Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem staying positive during the NBA Lockout
NBA star Udonis Haslem hasn’t allowed the NBA lockout to dampen his spirits during the summer.
The Miami Heat forward has been busy spending time with his family, learning about the social networking website twitter, and other stuff he simply didn’t have time for, during the previous many summers.
"We have time on our hands to do stuff like this," Haslem said, according to USA Today. "We have the opportunity to do something positive.”
He has also had time to put in his share for the community and recently hosted a charitable event at Miami Northwestern High - a school that sits in a struggling neighbourhood - alongside fellow NBA star Keyon Dooling.
“That's what I've kind of been focusing on, that's what Keyon has kind of been focusing on.”
Haslem said that he knew the financial situation in the country was grim at the moment, and that was why the NBA lockout looked all the more stupid. After all, the dispute over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is viewed by many common fans as two sets of rich people fighting over money.
Haslem knows the downsides of the lockout. He is also aware that he will start to lose money from November 1st as the pay checks are missed, but he doesn’t want to concentrate on all those things;
“Let's not hold our heads down because it's a lockout per se, or we're losing money or whatever the situation may be. Those are things that are out of our control as individuals. What we can control is what we do with this free time."
Haslem instead just wants to spend the spare time he has because of the NBA lockout as positively as he can, and he wants to get back on to a basketball court as soon as possible. The player knows his NBA career is coming to an end, and his body is breaking down.
He spent a major part of last season on the sidelines due to injuries and only returned late in the playoffs, where he was shunted into action straight away by Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra. Haslem later confirmed that he hadn’t fully recovered at that time and his game time indeed aggravated the injuries.
He has since had some extra time to recuperate and is now good to go. He has everything to look forward to.
The Miami Heat are a team on the up. With the acquisition of LeBron James and Chris Bosh last summer, they became arguably the strongest side in the league. Haslem knows if he plays his part well, he could be on his way to another NBA World Championship.
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