot-blocker back there. You've got a guy you can throw lobs to, a guy that can finish really well in the paint, that could be a couple of extra assists a game for you.
"And Miami is a beautiful place. It's very easy to sell Miami. So, I think we can recruit a lot of guys, if things don't work out with the guys we've got."
