There are no Bird Rights, no inherent advantage in the bidding process, no salary-cap mechanism that gives the Miami Heat a built-in edge when it comes to Hassan Whiteside's offseason free agency.
But there is a tag team of influence that could make a difference in wrestling the emerging big man back for future seasons.
On Christmas Eve, after most teammates had moved on to holiday pursuits, that sphere of influence had a singular focus on the Heat's practice court at AmericanAirlines Arena. For assistant coach Juwan Howard, it was defending a repetitive series of post moves, offering guidance at each turn. For Alonzo Mourning, the Heat's vice president of player programs, it was a knowing nod but mostly a stoic stare.
This is how you incubate a potential All-Star. With structure. Defined guidance. And a singular voice from above.
In this case, coach Erik Spoelstra does the talking about this process, the Heat's preference to keep other voices out of the public equation, lest mixed signals get in the way.
For Whiteside's dual enrollment, Howard handles the court clinics, Mourning the life lessons.
This is how the Heat are attempting to build a better center.
"Zo gives him great off-the-court guidance," Spoelstra explained. "And occasionally they will go out to dinner. It's an unbelievable role model and example for Hassan to see, of what it means to be a Miami Heat who has had great success as a Miami Heat center, but also how to be a great professional on the court, off the court, in the community, all of that."
The hands-on portion of the process is Howard's domain.
"That's all with us, all with our staff," Spoelstra said.
As a player, Howard's game was more on the perimeter, more face-up jumpers. But his wealth of experience against nearly two decades of post-up competition is what is conveyed in sessions such as these.
"Right now, it's building a trust," Spoelstra said of the Howard-Whiteside dynamic. "The most important thing is building a trust with a player. And in this business, it's not so much what you know; it's the level of trust that a player has, that this coach is going to make me better. And Hassan trusts that Juwan's intentions are pure, that he has a great knowledge base, that he has a great work ethic.
"The things that they cover, he sees improvement. Like, two weeks later, 'Oh, man, we've been working on that.' And it translates. I think that's invaluable. I think that's more important than any other quality."
Then Mourning can step in and reinforce the significance of carrying those, and other, lessons forward.
"I consult with Zo," Spoelstra said. "But a lot of it is on the personal development."
"That's a blessing," Whiteside said. "I mean, I remember watching Zo and just all the things he did for the game. It's more off-the-court stuff we talk about. It's staying positive, not getting too down, if you have a bad game. Or if I have a great game, don't get too high. Just keep putting in the work and everything is going to be OK."
That's not to say Whiteside also doesn't dig for greater game insight.
"Zo's been basically telling me to stay on balance," he said. "He says any time I stay on balance, it's going to be a great move and it's going to more than likely go in."
Then it's back to the gym, back to growing as a center as Howard grows in his second season as a bench assistant.
"He's more the basketball aspect of the game and just little things he sees, he lets me know," Whiteside said.
That has Spoelstra cultivating dual post projects, coach and pupil growing together in the infancy of this latest stage of their careers.
"His last two years of playing," Spoelstra said, "I really thought that Juwan had a lot of qualities that showed he could be a very successful coach. He was a leader in the locker room. He understood the game on a deeper level. He had a great work ethic. Those things translate very well to this profession."
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