Would lost season because of COVID-19 affect Haslem’s retirement decision? And Bosh speaks
While Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem has remained noncommittal on retirement, the expectation was that this would be Haslem’s final NBA season.
But with the remainder of the season in limbo amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Haslem admitted during a Monday appearance on NBA TV these unique circumstances could factor into his offseason decision on whether to retire or continue his playing career. The NBA season was suspended on March 11.
Haslem, 39, is in his 17th NBA season and is earning the veteran’s minimum of $2.6 million. The Miami native will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
“It has been a great run, man,” Haslem said when asked whether he’ll retire at the end of the season during his NBA TV appearance. “It has been something that I’ve been thinking about. From everybody that I’ve talked to and from everything that I’ve done and sacrificed, one thing that I’ve always wanted is to be able to leave this game on my own terms. Another thing that I’ve always wanted is to be able to have the opportunity to create a pathway for the next generation as far as passing on the Heat culture. The third thing that I wanted to do was to be able to leave this game with an opportunity to make a good playoff run. All three of those things have been taken out of my control right now. So we’ll just have to see.
“Those are three things that if I could choose, I would like to have those three things and they’ve been taken away. So it’s something to think about now.”
Haslem has played less of an on-court role and more of a leadership one in recent seasons. The longtime team captain has played in just three games for a total of 21 minutes of court time this season, recording five points and eight rebounds.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Haslem has played in 43 games for a total of 298 minutes. To put those numbers into perspective, he logged 2,678 minutes in his second NBA season in 2004-05.
“For me, it’s about mastering your role,” Haslem said of spending most of his time watching games from the bench. “You can’t pick your role in this league. As much as you might want to fight the coach, as much as you might want to say I want to get more shots and I want to get more minutes, there’s no control that you have over that. So for me, I’ve just tried to master every role I’ve been in. It hasn’t been easy. It has been a challenge, but I just wanted to be a star in every role that I was in and make sure there’s value in my role.”
Even during the league shutdown, Haslem is taking that leadership role seriously by helping his young Heat teammates find ways to stay in shape with NBA facilities currently closed to players and staff.
“I’m keeping in touch with all my guys,” said Haslem, who has spent each of his 17 NBA seasons with the Heat and currently holds the longest streak by any active player with only one team in the league. “My young guys, [Tyler] Herro, Bam [Adebayo], all those guys. A couple of those guys have actually reached out for workouts and things and I’ve given those guys tips. Chris Silva passed by the house the other day. We kept social distancing, but we worked out outside in the backyard. It’s just a lot of different things. So I’m staying in these guys’ ears and staying on top of these guys.”
On Monday, though, Haslem’s workout was especially challenging to complete. After the avid Miami Dolphins fan learned that legendary head coach Don Shula passed away Monday morning, Haslem said it “set the tone for my day.”
“My workouts are Monday, Tuesday, off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,” said Haslem, who sported a teal Dolphins hat for the NBA TV interview. “When I woke up this morning and I saw that Don Shula had passed, I couldn’t even work out. That set the tone for my day and what he has meant to me individually and to the city of Miami.
“For Don Shula to be able to do what he was able to do with the Dolphins and the undefeated season and just everything, it gave us something to be proud of before the Marlins won the championship, before the Heat won the championship, before any of that. [The Dolphins] gave the city of Miami something to be proud of.”
NO COMEBACK FOR BOSH
Former Heat All-Star forward Chris Bosh has already ruled out an NBA return, and he’s also not considering a stint in the Big3 basketball league that’s filled with retired NBA players.
“Basketball, I did it, man,” Bosh said during a Monday Instagram Live discussion with Heat television host Jason Jackson. “No stone was unturned and I really feel solid about that. I’ve had a lot of time to go through the ups and downs and the waves and everything. I really, really like where I’m at. Life is great. It’s challenging at the same time. Totally different place with the children and family and everything. But basketball, man, I did it, man.”
The 36-year-old Bosh, whose NBA career came to a sudden end in 2016 because of blood clot issues, said the last time he went through a basketball workout was about a year ago.
“I worked out with Juwan Howard. It was last year, like this time last year, right before he got the [Michigan] job,” Bosh recalled during the Instagram Live chat. “I was going back up to the gym to go work out with him. We were getting a workout. Man, why did my knee swell up on me? I was trying not to get hurt. I said, OK just take it easy. ... I said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to dunk. I’m just going to get a nice little workout. I’m going to go super slow.’ I still tweaked my knee. My knee swelled up on me the next day. That was the last time I really honestly picked up a ball. I get my workouts in, but I have fully expressed myself in the art.”
