Haslem has a message for those questioning legitimacy of Heat’s Finals run: ‘We don’t care’
Udonis Haslem has no time for those questioning the legitimacy of the Miami Heat’s run to the NBA Finals last season.
“We don’t listen to people who throw rocks and hide their hands,” the veteran Heat forward said during a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday. “You know what that means? Throw rocks and hide your hands. That means you said something and you act like you ain’t say it.”
As part of a free agency wrap-up piece published in late November, ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote: “There are skeptics around the league who consider Miami’s run to the Finals something of a fluke — the product of the bubble’s strangeness. There is no question Miami’s militaristic culture steeled the Heat for the isolation and all-basketball, all-the-time environment of the bubble. That environment took a toll on other teams.”
Heat All-Star wing Jimmy Butler said Monday that he “couldn’t care less about what the outside thinks” when asked about that “fluke” comment, but Haslem would like to know where it’s coming from.
“Who said it? Tell us who said it?” Haslem said. “If you don’t tell us who said it, then we don’t care. ‘Some people.’ Was it some of the people that we probably beat? Get their ass out of here. That’s why we beat them.”
It’s that passion and edge that had Heat coach Erik Spoelstra “thrilled” this offseason when he learned Haslem would be back for an 18th NBA season.
Haslem, who turned 40 in June, signed a one-year, $2.6 million veteran minimum contract to return to the Heat and delay retirement once again. He has served as a Heat captain in each of the past 13 seasons, the longest tenure in team history.
“I can’t imagine going into an NBA season without UD in our locker room,” said Spoelstra, who has never coached a team that does not include Haslem. “He does so many things that impact winning, that people on the outside just wouldn’t understand. Sometimes I struggle, wondering whether I should educate people on that or not or just not give a damn. But I know it. It’s tangible. He is Heat culture. He still can play. He keeps himself in phenomenal shape. I mean just look at him, like he could pass our conditioning test today.
“And he does it with his actions, he does it with his voice, he does it with his quiet mentorship behind the scenes. All these things I just think really move the needle and I’m thrilled that he’s back and that’s an open ended spot for him. He can just keep on going. I don’t want people talking to him in his ears, saying this has to be his last year, either.”
Haslem, who is undecided whether this will be his final season, still feels like he has unfinished business to take care of.
Part of that unfinished business is helping to prove the Heat’s playoff success last season wasn’t a fluke. He wants to play a role in delivering another NBA championship to Miami after the Heat finished just two wins short of its fourth title in franchise history last season.
But another part of his mission this season is to continue to help the Heat’s young core grow on and off the court, especially 23-year-old All-Star center Bam Adebayo.
“That’s what I’ve been molding Bam for, to be that leader,” Haslem said. “Not just to take his game to the next level, but to take his teammates to the next level. He spent the whole summer with me. He spent the whole summer with me working out, he spent the whole summer with me training, talking basketball, thinking basketball. Well, we didn’t even have a summer. It’s not even called summer anymore. But whatever that was, he spent it with me talking basketball, thinking basketball, training. The next step for Bam is to be that leader to everybody and to understand everybody and to know that everybody is motivated differently, and to get to learn everybody.”
With the Heat completing its third team practice of the preseason Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, Adebayo and Haslem have already begun working together to help guide rookie big man Precious Achiuwa through his first NBA training camp.
“I see so much of Bam in Precious when Bam first came in here,” Haslem said. “Super athletic, works hard, plays hard. Precious got a little more skill than Bam had when he first came in, shoots a little better. But I see a lot of similarities right there in Precious. So as long as he has that drive and that determination, he’s following the right direction working behind Bam.”
While Haslem is the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder and also ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders in games played (second), minutes (second) and field goals made (fifth), his presence is felt most these days on the practice court, on the bench and in the locker room.
Haslem has logged just 191 minutes in 28 games since the start of the 2017-18 season. He played a total of 44 minutes through four regular-season games and did not play in the playoffs this past season.
“I tell [Adebayo] all the time, I hate when people waste my time,” Haslem said. “Bam has not wasted my time at all. He has taken everything that I’ve said to heart. He has applied it. He has listened. I love the relationship that he has with his mom. As someone who lost their mother, you understand the value of having your mom and how much love and respect and admiration he has for what they’ve been through. Buying her a house was amazing. I’m just proud of the man he’s becoming on and off the basketball court. He’s probably like the older little brother, son, nephew that I never had.”
That Adebayo-Haslem relationship is one that helped to bring Haslem back this season.
“The one thing I love about UD is he’s 100 percent honest,” Adebayo said. “No matter how bad or how good it comes out or how he says it, it comes from the heart. That’s one thing I respect about him. I feel like that man is a big brother that I never had. Through this thing, he has taught me life lessons, he has taught me basketball lessons, he has taught me business decisions. He just wants dudes looking up to him to be something great. ... He’s trying to push me in that seat of where he was or where he is, technically. I’d rather him be around than me stepping into that role. I’m going to keep pushing for him to keep coming back. I’m just letting y’all know ahead of time.”
