“Hire Udonis Haslem Permanently!”: Magic Johnson Calls Out ESPN for Not Utilizing Heat Icon’s Analysis More

Magic Johnson last played in the NBA in 1996; but 28 years later, he’s still providing assists to NBA players. Miami Heat icon Udonis Haslem recently received an amazing lob from the great Los Angeles Lakers point guard. Johnson took to X, formerly Twitter, to praise ESPN’s recent choice of experts in panels, where UD was seen covering the Conference Finals games. However, he still called them out for not utilizing Haslem more.

Magic advised the popular media network to hire the recently retired star as a full-time employee. The Los Angeles Lakers icon wrote,

“ESPN – You definitely have an excellent team of ex-players already with Kendrick Perkins, Jay Williams, Tim Legler, and JJ Reddick…but you should hire Udonis Haslem permanently! He’s been spectacular breaking down the NBA playoffs – from the players’ game and mentality, to the x’s and o’s, as well as the philosophy of the game…Udonis has done it with intelligence, charisma, and flair. And he’s funny too!”

ESPN – You definitely have an excellent team of ex-players already with Kendrick Perkins, Jay Williams, Tim Legler, and JJ Reddick…but you should hire Udonis Haslem permanently! He’s been spectacular breaking down the NBA playoffs – from the players’ game and mentality, to the…

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 29, 2024

Haslem retired from the NBA last season and has featured sporadically on a slew of ESPN shows. He recently went viral for his hilarious take on LeBron James‘ plans, where he compared the King’s odds of leaving LA to his co-host fighting an alligator.

Johnson undoubtedly found the Heat icon’s take, as he mentioned in his pitch to ESPN, very funny. On the other hand, the five-time NBA Champion also underlined the brilliance of the level-headed takes of the veteran amid a hustle for hot takes.

Udonis Haslem’s spot-on take on Karl-Anthony Towns

Udonis Haslem showcased his stellar understanding of the game with his perfect take on Karl-Anthony Towns’ performance in the ongoing Western Conference Finals. He said,

“As a basketball player, you do not want to go into the summer, in the offseason, being the reason that your team did not get to next round… Nobody is going to talk about Ant-Man (Anthony Edwards). They going to talk about KAT. They gonna say you are the reason why we lost, you are the reason why he didn’t go to NBA Finals.”  

Haslem advised Towns to ’empty the clip’ and leave everything out on the court in as many games as the Timberwolves can survive in their ongoing series against the Dallas Mavericks. Towns seemingly heeded the retired star’s advice as he had one of the best playoff games in Game 4 against the Mavericks.

KAT scored 25 points on the road on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, to keep the Timberwolves’ season alive.

Haslem has played on several title-contending rosters during his 21-year stint with the Heat and has experienced the highs of winning and the lows of losing as well. He understands how narratives are constructed around players and advised KAT accordingly. Takes like these explain why Magic Johnson is a big fan of his analysis.