5 hypothetical franchise-altering trades

#3 Miami and Whiteside bid farewell, Portland try to upgrade

Whiteside looking for a chance to fight

The Trail Blazers receive: Hassan Whiteside

The Heat receive: Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard and a top-10 protected 2019 first-round draft pick

Miami Heat is clearly heading towards a breakup with Hassan Whiteside. The Heat signed him to a $98 million/4-year contract, after playing two years on a minimum salary, putting their full faith in him. This year, Coach Spoelstra decided to cut his playing time, especially in the playoffs, and Hassan didn’t handle it very well. He blamed his coach for "not giving him a chance to fight".

Publically criticizing the head coach forced a reaction from Heat president Pat Riley, who suggested being a mediator in an intervention between the two. If the intervention will not work, Whiteside will be on the move.

Portland need to bounce back from their first-round sweep and decide how to handle Jusuf Nurkic. Since he joined midseason last year from Denver, he filled the center spot pretty good, but they were swept twice in a row in the playoffs.

Nurkic will be 24 years-old and a restricted free agent this summer. A rebuilding team with cap space might sign him to an offer sheet Portland won't be interested in matching. Miami is looking for a player like Leonard, who can play as a center and stretch the floor, and could use Turner to add depth in the small forward position.

Portland can become a serious title contender for the next few years to come, they have an amazing backcourt duo and a good coach, but the rest of the roster reek of mediocrity. A master shot blocker and rebounder like Whiteside can make Portland better match to the NBA's alpha dogs