Pele Larson earned a significant boost with his play last season, but the impact on four-year extension he recently signed up, didn’t sign up right away, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes in history only for subscribers. The Heat showed their faith in the third-year quarterback by giving him $60 million and making him a long-term part of the organization.
“I think I was pretty empty,” Larson said. “I mean, it wasn’t until later, I think, actually when I talked to my parents that they kind of made me realize how crazy it was. … I’ve been playing basketball for free almost my whole life, so to have this now is crazy.”
Larsson saw limited playing time as a rookie, but he stepped into the starting lineup last season and proved himself worthy of a promotion, averaging 11.4 ppg in 70 games. He quickly impressed the Heat’s new star Janice Antecumba during offseason workouts and said he received positive feedback from the coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley during the enlargement negotiations.
“They’re giving me this extension for a reason, so just keep doing what I’ve been doing and being who I am on the court.” Larson said. “And now we’re bringing in new guys that I think I’m going to fit in well with and I can continue to do the same thing, just try to be more efficient at what I’m doing.”
There are more from Miami:
- Antetokounmpo is expected to make his Heat debut in tonight’s preseason game against Toronto in Quebec, according to Winderman (Link to Twitter), which states that all scheduled members of the team’s rotation are available to play.
- Longtime Heat player Udonis Haslem is now the manager of the team, but even at the age of 46 he conducts training sessions with the players, according to reports Anthony Chung of The Miami Herald (subscriber link). Antetokounmpo and a fellow rookie Bobby Portis said Haslem’s feedback was valuable. “Me and UD are kind of similar in terms of how we use our voices and being a leader and things like that, so it was fun to have him around.” said Portis. “…Especially in practice, giving me little pointers, trying to pick things up a little bit faster. Obviously, I’m new to the system with cutting and spacing back and stuff like that. So I’m trying to get used to it. So I think it’s good to have guys that have been here that know the system that can help the new guys.”
- A two-way player Tre Donaldson is one of the young players who has stood out in training,” adds Chan in the same segment. The 22-year-old guard, who went undrafted after playing his senior season in Miami, impressed teammates with his style of play. “He’s just a dog” Davion Mitchell said. “It kind of reminded me of myself when I was in the league, just trying to figure it out. Playing hard. Obviously still making mistakes, but you learn from those mistakes. But he’s playing really well with all the confidence in the world. I’m excited to see him grow.”
