The Miami Heat got a serious boost on Friday morning, when it was announced that Caron Butler will be hired as the team's assistant and Udonis Haslem is coming back for another season of action.
And in a separate bit of Miami news, the Marlins announced that they will make Kim Ng the first female (and Asian-American) general manager in Major League Baseball history.
According to a report from Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, the Heat are bringing Udonis Haslem back on a one-year, $2.5 million contract. Caron Butler, who was drafted No. 10 overall by Miami in 2002 and spent 14 years in the NBA, will serve as an assistant under head coach Erik Spoelstra. Butler had been working as a TV analyst for Turner Sports and the Washington Wizards. He and Haslem recently paired up for a mini-documentary about the latter's career.
Spoelstra had high praise for Haslem in an appearance with the media last month, noting that The Captain is “an incredible rock of stability.” Coach Spo went on to say that he actually loves him:
“He’s just an incredible rock of stability and leadership and mentorship,” Spoelstra said of Haslem, via Tim Reynolds of the AP. “That’s at all levels. It’s not just to our young players. It’s to our veteran players. And he provides just great guidance and mentorship to this head coach as well. I love him.”
As a No 5 seed, the Heat defied the odds in this year's playoffs. After sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the first round, Miami defeated Giannis Antetkounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Heat went on to dispatch the Boston Celtics in the conference finals, 4-2. Ultimately, though, Miami was defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, 4-2.
Let's see if the Heat can build off of this momentum in the coming season.
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