Haslem still noncommittal on retirement. And the role he wants Wade to take when time comes
Dwyane Wade’s weekend had Udonis Haslem thinking about his eventual retirement party.
“I’m going to have Dwyane help me plan my retirement after that, for sure,” Haslem said with a smile following the Heat’s Monday morning shootaround at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “I’ll definitely reach out to him for some advice on what to do with mine.”
While the expectation was that this would be Haslem’s final NBA season, he cautions against making such an assumption. Haslem, 39, is in his 17th NBA season.
Asked if he’s certain this will be his final season, Haslem indicated he’s not.
“I can’t say,” Haslem said earlier this month. “The guys want me around. Bam [Adebayo] tells me every day, ‘I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do when you retire.’ Jimmy [Butler] always has me around. We’ll see. My kids are getting older. We’ll see.”
Haslem said before the season that one big reason he returned is “I have a responsibility to these guys, and that’s why I’m back because I didn’t do my job the way I was supposed to last year. We have the potential to make the playoffs, and we didn’t.
“That didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t feel like I did the best job I could possibly do. So that’s why I’m back, to drive these guys to be the best they can be, get the most out of these guys, put these guys in a situation where I can walk away and say, ‘OK, they’re on the rise. They’re on the right direction.’ Just like the guys that came before me did to me.”
So, how does Haslem believe the team has done in that area?
“We’re having a pretty good year,” Haslem said. “Got to put the finishing touches on it. That’s not necessarily saying we have to win a championship. But I want to finish the year stronger and go from there. I definitely see the making of that.
“We enjoy each other’s success and each other’s company. You have a combination of everything you can have: older, young, mid-age guys in their prime. We touch all areas. These guys keep me young. They rejuvenate me and re-energize me. No way I’m running around and jumping like this at 39 if I’m not around these guys.”
Haslem, who is earning the veteran’s minimum of $2.6 million, has played 21 minutes total during three games this season. He played a season-high 10 minutes in Saturday’s home win over the Cavaliers.
Although Haslem admits that he would like to play more, he said he has found “a joy” in his role as a leader and mentor for his teammates.
Haslem has said in the past that he speaks with Heat CEO Nick Arison in the offseason about whether to play another season, and the decision is made collectively. Haslem’s value as a leader cannot be overstated, and the component the Heat measures is whether that offsets the value of having a younger player fill that roster spot.
For this season, the Arisons and Pat Riley determined that it does.
It would be surprising if Haslem returned for an 18th season, but the fact he’s not ready to say definitively that this is his final season is notable because it would prevent the Heat from honoring him late in the season unless he makes a firm decision before then.
The Heat put together a three-day celebration to honor Wade, who is considered the greatest player in franchise history. When the time comes to honor Haslem, Wade wants the party to last even longer for the Miami native who has spent his entire NBA career with the Heat.
“When he’s ready, I don’t know when that day is going to be, when he’s ready, we’re going to have not three days,” Wade said. “We’re going to have a whole week of UD in Miami. So, we’re going to celebrate.”
Haslem is OK with that, as long as it’s “thoughtful.”
“I want to make sure that the people that sacrificed for me to play 17 years in this league get a chance to enjoy it,” Haslem said. “For me, that’s my focus and my goal.”
▪ With Heat center Meyers Leonard (sprained left ankle) and rookie guard Tyler Herro (sore right ankle) both missing their eighth consecutive game Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra said there is still not a definitive timetable for their returns.
The encouraging news is Leonard and Herro are out of their walking boots.
“That means the process is starting,” Spoelstra said of both players getting their walking boots taken off. “However long that takes depends on the body, treatment and how you respond to it.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
