JANUARY 8, 10:42am: Haslem addressed the subject of his retirement again today, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who tweets that the veteran said he’s 90% sure he’ll call it a career at season’s end.
JANUARY 7, 9:45pm: One longtime Heat player will call it a career at the end of this season, with Dwyane Wade having already announced that he plans to retire in 2019. A second Miami veteran appears likely to join him in retirement, as Udonis Haslem told David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders that the 2018/19 season will probably be his last.
“I’m gonna call it done too. There’s nothing else left for me to do on the basketball court,” Haslem said. “My kids are getting older, my son is playing college football at the University of Toledo, my 11-year-old is playing travel baseball and I never see him as he’s always out of town. My eight-year-old is playing travel basketball. There’s so many other things for me to be engaged in right now.”
While Haslem’s comments sound pretty definitive, and echo ones he made in the fall, Haslem suggested to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter links) that he’s not making anything official just yet.
“I mean, the people that are close to me and that I’ve spoken to about it, they pretty much know what the situation is,” Haslem said. “But, at the same time… I just want to wait until the end of the season and weigh my options. Physically, I can still play. Mentally, my mind still thinks the game.”
As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press notes (via Twitter), Haslem believes he’s still capable of playing and “desperately” wants to do so — it kills him not to see more action, says Reynolds. While Haslem has suggested he’ll likely retire at season’s end, the Heat would probably be willing to bring him back for another season, according to Reynolds.
Haslem, who will turn 39 in June, has been a member of the Heat since 2003, but has seen his playing time cut back significantly in recent years. After appearing in 14 games last season, he has played in three so far in 2018/19.
They should make him an All Star like D Wade
That’s what the Big 3 league is for
DWade isn’t about to make the Allstar team
Fan votes say otherwise lol
Expensive assistant coach
Remember that pay cut he took to bring LeBron and Wade and Bosh together?
This seems like Miami paying him back.
He took several big paycuts
should have been retired
I still dont get why he isnt used more in certain matchups. He isnt wrong in saying he can still play. He hasnt missed a day of training in at least 4 years; UD is in crazy shape. When he plays, he looks like he did 10 years ago, and he is arguably in better shape now too
Lol Haslem still pulling a check from the Heat? Shit they’ll probably make him an assistant coach too