:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67984658/1205249994.0.jpg)
Free agent center Hassan Whiteside has reached an agreement with the Kings. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the former Trail Blazers and Heat big man is set to return to where his NBA career began on a one-year deal.
Free agent center Hassan Whiteside has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 25, 2020
In the 2019 offseason, Whiteside arrived in Portland via a trade that sent Meyers Leonard to the Heat and Moe Harkless to the Clippers. With Jusuf Nurkic recovering from a gruesome leg injury for the 2019-20 season, Whiteside served as the Blazers’ stop-gap center.
In 67 outings (61 starts), Whiteside averaged 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. In the postseason, Whiteside appeared in all five games and he started alongside Nurkic in three. In those playoff games, he averaged 6.8 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Whiteside was drafted by the Kings with the No. 33 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. After two seasons and 19 regular season appearances, Whiteside departed Sacramento to play internationally before returning to the Heat for the 2014-15 season.