It's not good form in this business to challenge reporting, especially when it comes from an established reporter.

Often, it's not wise either, since we all have our own sources -- and sometimes, when a report isn't entirely accurate, some elements of it are. Some of us in the media are more conservative about what we reveal and publish than others -- sometimes, I've kicked myself for not writing and saying everything I know about a situation, only to later see it written or said elsewhere. So I respect those with the guts to put their name to a story, even though it may be met with denials.

Nor is it wise to always take the word of a team, particularly a team like the Heat -- which doesn't leak much info to the media -- when it shoots down a report. The Heat typically doesn't want its internal discussions, or even discussions with other teams, playing out in public. Pat Riley has mentioned this as one of the frustrations of the job in the modern age, that everything is on social media. Sometimes, some of the everything is even true, and that can be an obstacle to deal-making.

With all of that said, it's been a long time since the Heat has been as adamant in denying a report as it has been about this one: the report that it is trying to move Hassan Whiteside to get DeMarcus Cousins or Dwight Howard. But it's not like the team is angry. More like amused. Flabbergasted. That's because a lot of the logistics simply don't make any sense.

Start here:

Whiteside's contract is virtually worthless to another team.

That doesn't mean Whiteside is worthless. His skill set is worth plenty, even in a smallball era. But he's making just $981,348 this season, and he will be a free agent as soon as the season ends. Miami cannot sign him to an extension now and, unless he's willing to take a mid-level deal (he won't be), the Heat will need to use cap space to re-sign him because it doesn't have Bird Rights on him. This is a dilemma, and it will be very tricky to keep Whiteside and Dwyane Wade and add talent this summer.

But here's the thing about the Heat not having Bird Rights:

Neither would any team that acquires him.

That means there is virtually no advantage to acquiring him now. He's simply headed back into the free agent pool at the end of the season, when every team will have a chance to pitch him. The only potential edge you get in getting him early is that you can get him acclimated to your system, and try to show him it's the perfect place for him to spend his future. In other words, exactly the same situation the Heat is in now with him. But that doesn't seem like very solid ground, not solid enough to deal a real asset for him.

Again, this isn't in any way similar to the Heat's acquisition of Goran Dragic last February. The team acquiring Dragic was granted his Bird Rights, which gave the Heat the chance to give Dragic more years (which it did, five instead of four) and more money than other teams. (Dragic took less money than he could have, largely because he was getting the extra year).

Here's the other element of all this, the part that makes little sense for Miami:

To make a trade for Howard ($22.3 million), Miami needs to trade nearly that much salary to Houston. That means gutting the roster, without the right to bring reinforcements back. And it's not as there's a lot of current free agents who would make for a passable bench, not unless a bunch of guys come back from China. Then, since Howard has the right to opt out of his contract after this season, Miami would need to give a lucrative long-term deal to a nearly 31-year-old center with a bad back, a declining defender who never seems to be happy anywhere.

Cousins makes $15.8 million this season, so Miami wouldn't need to trade as much to Sacramento along with Whiteside to make a deal work, but still plenty -- probably starting with Justise Winslow, a player the Kings already passed on in the draft, and whom the Heat chose over taking SIX draft picks from Boston. (Never mind that Sacramento has already let Whiteside walk once.) Cousins' contract is more attractive than Howard's, with two more seasons after this one, for a total of $35 million. That's an excellent investment in the modern NBA economy, even for someone who has been a malcontent at times.

So, yes, Cousins is exactly the sort of player Riley has coveted -- and often landed -- over the course of Riley's Heat tenure. Alonzo Mourning. Tim Hardaway. Shaquille O'Neal. Jamal Mashburn. Dragic. Someone who wasn't happy elsewhere, making him available, allowing Riley to pounce.

And if there's a way to make the numbers make more sense, perhaps he would.

But it's simply hard to see it happening.