Udonis Haslem, who won three championships with the only team he has ever played for in the NBA, is nearing the end of his career with the Miami Heat. On a recent podcast, he recalls how three superstar teammates took a reduction in salary so he could stay on the team.
Earlier this week, Haslem appeared on The Pivot podcast with the three former NFL players who co-host the program, Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, and Ryan Clark. He told them that when LeBron James and Chris Bosh made a concerted effort to join forces with Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat, he knew he would have to look for employment elsewhere to make room for Miami’s “Big 3.”
As his 20-year run with the Heat is coming to a close, he met with the guys on The Pivot and discussed how he managed to remain on the basketball team.
Knowing that the combined salaries of James, Bosh, and Wade would make it impossible for him to earn what he could be making, Haslem was ready to exit from the team he had been a part of since 2003. In 2010, as a free agent, he witnessed the press conference introducing the new duo along with Wade and thought his time with the team was done.
He recalled thinking, “Oh s**t, I’m out of here because I know how the numbers worked; I know how the money worked. I know what those guys’ values was; I know they worth at the time. And I’m thinking, ‘OK, it’s time to move on.’”
He had already determined he would be on another team the following season until his agent called him up as he prepared to head to the stadium. He had an offer for a contract worth $35 million. He was told that, although the offer given initially would be less, he was offered the chance to stay on the team for $20 million. That was due to the Big 3 taking less than they could have made so that he could still stay on the team, albeit for less.
That is when he knew he had to do his part to bring the championship back home to Miami.