Miami Heat trade rumors 2016: Whiteside linked to major move

Despite being considered one of the team's remaining franchise players, Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat is still being linked to a move away from Florida.

Reports have linked the Heat center to be potentially moving to the Western Conference as the Los Angeles Lakers are open to giving up as much as three players for Whiteside.

Hoping to lure the Heat into getting more players, the rumors link center Timofey Mozgiv, forward Julius Randle and guard Nick Young as the names the Lakers are willing to let go of to obtain Whiteside.

The Lakers are looking to strengthen the team and with a young core of D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarskon and Brandon Ingram, they are hoping to add Whiteside to help them get over the hump from a disastrous 2015-16 campaign.

Adding Whiteside to the team will greatly help their chances of improving, and may even be a surprise team for the coming campaign.

On the other hand, the Heat already lost key players and are now relying on Whiteside to carry them in the Eastern Conference.

Unfortunately, the Heat does not have too many assets in their line-up so there could be a chance that they go for this deal.

There are so many pieces coming in for Whiteside that the Heat can be a more dynamic threat on different levels if they get the three Lakers players.

Mozgov may be a slower and older center but he is reliable and can help improve the players around him. Randle is still a work-in-progress and the Heat can try to make the most out of him, while Young is a streaky shooter that can provide a boost from the bench.

However, looking at Whiteside's numbers, it appears he is also on the rise.

The 27-year-old gave career-high numbers last year as he scored 14.2 points, grabbed 11.8 rebounds and led the league with 3.7 blocks per game.

Maybe if the Lakers added more assets, the Heat would think about this move more.