The Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly in a "win-now mode" and the team is targeting Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside as part of their re-tooling plans this season.
Portland is said to be looking for a reliable big man to help in rim protection as the team is one of the worst defensive squads so far this season especially when it comes to defending near the basket.
According to Fansided, the Blazers are "giving up the fourth most points in the paint in the league", which made them fall to the ninth spot in the Western Conference standings with a 9-10 win-loss record at the moment. The team has lost six of their last eight games, giving up more than 100 points each time.
Apparently, the center rotation of Mason Plumlee and Meyers Leonard are not doing their jobs efficiently, which left the Blazers searching for someone else to guard the basket.
The report mentioned Whiteside as one of Portland's primary targets in midseason as the 27-year-old big man has also been the subject of a lot of trade rumors this season.
Whiteside was signed by the Heat to a four-year, $98 million deal in July. He has become the club's main man this season after Dwyane Wade joined the Chicago Bulls in free-agency this summer and Chris Bosh is still not cleared to play because of his blood-clotting issues.
Speculations abound that Miami is planning to go on a full rebuild and Whiteside is their most valuable trade asset at the moment. The Blazers could offer Miami a host of players at the power forward and small forward positions but there are no indications which players have caught the Heat's attention.
ESPN indicated that the Blazers are "ripe for a trade" at this point of the season if they want to stay as legitimate playoff contenders moving forward.
It should be noted that the team has always been interested in Whiteside's services as they reached out to him when he became a free agent during the offseason, but the center turned them down and chose to stay in Miami instead.
The team is rumored to be set to pursue him once again, although this time it is going to be via the trade route.
