3 Rim Protecting bigs the Sacramento Kings can sign

Rim Protecting bigs the Sacramento Kings can sign – Hassan Whiteside

Last but not least, the most proven player in terms of NBA production that makes this list. Ironically, Whiteside was drafted by the Kings and had another brief stint on their roster years after he got drafted.

In between those moments is when he emerged and produced as a shot-blocking menace that would also clean up all the rebounds. Whiteside broke out as a member of the Miami Heat during the 2014-15 season and went on to have a few years of high-end production.

Defensively he was among the best in the game for a time period. He averaged 3.7 blocks per game one season and in his career, he holds an average of 2.2 blocks per game. That is over the span of 511 games career games. Many of which he played very limited minutes.

He isn’t in the league this season and he would have to show he is in shape and has the right attitude for the Kings to even think about bringing him into this locker room. A little buy-in and an understanding of what he is being asked to do is all it would take.

It would require drastic physical regressions over the past year for Whiteside not to be a huge upgrade on defense over the Kings current backups. He can’t move around defensively and play an involved role offensively. That is what others bring that he does not.

He can absolutely block shots and help the Kings get their defense trending in the right direction as they fight to make a playoff appearance. He is also massive and strong. Whiteside is built so differently from a guy like Domantas Sabonis that he is able to offer entirely different approaches to defending players like Nikola Jokic.