Indiana Pacers: 5 free agents to avoid in the offseason

The Indiana Pacers will only get more logjams with Hassan Whiteside

If we go by the numbers alone, Hassan Whiteside will seem like a perfect player on most teams with impressive career averages of 13.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 446 games, but the 7-foot center is one reason why stats can be deceiving.

Despite tremendous talent as a finisher, shot blocker and rebounder, there’s a reason why Whiteside has been a player whom teams have been keen on avoiding in the past two years. He gets his numbers all right, but his questionable effort, clear intentions to pad his stats, issues with attitude and demeanor and inability to elevate the team’s defense despite being a wildly effective rim deterrent are problematic.

The nine-year center saw his minutes cut down in half with the Sacramento Kings this season because of their frontcourt logjam. The Indiana Pacers will have the same problem with Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis and Goga Bitadze already on board, so adding Whiteside will only be excessive.