Udonis Haslem (2003-2023)
Udonis Haslem falling on this list is going to be viewed as a polarizing opinion. Let’s not get things twisted; he’s one of the bigger influences in Miami Heat history. He’s going to go down as one of their all-time greats and is likely going to get his jersey retired by the team one day. He played an instrumental part in this franchise being what it is today. And you can’t take that away from him.
However, from a strictly basketball perspective, it’s easy to make the argument that he was a player the team held onto for way too long.
Haslem, assuming he is going to retire after this past season, played 20 seasons with the Heat. And the last time he played consistent minutes for the Heat was in the 2014-15 season. In fact, in three of the last four seasons, Haslem appeared in seven or fewer games. If it wasn’t Haslem, there’s no way that player is still on the roster after the 2014-15 season.
At least from a basketball perspective, Haslem, for all the good he did as a mentor in the locker room for the team, was a player that the Heat clearly held on to for too long.