Call him the Mayor of Miami because Udonis Haslem is staying right where he is. Born and raised in Miami, played his entire career there, won the city three NBA championships, and is still connected to the Miami Heat. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took a combined $20 million pay cut so Haslem wouldn’t have to trade out. UD himself made a big sacrifice to win Miami back-to-back championships. But that’s not the only thing that’s keeping him here. With Greg Oden on The OGs, they discuss how The OG’s compulsion to care for his teammates speaks of his connection to Miami.

Mike Miller declared Udonis Haslem the “Real Mayor of Miami,” on this show with the stories to go with it. They recalled the time their teammate, Roger Mason, fell victim to a robbery. In the locker room later, UD got details of the incident and the next thing the team knows, Haslem has retrieved Mason’s stolen valuables. The aura UD has in Miami still amazes his teammates.

But the Mayor himself says, “Honestly when people come to this, dawg, I feel like when you come to this city and you play for the Miami Heat, I have an obligation. One, you my brother, when you step in that locker room. And two, I have an obligation to make sure that you straight and you safe out here in these street.”

So Haslem was not happy that happened to Mason under his watch. He takes such incidents very personally, including when it happened to Dwyane Wade.

“I did the same thing for D-Wade too. My rookie, somebody stole his truck and stole his chain out of his truck and I told him, ‘listen, I found out where your truck at, you want back?’ He said yeah… got his chain, that’s that simple.”

As the story goes, Haslem went undrafted in 2002, played a year overseas, and returned to Miami in 2003. That same year, Chicago native Wade came to the city via Marquette. They were both technically rookies at the same time. But as a seasoned Miami resident, UD took on the responsibility of guiding his teammate.

“

That’s why I ain’t leaving. When people talk about why you ain’t go playing in other cities man, I can’t go to no other city and get people stuff back. I can only do that in Miami,” Haslem says. Only this guy can command such a pull in Miami.

Udonis Haslem will stay even on a pay cut

Udonis Haslem once came very close to leaving in free agency. In 2010, he was valued at $33 million and there were teams willing to pay that for him. But Haslem knew that Miami had a strong chance to win a second and more championships if D-Wade also stayed and brought LeBron James and Chris Bosh with him.

So Haslem took a pay cut to clear cap space with enough to sign Bron and Bosh. However, the Big3 knew they needed the Miami stalwart’s presence in the locker room. So they took a combined pay cut as well enabling Heat to offer a $20 million contract extension to UD. For their sacrifice,

Haslem promised James that he’d get his “money’s worth.” 

The organization has paid him back for his sacrifice since then. And they don’t want to let him go either. Since he retired in 2023, they appointed him the Vice President of Basketball Development. That’s a lot of incentive to stay in his beloved city.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.