How Miami’s Stars Sacrificed for Udonis Haslem

LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh all took less money this summer so that the team could re-sign Udonis. The Miami Herald has the details of how it all went down: “The Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks were offering him $34 million, and Haslem was telling his buddy Dwyane Wade by text that all his good time in Miami was now done. Haslem knew Miami didn’t have enough money remaining to compete with Dallas and Denver after signing James, Wade and Chris Bosh, and he couldn’t take a one-year minimum contract in Miami with his ill mother dying and family members to support … Wade called Bosh and asked him to cut $15 million off his salary for Haslem. Wade called James and asked him to do the same. Bosh and James barely knew Haslem. Just a few short conversations here and there. But Wade told them this team needed someone hungry and gritty and unselfish like Haslem, and promised to cut $17 million out of his own contract to make it happen, too. ‘They said ‘I’m in’ without hesitating,’ Wade said Sunday. What? ‘No questions asked,’ Wade said. None? ‘Not one,’ Wade said. ‘They respected UD as a player. And they trusted me as a leader and friend.'”