Miami Heat trade rumors: Heat looking to trade Whiteside for another big man

If rumors are to be believed, the Miami Heat may be offloading one of their up-and-coming stars in hopes of landing a big name in the league.

The Heat is certainly a transition team at the moment, with some of their veteran stars moving on before the start of the new season. Still, Miami has a few pieces intact.

Among those pieces is center Hassan Whiteside, who is looking to be the face of the franchise. In fact, the Heat have cashed in on the center, giving him a four-year $98-million deal this July.

While this appears to be good news for Miami fans, it certainly feels like he might not be in a Heat uniform to start the season as talks are linking him to a move away.

The report claims that Whiteside could be sent to the Sacramento Kings as part of a multi-player deal.

Another source also added fire to the rumor, with names such as Goran Dragic appearing to be moved alongside Whiteside.

The Kings are apparently letting go of their star as well, with DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay as the pieces set to move to South Beach if the deal falls through.

Miami is looking at Cousins as he is the more established of the two center. He averages 20.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Cousins is also coming off an incredible season, where he cemented his status as one of the best players in the league as he averaged 26.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

It could be possible that the Heat is  willing to roll the dice with Cousins rather than Whiteside as Cousins may have the higher ceiling between the two. Whiteside is older by a year. Meanwhile, Cousins is certainly displaying better performances between the two.

On the other hand, Dragic scores less than Gay in a game, but Gay can certainly contribute so much more when needed.

This rumored trade is very intriguing for both parties involved.