You won’t find a bigger Hassan Whiteside fan than Bob Cousy.
Yes, the Bob Cousy.
The Boston Celtics legend and Hall of Famer recently bestowed Whiteside, the Miami Heat’s breakout big man, with the highest of compliments: a comparison of his game to that of the one and only Bill Russell.
“I have never said this in the 40 years since I retired,” Cousy told Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram, “but he is the first big guy, not (Patrick) Ewing, (Hakeem) Olajuwon, (Shaquille O’Neal), who reminds me defensively and on the boards of Russell. He runs the floor well, he has excellent timing, he blocks shots and keeps them in play the way Russell did.”
A second-round draft pick in 2010, the 25-year-old Whiteside spent four years bouncing around the D-League and various foreign circuits before bursting onto the scene with the Heat this season. He’s averaging close to a double-double through 41 games (11.0 points, 9.8 rebounds), and his 2.49 blocks per game would second in the NBA behind Anthony Davis.
Is Whiteside good? Yes. Is he the next Russell? It’s way, way, way too early to make that call — a fact Cousy thankfully acknowledged.
“Maybe I’m overreacting,” the 86-year-old said. “I don’t get excited too often about these guys, but this kid looks to me like a turn-around guy.”
Still, Cousy says he’d love to see Whiteside in a Celtics uniform, and he’d offer the Heat quite the trade package to make that happen.
“If I were Danny (Ainge),” Cousy said, “I’d offer Miami three first-round picks for Whiteside because in my judgment, and what can you tell watching on television, but, boy, does that kid have an upside.”
The Heat played the Celtics on Wednesday without Whiteside, winning 93-86 as the center sat out with a lacerated finger.
Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
