Heat’s Udonis Haslem putting aside ‘Last Ride’ emotions, even at final camp; Butler keeps it clean
Udonis Haslem said he had not given it much thought before he was asked Tuesday. But, yes, he said, this is the beginning of the end.
In this case, with the veteran power forward announcing last month that this would be his 20th and final NBA season, all with the Heat, it also meant that this week at the Baha Mar resort stands as his final training camp.
“It’s just ‘The Last Ride’ for me. It’s just, ‘The Last Ride,’ that’s what I call it and gonna make it a good one,” he said, playing off former Heat teammate Dwyane Wade calling his own final season “The Last Dance.”
“It’s going to be a fun, fun, fun season,” Haslem, 42, said. “It’s going to be a successful season overall.”
While Wade meticulously chronicled his final NBA season, in 2018-19 with the Heat, Haslem said he would wait before culling his memories.
“I’m going to document some of it, but I don’t know what I’ll do with it,” he said. “I’ve never been a guy that goes back and watches film or anything of myself. So, for the most part, it’ll probably just be in those moments of solitude and I’ll just click some of this stuff on and look back and really enjoy it.
“Because I’m such a serious guy, in these moments, I don’t know if I’m enjoying this. Like, my mind is where it needs to be. It’s on basketball. It’s on getting better. It’s on banking equity and getting us where we need to go. I’m not really at the phase of enjoying the 20th year right now.”
Substitute teacher
The Heat’s first day of the five at the camp on New Providence came with assistant coach Chris Quinn in charge, with coach Erik Spoelstra starting the day in South Florida, after the Monday birth of his daughter.
“It’s a whole new experience for me, personally,” the former Heat guard said, with the assignment coming on Quinn’s 39th birthday. “Obviously, I’m constantly in communication with Spo, last night, this morning. The practice planning is still his.
“So we’re just forging ahead. Obviously there’s things bigger than basketball, him being with the birth of his child. And our job is just to get off on the right start of training camp.”
Spoelstra is expected to be in place to run Wednesday’s sessions on the makeshift courts in the resort’s convention center.
“This is a super cool experience for us, a way to really connect and bond,” Quinn said. “Obviously we’re here first to work, prepare for the season. It has a totally different feel than when we were in Miami. We want our guys to have fun, enjoy this place.”
Second home
Since signing with the Heat in 2019 free agency, forward Jimmy Butler has made the Bahamas a frequent getaway, including renting a home close to Baha Mar this week.
“It’s special,” he said. “So many good people here that I’m able to now call my family and my friends. Like seriously, I’m here all the time. I love these people here.”
Butler said the secondary goal this week is to beat the locals at dominos as often as possible.
As was the case at Monday’s media day at FTX Arena, Butler again arrived clean shaven, this time with his new dreadlocks concealed by a headband.
“I’m just being me,” he said of the new look. “I don’t know. I like it. I might keep it like this. I might shave my face again. I might have half of it shaved. You all be on the lookout.”
Three sit
Guard Gabe Vincent (knee swelling) did not participate in the opening session of camp. Center Dewayne Dedmon (foot) and forward Nikola Jovic (Achilles) were limited for the practice.
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