2016 NBA playoffs: Toronto Raptors snubbed Hassan Whiteside in 2014 | Heat Zone
Mere months before Hassan Whiteside’s
breakthrough with
the Miami Heat in 2014, the Raptors had a chance at him.
Toronto picked him up for Summer League after his time playing in Lebanon and China, but wasn’t impressed enough to invite him to training camp. Whiteside thought he earned at least a shot in camp after averaging 6.7 points on 54.5 percent shooting, 10 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 17 minutes over three games in Las Vegas.
“I guess it didn’t work out,” Whiteside said this morning. “They didn’t ever give me a reason.”
That could be a recurring theme in their first-round playoff series, which starts tonight, and Whiteside said recently his revenge tour against teams that passed him up
is ongoing.
Nonetheless, his stint with the Raptors was a step forward in his return to the league, and Memphis invited him to camp a month after he got back from Las Vegas.
“It was encouraging,” he said. “It was good. I rebounded really well. I led the Summer League in blocks per minute or rebounds per minute. I was playing like 20 minutes. I averaged good numbers. I think it really helped get Memphis to give me an invite because teams got to see me. I got an opportunity to play in front of NBA scouts again.”
Whiteside’s favorite bit of trivia from his time with Toronto? The player management chose over him.
“They ended up going with Greg Stiemsma,” he said. “So they got Greg Stiemsma. Greg Stiemsma.”
In 2014-15, while Whiteside was enjoying his resurgence, Stiemsma totaled 14 points, 15 rebounds and zero blocked shots in 17 games for the Raptors. He is currently out of the league.
"so now they got greg stiemsma greg stiemsma"