Miami Heat Dealing With the Weirdness of Udonis Haslem's Absence
For the past 18 seasons, there has been one constant with the Miami Heat at this time of year.
When training camp begins in late September, forward Udonis Haslem has always been present. This year, is different. Haslem has missed the first three days of practice while grieving the death of his father, Johnnie.
The Heat have been without their longtime captain and they miss him. Haslem has served as a mentor to several of the younger players, including center Bam Adebayo.
“We have a real special relationship,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’re like brothers. UD’s the older brother taking care of Bam [Adebayo], and to show that respect is really cool. It is weird for this head coach not having UD around this week. We’ll have him back here soon enough. I don’t want to get used to that, yet.”
The fact Haslem was absent the first day made things weird. That's why Adebayo wore No. 40, Haslem's trademark jersey, during the opening session.
"Just showing my support for him," Adebayo said. "Letting the guys know he's here, even though he's not here. You still see 40 going around the gym."
Haslem, who is the leading rebounder in team history, is the longest tenured player in franchise history. He is tied for third with John Stockton and Tim Duncan for most seasons with one team. Only Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki have longer streaks.
TWITTER: @ShandelRich
Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here
For any Heat or NBA questions, please email shandelrich@gmail.com
