Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Haslem to teammates: Send me out ‘right way’
MIAMI — Udonis Haslem’s decision about retirement apparently doesn’t rest with Udonis Haslem.
At least that’s the perspective of the veteran power forward, as he prepares to embark on his 17th season with the Miami Heat.
A day after announcing his return to the lone NBA team he has called his own, Haslem said going out a winner remains the ultimate priority. And that, he said, puts the onus on his teammates.
“I can’t tell you that now,” he said Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena of a definitive career endgame. “But I like where we’re heading. I like where we’re headed. You have to ask my teammates if this is my last season. It’s up to those guys.
“If they send me out the right way, you don’t have to worry about me no more. But if they don’t take care of business, then I might be back again answering the same question again next year, ‘Is this your last dance?’ So it’s up to the guys. For me, I just want to get the most out of my guys and I want these guys to have an amazing, amazing season. I feel like we can do that.”
Haslem, 39, had weighed a return since the Heat finished 39-43 and out of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
That ultimately was the farewell setting for Heat icon Dwyane Wade, who stated at the start of last season that 2018-19 would be his “One Last Dance.” All the while, Haslem remained somewhat in the shadows.
This season, he plans to soak it all in, along with his family, no matter where the journey leads.
“I do understand at some point there’s a lot of people that sacrificed to see me be in this situation — my parents, a lot of family support,
a lot of support around the city,” the Miami native and lifelong South Florida resident said. “So when that time does come, those people deserve the opportunity to know that that’s that time and to have some more access and engage more when my last game or my last situation is.
“Not giving people that opportunity last year, I feel like I shorted a lot of people who supported me throughout the situation.”
Whether Haslem actually plays is another story, limited to 74 minutes in 10 appearances last season by coach Erik Spoelstra, with 30 of those minutes coming in the season finale in what was viewed as his possible final career appearance.
“I understand what my role is,” he said, “But I understand when I step between these lines on this practice floor, that is my game. That’s my approach to it and that lights a fire for these guys, that encourages these guys, that drives these guys, that pushes these guys.
“Do I expect to play a lot of minutes? No. Most likely not. I think everybody understands that situation. But do I stay ready? Yes, I will stay ready. If Spo calls my number, will I be ready? Yes, I will be ready. Can I still play? Yes, I can still play.”
While Haslem exchanged jerseys with a few opponents last season, it was nothing like Wade’s nightly postgame swaps. He said there is no plan for anything similar to Wade’s closing act.
“I’m not even thinking about that,” he said. “Like I said, I can’t have a farewell tour. Me ending this game of basketball is solely dependent on my investment in these guys. I got three rings, I have the [Heat] rebounding record, I have the personal accolades — that is probably all I’m going to have at this point — well, every time I grab a rebound, it’s another record.
“But I’ve gotten all the things I’m probably going to have, personally. So, for me, I just want to continue to give to these guys. I feel like I can continue to drive these guys.”
Going out as captain, as a true captain, is the aspiration.
“I have a responsibility as a captain, as a leader, to get the most out of these guys, to get the most out of my guys,” he said. “To finish the season, it doesn’t always have to be a championship, but to finish the season as we fulfilled our goals of giving it everything we had. The last couple years, I just feel like we had more to give and we can do a little better.”