Pat Riley releases statement about Udonis Haslem’s return to Miami Heat

The Miami Heat officially signed forward Udonis Haslem on Friday, the team announced.

Terms of the deal were not released, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has reported the contract is worth $5.5 million over two seasons.

Heat president Pat Riley released a statement about the return of Haslem, via NBA.com:

"“Udonis Haslem has been a fixture in Miami over the last 11 years,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He’s a team player, an encompassing all-purpose player, that would play just about any position or role in order to win. It’s been such a privilege and honor to have him with the organization and I’m so happy that he decided to come back.”"

Haslem is regarded as the ultimate team player and a Miami Heat legend. He has left money on the table multiple times to stay with the Heat in order to give the team the financial flexibility it has desired to make other moves. This offseason, he opted out of a contract that would have paid him $4.6 million next season.

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Haslem has been with the Heat for the past 11 seasons. In that time, he has become the franchise leader in rebounds and has helped the team win three championships.He averaged 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game last season.

As Windhorst notes, the Heat have now spent $215 million on free agents this offseason, including a max contract of $118 million to Chris Bosh.