Recent rumors have emerged that the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers could be in talks for a potential Hassan Whiteside-CJ McCollum swap before the February trade deadline.

There were reports earlier in the season saying that Whiteside could be the next franchise player for the Miami squad. After Dwyane Wade joined the Chicago Bulls during last summer's free-agency and with Chris Bosh still sidelined by his blood-clotting problems, Whiteside and Goran Dragic were christened as the new team leaders of the South Florida club.

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In response, Whiteside has led the Heat and the league in rebounds per game with 14.3 while also placing second in his team in points per game with 17.5.

However, Oregon Live reported that the entire Heat roster could be available for a trade right now, including Whiteside, if the team can get their preferred deal with last season's league-leader in shot blocks.

While Whiteside has been making himself worthy of the four-year, $98 million contract he signed with Miami last summer, there were also speculations that team president Pat Riley could soon opt to trade him to have more assets for the team's rebuilding.

Some analysts believe that Riley could be thinking that Whiteside is not the ideal player to lead his Miami squad because of his limitations in offense, which is why rumors emerged that the Heat president could decide to trade him anytime soon.  

The Blazers have long been linked to Whiteside in trade rumors and so Inquisitr suggested that the Heat could send their starting center to Portland in exchange for up-and-coming shooting guard McCollum.

McCollum, last season's Most Improved Player, is considered as one of the best two guards in the league right now. At age 25, he has yet to enter his prime and is already the second-leading scorer in Portland with 23.8 points per game behind team leader Damian Lillard's 26.3.

Whiteside can instantly help the Blazers fill-in their frontline weaknesses of interior defense and defensive rebounding while McCollum could be the answer to the Heat's offensive issues.

However, the two players have such key roles in their respective squads that it would be a surprise if anyone of them will be traded at this point of the season.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA Trade Rumors 2017, Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat, cj mccollum, Portland Trail Blazers