Being undrafted was just a beginning
MIAMI — There’s going to be dozens of players left out in the cold at next week’s NBA draft, players who will not hear their names called by the time the night is over.
Udonis Haslem knows how they’ll feel.
He also may be the example they’ll need.
Undrafted in 2002, Haslem — a Miami native who has spent his entire NBA career with his hometown Heat — has been in the league longer than just about any other active player. He’s hoping to sign this summer to return for a 16th season, something that was not only unlikely but unthinkable after every team passed when given the chance to secure his services through the draft.
“My mind works differently,” Haslem said. “I know when one door closes, another door opens. That’s the way it’s always been for me.”
Out of the 57 draft picks that all went ahead of Haslem in 2002, only one — Nene — was on a roster last season. Haslem has outlasted almost everyone who was in the league when he arrived as a rookie in 2003 following a year in France; just 12 players who were in the NBA in 2002-03 remained on rosters this past season.
He’s one of many undrafted success stories in the NBA right now: Utah’s Joe Ingles and Philadelphia’s Robert Covington played huge roles for their respective teams reaching the second round of the playoffs, Miami’s Tyler Johnson is about to see his salary explode to nearly $40 million over the next two seasons, and Boston’s Aron Baynes became a pivotal part of the Celtics’ rotation this season while appearing in 100 games.
They’re all proof that if there’s enough skill, the NBA will eventually notice.
“UD would never get told no,” his longtime Heat teammate Dwyane Wade said. “I remember when I came in for my Heat workout before the draft and asked who the guy getting every rebound was and they told me, ‘That’s Udonis Haslem.’ And I didn’t even recognize him because of how much he’d changed his body. I knew right away that he was a guy I wanted on my team.”
Haslem was an underrated part of all three of Miami’s championship teams in 2006, 2012 and 2013. He barely sees the court anymore, appearing in only 30 games over the last two seasons. But he remains invaluable to the Heat for what he brings to the locker room and from a leadership perspective, which is why he’ll probably be on Miami’s roster next season — although Thursday, Haslem floated the idea of possibly looking to play in Europe or China if things in Miami don’t work out.