Heat star Hassan Whiteside ‘had a great talk’ with coach Erik Spoelstra

In the last several months, there has been a bit of uneasiness with center Hassan Whiteside and his standing with the Miami Heat.

However, things have taken a step forward toward ironing the situation out as Whiteside revealed that he recently met with both team president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra last month that has straightened it out, according to ESPN.

“We had a great talk,” Whiteside told reporters on a conference call to discuss Saturday’s NBA game in Africa, in which he plans to play. “I just think it’s trust on both sides. I think that’s the biggest thing … It was about a four-hour meeting. It was a lot about life. It was two hours basketball, two hours life. It was a good meeting.”

This entire ordeal had become an issue after how things wound up in the first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers where he struggled to be a factor on the floor. This had led to Spoelstra to limiting his role electing in another direction to help his team compete against the 76ers.

It had also seen Whiteside, who still has two more years left on his four-year, $98.4 million deal, be mentioned in trade rumors that didn’t go far. Despite all that, the two sides have worked toward patching things up as the Heat has made it clear that he is a major part of their future.

With that matter handled internally, the focus can now shift to him further honing on his craft to become a more well-rounded offensive talent to help him take the next step forward in his development.