Udonis Haslem may have retired from the court last year, but the former power forward was seem covered in sweat at a team practice this week, as the Miami Heat prepare for their season opener against the Detroit Pistons at the Kaseya Center on Wednesday.
“I love it,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Haslem's presence at practices, "UD is going to be around and he’s going to serve a lot of different capacities for our organization, downstairs and upstairs."
"But I love having him in the gym, I love having him in the locker room. I love having him in any kind of role. We’re going to figure this out. It’s an open canvas. He doesn’t want to be called a coach. I don’t care what we call him, I just want him around."
Spoelstra wasn't the only one happy with the 'OG' showing up at practice as star center Bam Adebayo also chiming in.
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“I feel like we keep him young, we keep him engaged, we keep his mind working so he has something to think about other than his family,” Adebayo said.
Haslem has admitted he doesn't see himself as a coach during retirement but hopes to one day join the ownership group that includes the Arison family, yet, the former captain of the Heat has been a constant presence in the offseason activities of the team, like the team barbecue at the Florida Atlantic University for the closing of training camp as well as some preseason shootarounds.
