Miami Heat Say Goodbye to Mike Miller
After three seasons and two NBA championships, the Miami Heat parted ways with Mitchell native Mike Miller this week, waiving him on Tuesday, but his departure isn’t going unnoticed in South Florida.
Friday morning’s South Florida Sun-Sentinel featured a full-page ad, paid for by the Heat, thanking Miller for his time in Miami. (Click on the image below to see the full ad)
Miller told the Sun-Sentinel he is going to miss being a part of a very special group of players:
Our team, what we put together three years ago, was unbelievable players.
But the people, the guys in the locker room, have been great.
There’s stuff you’re just going to miss. You’re going to miss walking out that tunnel with these guys, collecting that ring next year with these guys.
Those are tough things. Those are things you’ll definitely miss.
Former Heat teammate, Chris Bosh, is among those singing Miller’s praises. Telling the Sun-Sentinel:
We can’t find a replica of Mike Miller.
All we can do is just hope to make up the ground that we’ve lost.
Our challenge has started already, pretty much, because we’ve lost a significant part of our team.
I think everybody knows what a big-time player he is and what he did not only in both Finals but in the playoffs and the regular season.
His sportsmanship and his clutch shooting — he’s one of the best shooters in the world.
He bailed us out of a lot of situations.
He made a lot of big shots. It’s going to be tough without him.
I wish it wasn’t this way.
But the business of the NBA is tough sometimes.
There is an upside to the ‘business’ part of things for Miller: he’ll still get most of the $12.8 million Miami owes him.
As for his future, after failing to reach an agreement with a new team Thursday, Miller became a free agent. Early speculation has the Oklahoma City Thunder high on the list of potential destinations for next season.