NBA free agency, for the most part, has wrapped up as the 2020-21 regular season inches closer. Players from around the league are about to embark on a new campaign with altered roles under new contracts. In regards to the latter, former Trail Blazers center Hassan Whitside’s return to the Kings placed him on a less-than-ideal list. Whiteside topped HoopsHype’s list of players taking the most drastic year-over-year pay cuts in the NBA.
HoopsHype framed their list of pay cuts with Whiteside’s up-and-down career.
Hassan Whiteside has had one rollercoaster of a career with pretty high highs and quite low lows. That has shown in his salary too, as Whiteside may have become the lone player in NBA history to go from a minimum salary to a max deal and then straight away to a minimum contract.
The 31-year-old center had the largest pay cut in the league this season – a mere $24.7 million. He’s not the only one with an eight-figure cut, though.
Whiteside’s 91-percent reduction in pay garnered the No. 1 spot on the list. Being on top of leaderboards is not a new occurrence for the 31-year-old 7-footer. In his lone season with the Blazers, Whiteside led the league in offensive rebounds and blocks.
Along with Whiteside, Kent Bazemore, who appeared in 43 games with Portland last season, finished at No. 4 on the list from HoopsHype. The former Kings forward is returning to the Warriors for the 2020-21 season on a $2.3 million deal.
Bazemore and Whiteside represented the two high-profile additions that the Blazers made in the 2019 NBA offseason.
You can check out the complete list at HoopsHype.