Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem’s playing career was unique because after he made a tangible on-court impact in all three of Miami’s titles in franchise history, he spent the twilight of his tenure as an important voice in the locker room for multiple Heat teams that made deep playoff runs. He never played more than 16 games in any one of his final seven seasons in the league.
Former NBA big man Channing Frye thought that fellow big man Kevin Love was going to follow in Haslem’s footsteps and be Miami’s veteran leader in the locker room. However, Love’s tenure with the team came to an end this week when he was traded to the Utah Jazz.
Frye, who used to be Love’s teammate on the Cleveland Cavaliers, spoke about the veteran’s recent Heat exit and shared that he didn’t necessarily appreciate how the Heat communicated with Love about the trade.
“I will say this,” Frye said. “My understanding was that Kevin was gonna be that next guy for Miami, right? The next guy, the next U.D., the next guy that was keeping that locker room — to have a great locker room, your 15th guy, your No. 1 guy, your coach, your GM, your owner need to be on the same page, right?
“They need to buy into what you’re selling, and Kevin was bought in a thousand percent in Miami. Now, do things happen? Yes, but I think when you’re telling somebody that age, ‘Hey, we want you here, this and that,’ you got to give them a call to explain like, ‘Hey, here’s why you’re going here. Here’s our thought process.’
“Just that level of respect. It’s not like it would have changed anything, but the communication is what I think, which I didn’t appreciate necessarily from that thing from that. But I think Kevin should either go to New York, Portland or Cleveland. That’s just my three places.”
Haslem’s playing career in the NBA might be all over, but he’s still a member of the Heat organization. Currently, he serves as the team’s vice president of basketball development, and he retired from the NBA as a player after Miami made a surprise run to the 2023 NBA Finals.
Love’s presence will seemingly be missed by those inside Miami’s locker room, but at the same time, the Heat traded Love for a player who is much more well-equipped to contribute at a high level on the court this coming season.
These days, veteran guard Norman Powell is a far better scorer than Love or forward Kyle Anderson (who was also involved in the deal), as he’s fresh off averaging 21.8 points per game with the Los Angeles Clippers last season.
Love got moved to the Jazz in a three-team deal along with Anderson, and he’s going from a squad with an established winning culture to a team that is still working on creating a culture conducive to winning. It’s safe to claim that folks shouldn’t expect Love to add a ring to his collection as a member of the Jazz, as Utah finished with the worst record in the NBA last season at 17-65.
Hopefully, the Jazz will end up buying Love out to put him on the open market because he has little to no chance of winning at a high level in Utah in the near future.
