‘You don’t get to’: Udonis Haslem shares what he privately said to Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Miami Heat haven’t had a great start to the season despite bringing in Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade in the summer. The 31-year-old, individually, has done what he needs to do in most games, but the Heat are still 4-6 this season, which is not great at all. That could easily make Antetokounmpo wonder if he made the right decision and sulk, but Heat legend Udonis Haslem personally offered him some advice. Udonis Haslem’s advice to Giannis Antetokounmpo about Miami Heat’s adversity When Antetokounmpo joined the Miami Heat in the summer, he would’ve hoped for a much better start than what he has seen. The Heat lost each of their first four games of the season, and even though they have won four of their next six, there are still several concerns about how good they are. Haslem, who experienced all of that during his 20-year career with the Miami Heat, spoke to Antetokounmpo this week about dealing with adversity. The 46-year-old, who works as the vice president of basketball development with the Heat, explained his advice to the Greek Freak on Dwyane Wade’s podcast. He said: “I told Giannis today: ‘Listen, you don’t get to pick and choose when the adversity hits. You just pick and choose how you respond.’ “Some people have it at the beginning of the season, some people are going to have it in the middle of the season, and some people are going to have it at the end. You don’t pick and choose when the adversity hits. You just pick and choose how you respond. “Ok, we’re having it early. Let’s get it out of the way then. That’s fine. Let’s get it out now. “Some people are going to get in the middle, and some people are going to get hit in the end. You don’t want to be the ones who get hit by adversity in the end. You don’t want that. If anything, if you can choose, you want to choose that now.” Haslem definitely has a point, but the Heat’s defensive problems don’t quite seem like temporary adversity. They feel like they need a lot of work, and there’s no easy fix. That will take time, but Antetokounmpo’s dominance, just like he showed against the Sacramento Kings, will be key to getting wins on the board while they try to fix their defence. In four of the last six games, that has worked, but it remains to be seen if they can sustain it for a longer period. Bam Adebayo given blunt ‘Joel Embiid’ reality check by Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem ‘Legendary’: Klay Thompson reacts after seeing what Giannis Antetokounmpo did vs Sacramento Kings ‘I’ll watch him’: Doug Christie fires shot at Giannis Antetokounmpo after he scored 29 points vs Kings