The Miami Heat took part in the heated NBA strike discussions over the last few days. It is reported that the OG, Udonis Haslem, had a ton to say.
The Miami Heat and the NBA came to a stop. A standstill. A complete and utter shutdown of the NBA restart and playoffs as we had come to know them in this bubble.
As a result of the senseless and horrendous shooting of Jacob Blake, a Kenosha, Wisconsin man who is now paralyzed after an officer fired seven shots into his back from near barrel to back range, the NBA players took a stand. For them, apparently enough was enough.
Having not played a game since Tuesday, the players eventually voted to resume the season. That whole process wasn’t without drama though.
Reportedly, things got heated between some players. Some players wondered about the lack of communication. Others wondered about how some of the players that were out front had put some of their fellow players out there or hung them out to dry with their statements.
While all of this is said to have occurred, one of the major voices of reason or aggression reportedly in this case perhaps, was the Miami Heat’s, Udonis Haslem. Not only did he reportedly grill George Hill of the Milwaukee Bucks, but he checked former Teammate LeBron James about the process.
The Miami Heat continue to roster Udonis Haslem, even at the age of 40. This has a lot to do with the reason why.
That’s just it! How many other players have the cache, the bravado, and/or the clout to do that? The answer is not many.
That’s why he is still on the Miami Heat’s roster today. You need a guy that is fearless when it comes to saying the things that need to be said.
You need a guy who understands the bigger picture, whether that be a team’s ultimate goals or the ultimate goals of a movement or demonstration such as the one put on by the NBA over the last few days.
I would dare to say, if the Miami Heat had of had this Haslem or a guy like this Haslem in the 2011 NBA Finals, they wouldn’t have lost.
This guy or a guy like him, wouldn’t have ever allowed them to go down that way. He would have never allowed the second greatest basketball player ever in LeBron (arguably the greatest), a top-three two-guard ever in Dwyane Wade, and one of the 50 greatest players ever in Chris Bosh, to lose that series.
I won’t believe that. That is what has been on display from Haslem over the last few days, according to reports.
While this whole thing is way bigger than basketball and the game itself, that was the example needed to make the case as strongly as possible. That is also one of the key reasons, if not the very reason in itself, that Udonis Haslem is still a member of this Miami Heat roster.