The Miami native wanted to stay in his hometown so badly that he apparently turned down more lucrative offers from other clubs; without discussing specifics, his agent, Jason Levien, said Haslem left at least $10 million on the bargaining table.

"This has been a long process, but I'm happy it's over and in the end, I got what I wanted," Haslem, who started all 80 regular-season games in which he appeared for Miami this past season, said Wednesday at a Miami Beach steakhouse. "I got to stay home. I'm happy about that."

The exact amount of the deal, which cannot be signed before July 22, won't be known for a few days. Haslem — who said he also chose to stay because he believes the Heat are close to winning a title — will get between $5.2 and $5.6 million next season, then a 10.5% raise each subsequent year.

"At the end of the day, everybody makes a pretty decent check playing this game — but everybody doesn't win a championship," Haslem said.

Heat officials cannot comment on the Haslem deal until league's signing moratorium passes.

Haslem averaged 10.9 points and 9.1 rebounds on 54% shooting — the NBA's fourth-best percentage — this past season. In two seasons with Miami, Haslem has averaged 9.2 points and 7.7 rebounds.

Heat president Pat Riley and general manager Randy Pfund met with Levien moments after the free-agent negotiating period began July 1 — a gesture that left a lasting impact on Haslem, who agreed to the deal late Tuesday night.

"When you're turning down a considerable amount of money, things like that have a huge impact," Levien said. "I think that was an important sign of respect."

Settling the Haslem matter could indicate an agreement with O'Neal is close. Riley has said Miami would make no significant moves until knowing what O'Neal would cost over the next four or five seasons. O'Neal will likely command at least $25 million per season.

O'Neal is expected to opt out of the final year of his existing contract, one that would have paid him $30.6 million. But that's not a precursor to his departure — since no team could pay O'Neal as much, under the current rules, as Miami.

The Heat also reached a preliminary agreement with Matt Walsh, another Florida product represented by Levien. Contract arrangements are still being finalized, Levien said, but the sides should agree on a two-year deal worth about $1.2 million.

Walsh left Florida after his junior season, but wasn't drafted. He was the 2005 Southeastern Conference tournament MVP, averaged 14.6 points and shot a team-best 42.6% from 3-point range for the Gators in 2004-05.

"People assume the best 60 players get drafted," Levien said. "That's not the case."

The Heat signed Walsh to their summer-league team, but opted to use their lone draft pick on power forward Wayne Simien, the Big 12's player of the year from Kansas — who remains unsigned.

"The best-case scenario would be they took Matt in the first round," Levien said. "The second-best-case scenario was this."

Even though the deal with Haslem is done, the Heat still have plenty of issues to settle during this offseason. Miami officials were scheduled to talk Wednesday with the agent for point guard Damon Jones, its starter this past season who chose free agency last month.

Reserve guard Keyon Dooling is also a free agent, though he, too, may remain in the Heat's plans.

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