Udonis Haslem, the starting power forward on Miami's 2006 NBA championship team, has signed a five-year contract to remain with the team.
The deal's worth roughly $20 million, which is $14 million less than he could have received from the Mavericks or Nuggets. No doubt the fact that Miami's in the process of building a dynasty that has the potential to dominate the league for years to come was a key factor in his decision.
SI.com also says that Mike Miller's decision to join the Heat-- which the team hasn't formally announced yet-- weighed in Haslem's decision.
"Say, the next time you want to win your daughter back, you could just try giving her a pony, the apocalypse doesn’t really cut it!" --The Prince, Prince of Persia (2008)
Fan of the Indianapolis Colts (Super Bowl XLI Champions), Indiana Pacers and Washington Nationals
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Co-Winner of Time's Person of the Year Award, 2006
Good for the Miami Heat. Since Bosh will probably play the PF position, it can be assumed that Haslem will be come off the bench and be a good role player yet again for Miami.
The alternative is an expansion team, which would mean one division would have six teams. And if the NBA wanted to keep an even number of teams in each division, they'd have to create five more expansion teams. A 36-team NBA would be WAY too much.