Miami Heat: Pat Riley Gushes Over Udonis Haslem… Seals Deal On Return

The Miami Heat are one of the few franchises in the league that still has a semblance of an old-school feeling when it comes to certain things. Whatever those areas are and whatever those feelings are, can certainly be traced back to the fact that Pat Riley is still one of the most influential people in the organization and quite likely, the final call other than the owner.

Apart of that all is the eye-test, gut instincts, and what feels right, and even in a world of numbers, metrics, and statistics.

Not to be twisted as data matters, however and sometimes, what the eyes and gut tells you is just as important.

It’s about what feels right and that’s always the case with Udonis Haslem and the Miami Heat. For what seems like a concurrent and perpetual debate amongst those who care and with broad enough platforms to have a merited opinion, offseason after offseason, the purpose, usefulness, or necessity to bring UD back is always in question.

Miami Heat: Pat Riley Validates, As He Gushes Over Udonis Haslem’s Return

How so though? More importantly but almost as irrelevant if you get it, why?

Again, it may all be irrelevant, especially if the next little tidbit is of any indication. On the instance of Haslem returning to the team for a 19th year, Pat Riley recently had this to say, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"Mister Miami is back! Yes! Udonis Haslem has agreed to come back and play the game he loves so much."

"What he loves more than that is to be on the court teaching and competing against the World’s best. UD is a legacy player…ONE PLAYER, ONE CITY, ONE TEAM. Thank you UD, for coming back to lead again in your city, your organization and your team."

Gushing over the man that has been with the team that represents the city that he loves, represents to the fullest, and grew up in for the entirety of his 19 year NBA career, Pat Riley’s opinion should be the end all be all when it comes to the debate about Udonis Haslem and his place with the Miami Heat.

Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem’s Return Is Bigger Than What Happens On The Court

It all boils down to a few things here. It isn’t about what he can do on the court at this point, as his three minutes and four points scored across one appearance last season indicates.

It’s much bigger than that for Udonis Haslem, the Miami Heat, and the man in charge of who is there or not, Pat Riley. It’s about sending a message, both with the move and through the move.

With the move, he continues to perpetuate the notion of the Culture. Talk about it all you want, but that’s only because you know it’s real, legit, and authentic.

Like every great thing of fortitude or strength, it has it’s chinks but at the end of the day, it’s as strong a foundation as any NBA franchise, team, and organization is built on. That’s also how he continues to send a message through the move.

Everything that the move stands for, the mumbo jumbo uttered in the aforementioned paragraph, Udonis Haslem embodies that as a man, a player, and as a teammate in that locker room. Just like every “great thing of fortitude and strength”, UD surely has his chinks or flaws because he’s human, but everything he has ever done, stood for, and represented is as strong of notions as can be asked for.

He understands what it means to work hard, to do that same thing every single day to get better, and then to do that to the best of your ability, for as long as you can, for as hard as you can, no matter what your role is in the situation, and only to achieve the ultimate combined end goal. There’s also the simplest, yet still complex, part of it all.

He’s a guy in the trenches with the other players. So there are things that he can say, that the guys in that locker room will only hear from another player, like him.

The particular instance above didn’t cause them not to finish losing that game or series, but it won’t always be that way and you need guys willing to do things like that. Pat Riley knows that though, which is all that matters.