Udonis Haslem’s relationship with the Miami Heat is one of the rarest in the NBA.
At 42 years old, Haslem is the oldest active player in the NBA. If he ends up playing with the team again in the 2022-23 campaign, it would be his 20th season with the franchise.
Recently, Haslem made it clear that he has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not he actually will return for his 20th season.
“I don’t know,” Haslem said, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “We’re thinking about it. But either way, I’m always going to be a part of the Heat family. I ain’t going nowhere, whether I play or not. I’m always going to impact that organization.”
Haslem added that there are a lot of aspects to making a final decision on the upcoming season that he has to consider.
“For me,” he said, “it’s just a lot going on. I have a lot of things that I had to really, really think about. 20 years is a conversation I had with my father.”
Last season, Haslem played in just 13 regular season games for the Heat. He averaged 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Obviously, he isn’t a major contributor in the team’s lineup anymore.
However, he does serve a really crucial role when it comes to operating as a team leader in the locker room.
If Haslem does end up deciding to hang up his jersey this offseason, it will be interesting to see if he starts pursuing a career as a coach. However, it seems like he might be more interested in taking on an ownership role with the Heat.
Only time will tell if that actually does end up taking place sometime in the future.