Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem will continue his 20-year-long stint with the franchise after retirement, joining as the Vice President of Basketball Development.
“Udonis Haslem is the new VP of Heat Basketball Development. His responsibilities will include being a source to the coaching staff, mentoring both Heat and Skyforce players as well as representing the organization in the community.”
Udonis Haslem is now Vice President Udonis Haslem.
He is the new VP of Heat Basketball Development. His responsibilities will include being a source to the coaching staff, mentoring both Heat and Skyforce players as well as representing the organization in the community.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) November 7, 2023
Haslem joined the Miami Heat in 2003 and is one of two players to have been on the championship roster for all three of their title wins. The other player is Dwyane Wade. Even though Haslem had barely been in the rotation for the last five seasons, the Heat found immense value in having him as a veteran voice and the standard-bearer of Heat Culture.
After his retirement last season, Haslem became only the third player in NBA history to spend 20 years with the same franchise, tying Kobe Bryant‘s tenure with the Lakers and being one year short of Dirk Nowitzki’s 21 seasons with the Mavericks. Dirk also joined the Mavericks’ organization after retirement, so it seems Haslem is settling into his post-basketball life with more basketball, but at least he doesn’t have to pass Pat Riley’s mandated fitness tests before the start of every season.
Udonis Haslem Got Rewarded For A $13 Million Sacrifice
During the 2010 offseason, the Miami Heat changed the fabric of the NBA by signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh while also re-signing Dwyane Wade to form one of the greatest big threes we had ever seen. One crucial aspect of that team that is ignored is Haslem, who was in the rotation and a player that Miami needed to keep their superstars in check.
Haslem turned down $13 million extra from the Milwaukee Bucks to remain with the Heat, with the three Heat superstars taking minor pay cuts to make more money available for Haslem. Gilbert Arenas once claimed that the $13 million Haslem left on the table to stay with the Heat ultimately enabled that team to win the two titles that they did.
“The two championships LeBron got there, you got to credit him for it because he’s the one that took the pay cut to make it happen. UD was offered $33 million to go to Milwaukee, turned that down, and signed whatever was left. He protected his stars. You foul Dwyane Wade, you hit LeBron, you hit anybody on this team, I’m coming.”
Many fans and even the media started wondering why Haslem kept taking up one roster spot every season, but the Heat organization values his presence highly due to his incredibly high character and work ethic. Those minimum contracts ultimately paid Haslem back for what he sacrificed to make the Heat’s championship era possible.
Over seven contracts since 2016, Haslem made $19.1 million, which paid him back for what he gave up. His long tenure also means he will soon have his jersey retired in the rafters of the Keyosha Center in Miami. In the meantime, he’ll continue enriching Heat basketball by actively working on developing talent for a franchise that is known to find rotational players out of nowhere every season.
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