On one side, LeBron James joining the Miami Heat in 2010 made them one of the most powerful teams in NBA history. But at the same time, a few were unhappy about his arrival and sadly, it was his teammates. One of them was the Heat legend Udonis Haslem, who spoke about in a recent interview. In fact, the 43-year-old revealed it was tempting for him to call it quits on the championship team. Why so? 

When it is a team full of superstars, salary is always a problem. From 2010 to 2014, the Heat added a lot of talented veterans, which eventually pushed the already existing players to take a pay cut. Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade were among them. Haslem shared in his interview, “When the big three came, you know, you took some of my money, motherf*****. You took some of my money. They have no money for me, so they paid your ass…I was about to get the f*** up out of here.“

The Big 3 mentioned above are Chris Bosh, Wade, and LeBron James. Bosh and James joined the Heat at the same time. The Heat agreed to pay Haslem a total of $35 million. But when the above two superstars joined, they decided to cut Haslem’s salary to $20 million. This was tempting enough for the 3-time champion to make a move. 

How did the Miami Heat manage to hold on to Udonis Haslem? 

To be precise, it was not the Heat who convinced Haslem to stay, but the Big 3. At a point in time, it was hard for the organization to even finalize the $20 million. Wade was the moderator, who convinced James and Bosh to take a cut. The Big 3 together sacrificed a total of $15 million in 2010, as they valued Haslem. 

Haslem shared in another interview, “I know what those guys’ values was, I know they worth at the time. And I’m thinking, ‘Okay, it’s time to move on…But the fact that Bron, CB, and D-Wade all collabed to take less money to make that 20 available for me, it said enough, because they didn’t have to do that,”

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James and Bosh had never played with Haslem before. They could have opted for a higher salary to find Haslem a new home, but they understood his value. Haslem decided to stay with the Heat only because he was valued, even after the big three joined. 

The rest is history! Heat went on to win two championships and Haslem retired with the most rebounds for the organization. What are your thoughts on the above story? Share your take in the comments below. 

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