Boston Celtics: 3 big man buyout candidates Cs must consider pursuing

Boston Celtics buyout target No. 2) Hassan Whiteside

Despite having a wonderful resurgence campaign with Portland last season, where he averaged 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, a league-leading 2.9 blocks, and had a 3.2 box plus/ minus, Hassan Whiteside failed to garner interest from the majority of the league’s center hungry franchises and, ultimately, settled for a measly one-year $2.3 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.

Already rostering the likes of two talented young bigs in Rachaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley, the fit with Whiteside seemed to be a bit wonky right from the get-go.

Now, 38 games into the season, things have certainly not gotten any better with the pairing.

Through 23 games played, the 31-year-old is only managing to log 14 minutes a night and, with this minimal time, is posting 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game on 58 percent shooting from the field.

A defensive stalwart with a well-documented attitude change for the better, bringing on a guy like Whiteside to man the middle in the starting rotation — especially considering they seemingly refuse to put Robert Williams III there — could prove to be an absolute luxury, especially considering how cheap they’d be getting him for.

With the fact that the team is already rumored to be potentially interested in dealing for him, pursuing him on the buyout market would seemingly be a no-brainer scenario for Ainge.