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Together as teammates with the Miami Heat, Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade fought in many battles side by side for many years. Together, these two won no less than three championships with the Heat. With all this, it is safe to say that their bond has gone beyond the confines of the basketball court.
This is perhaps exactly why Haslem was hurt by Wade's decision to turn his back on Miami to take on an ownership role with the Utah Jazz. Wade had the opportunity to become a part-owner of the Heat after he retired, but what came as a surprise for most was how he opted to invest in the Jazz instead.
Haslem recently admitted that this decision by his former teammate did not sit well with him. In a recent interview on CBS-4, Haslem revealed that he was indeed hurt by these turn of events:
“Yeah, it was hurtful,” Haslem confessed (h/t Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald).
This does not come as a surprise. Wade is without a doubt one of the greatest players in Heat history and after he retired, the general expectation was that he was going to continue his legacy with the franchise by joining the ownership group. Haslem himself believed this was the logical path for Wade, which is why he was taken aback by Wade's decision to join the Jazz instead.
Many believe that the main reason Wade picked Utah over Miami is because of Wade's friendship with Jazz majority owner Ryan Smith. The 45-year-old billionaire purchased a major stake in the franchise in 2020 and it wasn't long before Wade joined the group.
For his part, however, Haslem has already revealed his intention to be a part-owner of the Heat franchise one day. The 19-year veteran spoke about his loyalty to the organization and how this has been part of his plan all along:
“I passed up $70 million in my career to stay here and play,” Haslem told teammate Duncan Robinson on the latter's podcast back in November. “This is always the place I wanted to win. This is always the place I wanted to retire. This is always the place I felt I could make the biggest impact. I knew what my value was. I knew what my super power was….
“You don’t give up $40, $50, $60 million dollars temporarily because it [isn’t] temporarily coming back. So everything I’ve done is to be part of this organization for the rest of my life.”
I'm pretty sure the organization would welcome Haslem into their ownership group with open arms. He's been their most loyal servant for many years and it only fitting that his role in the organization evolves.
Despite being hurt by Wade's initial decision, Haslem also revealed that he could not be more proud of what Dwyane has achieved with the Jazz. In his mind, Haslem hopes to replicate his former teammate's path once he hangs it up:
“As I started to think about it more and more, this was a conversation that Dwyane [Wade] and I had years down the line,” Haslem said. “It didn’t work out this way, obviously he’s in ownership somewhere else, and I’m proud of my brother, I’m happy for him, but I still have the opportunity to do it myself….
“And what better place to do it than in my city? You know it’s genuine. You know it’s real.”
Haslem is one of the most well-loved individuals in Heat franchise history and there is no doubt that the Miami faithful would love to see him become a part-owner of the organization someday.
