This could have gone one of two ways with Hassan Whiteside after the Heat was unable to find an appealing trade for him this summer:
After his humbling, ineffective first-round playoff series against Philadelphia, he could have spent the summer pouting, pushing for a trade and putting the onus on Erik Spoelstra, not himself, to change.
Or Whiteside could have spent the summer polishing and expanding his game and making changes his teammates sought – primarily setting more forceful screens, a particular irritant to them in the past.
Whiteside chose option two and Heat people – while cautious – are also appreciative, knowing the alternative would have been potentially toxic.