Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Haslem prefers quiet close
Vet doesn’t need — or want — grand exit tour in what may be last season
MIAMI — It was a quiet moment before another Dwyane Wade moment, which is the way Udonis Haslem said he prefers it.
Moments later, his friend would win over another crowd in his final appearance in Atlanta. But as Haslem winds down a 16th and likely final NBA season of his own, it is being done in the shadows.
It is what makes the best friends and Miami Heat lifers a study in contrasts.
To Haslem, as the clock ticks toward the finish line, it is done with minimal embrace.
“I mean, stuff like that doesn’t really matter to me,” the chiseled power forward said of the jersey swaps and embraces Wade has been sharing during his “One Last Dance” retirement tour.
And that is when Haslem opens the window into why he is so different than so many who have wound down championship careers.
“It doesn’t really matter to me who notices,” he said in a private moment to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I don’t really have too many friends in this league, anyway.”
It is a comment that creates pause, but one not offered particularly forlornly.
Rather, it is a measure of a man who has embraced competition as, well, competition, which in many ways makes him far more like his boss, Heat President Pat Riley, than his close friend who ordered extra No. 3 jerseys to commemorate his retirement season.
“Except for these guys in the locker room, guys who I have really gotten deep down into it with, who I’ve played with, I don’t need to be sharing hugs and stuff like that,” Haslem, 38, said. “But the people who matter to me most, they know where my mind is at.”
His mind is in the moment, even if the moments on the court have been scant in recent seasons.
And then it is about retiring to the locker room, to soak in his remaining time as a team leader.
“If it’s a former teammate or somebody who I’ve had interaction with on a personal level or real interaction, then yes, I’ll speak with them after the game,” he said, which has been the case with selected opponents this season. “But to just go out and shake hands after the game? I’m cool.”
After last week’s game against the Washington Wizards, forward Jeff Green took time to commemorate the careers of both Wade and Haslem in an Instagram post that featured signed jerseys of each and the words, “Respect 2 the 305 legends @dwyanewade @ud40 #ThankYou.”
Such moments have been the exception, nothing like Wade being photographed at midcourt after final buzzers alongside Bradley Beal, Trae Young, Vince Carter, Donovan Mitchell, LeBron James, Delon Wright and others.
“Like I said, it doesn’t really matter to me who notices,” Haslem reiterated quietly. “I don’t really have too many friends in this league, anyway.”
That is when teammate Derrick Jones Jr. walked by and quipped, “You have me, UD.”
It also is when Haslem smiled his veteran smile, soaking in these fleeting moments in his own, private way.
“Physically, I can still play,” he said. “Mentally, my mind still thinks the game. But my kids are getting older. My businesses are growing. Time is running out to be a part of their journey.”
90 and 100
Haslem said before Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets at AmericanAirlines Arena that he is 90 percent certain that he will retire after this season, adding the 10 percent is in case Wade decides to play another season.
“But then he got to give out jerseys again next year,” Haslem said with a laugh.
Said Wade, “I’m 100 percent; he’s 90. And rightfully so. He has his own decision to make.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he is certain about the Wade side of the equation.
“Dwyane? There’s zero chance,” Spoelstra said of a return. “I already broached that with him when I had lunch with him before the season. He told me, ‘Coach, don’t even try. It’s just this season.’ “
As for Haslem, Spoelstra said, “My point to him now is you do not have to make a decision now. That’s the beauty of it.”