Erik Spoelstra praises Udonis Haslem's 'selflessness'

[Poe]

MIAMI - A week after shifting five-year starter Udonis Haslem to the bench, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he still is taken by the selflessness of the veteran power forward.

 

"There's probably a lot of coaches and organizations out there that would like to take a starter and put him on the bench, for various reasons, to help with the rotation, to help solidify the second unit," Spoelstra said before his team faced the Suns at AmericanAirlines Arena. "There's few players that actually can do that or would be willing to do that, or would be willing to sacrifice for the better of the teams."

 

Spoelstra said the "team first" mantra is common in locker rooms. But selflessness is another matter.

 

"A lot of players will say that and it's an empty statement," Spoelstra said. "They'll say, 'I'll do whatever it takes to win.' You say, 'OK, what are your conditions?' And you find out pretty quickly what somebody's conditions are."

 

With Haslem, Spoelstra said there were no strings attached.

 

"It really shows the kind of character that Udonis is, that he backs up what he's saying, that he is about the team," he said. "There is a purity about him."

 

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This guy is so underrated. His leadership, on-court production statistically or non-statistically, effort, coach-ability, work ethic, selflessness, and willing to truly do whatever it takes to win and being the first guy to "take one for the team"... I'm so glad to have him as a part of the Heat

[Erick Blasco]

Everything you say is correct.