Big man Udonis Haslem agreed to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Miami Heat to return for his 16th NBA season, according to multiple reports Thursday.
Haslem, 38, has spent his entire career in Miami since joining the team undrafted out of Florida in 2003. Heat president Pat Riley said last month he expected Haslem to return based on a “gut feeling.”
Haslem played just 72 minutes in 14 games last season, totaling eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He has career averages of 7.7 points and 6.8 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game.
The Heat have 19 players on their training camp roster, leaving one spot open for Dwyane Wade, who has yet to announce whether he will retire.
—Orlando Magic owner Richard DeVos died at his home in Ada, Mich., due to complications from an infection, the team announced. He was 92. DeVos, the billionaire co-founder of Amway, bought the team in September 1991 and oversaw trips to the NBA Finals in 1995 and 2009. He was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2016.
DeVos founded Amway, the direct-selling company that currently holds naming rights to the Magic’s stadium, with high school classmate Jay Van Andel in 1959. He was the company’s president until 1993, when he was succeeded by his son, Dick.
—Veteran forward Boris Diaw announcement his retirement after 14 NBA seasons. He didn’t play in the league last season, instead playing for French professional team Levallois Metropolitans.
Diaw averaged 8.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 1,064 NBA games with the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, the then-Charlotte Bobcats, San Antonio Spurs and the Utah Jazz.
He averaged a career-best 13.3 points for the Suns during the 2005-06 season, earning the league’s Most Improved Player. He was a key reserve for the Spurs later in his career and won an NBA title with them in 2014.
—Field Level Media
