Udonis Haslem hammers NBA's sleeved jersey: "When you grow up in the hood, no shirt on”

Back in the early 2010's, Miami Heat veteran Udonis Haslem wasn't a fan of one of their uniforms. Apparently, Haslem disliked wearing the Heat's Christmas edition jerseys, particularly the ones from back in 2013. Those holiday edition jerseys were made with sleeves, which the veteran forward did not appreciate.

He expressed his thoughts on the uniforms after their victory over the LA Lakers:

“I always played without sleeves. When you grow up in the hood, no shirt on. Shirts and skins. I couldn’t get with that, and I couldn’t get with those new basketballs. Remember when they tried to bring out those new basketballs. Everybody in the league hated them. Those are two things that the league tried, and I was like, nah, hell no.”

The veteran continued:

“It probably was mental for a lot of guys. You’re used to shooting without shoulders covered. Unless you have an injury or something, it feels restricted. It just felt weird. We knew it was coming, but you don’t want to put those on and try to play. It felt like a one-piece wrestling outfit.”

Udonis Haslem does make a lot of sense with how restrictive wearing sleeves can be. It's funny how a player who only played nine minutes had a lot to say about the uniforms. Looking back at his performances on Christmas Day 2013, he only put up two points, two rebounds, and one assist. Honestly, it's surprising the Heat are still willing to pay Haslem after all these years.

Should Udonis Haslem retire?

Udonis Haslem entered his 20th NBA season this year and has only played one game thus far. Haslem is now 42 years old and isn't even playing for the Miami Heat at this point. Some are even questioning why the Heat keep him around. Miami currently pay him $2.90 million to be a bench warmer. The fact that he's being paid, at least put him to good use.

Haslem currently has 1.2 rebounds, 0.6 points, 0.2 assists, and 0.2 steals. Haslem isn't even injured and is serving as the team's veteran to help the young players improve their game. If the Heat wants him to help the team through mentorship, then they should consider offering him a position on the coaching staff instead.

Removing Udonis Haslem from the roster will free up nearly $3 million, which could be used to acquire more valuable pieces. Also, freeing him from a player's contract means that the organization can finally retire his jersey number and cement his Miami Heat legacy.