The AllUCanHeat staff have a few things to say about LeBron James’ potential return to the Miami Heat and more.
The 2017-18 NBA season is officially over, with the Golden State Warriors once again being crowned champions. Now, all eyes are on LeBron James’ next move, as the superstar can choose to opt out of his contact with the Cleveland Cavaliers and become a free agent this summer.
So naturally, we all have a few thoughts on The King.
As a Miami Heat fan, have you still been supporting James since he left in 2014?
Allana Tachauer (@AllanaTachauer): Absolutely. James may have broken my heart temporarily when he took his talents back to Cleveland, but I could never stop rooting for him. Sure, the Heat continued to come first in my heart, but I’ve been keeping up with him nevertheless. He gave Miami four beautiful seasons, complete with two championships of course, and I’ll forever be thankful for that.
Rich Nurse (@followthepen): Let me preface this by saying LeBron James is the best player in the league today. But with that being said, I only watch him as a fan of the game. I wouldn’t have called myself a supporter before or after he donned a Heat jersey.
Rob Slater (@RobSlater10): Simply put, no I have not. While I make it a point never to diminish his greatness on the basketball court, I’m a firm believer in loyalty to a team as opposed to an individual. When he left Miami, that was the end of my support of him. It was a bitter divorce, and I disliked how he was viewed as some sort of hero for leaving the “evil empire” of Miami, a label that he himself brought along in 2010. I can’t say I ever found myself rooting for Cleveland in any situation, nor should any Heat fan.
Lauren Gewirtz (@laurengewirtz): From a fan perspective, I have been indifferent about James since he left in 2014. He is obviously the best player in the world right now and it is really amazing to watch him as a fan of the game, but I would say any of my support for him has been more on an individual level rather than surrounding him and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ivan Mora (@moraivan): Of course. He is the reason Miami won back-to-back championships. Ever since he joined Miami back in 2010, I was already a fan of his game. He brings leadership and an unreal talent with his athleticism and dominant play. I think he is the best player in the league right now and is on par with the NBA greats. I hate to see how horrible the Cavaliers organization has been run since he got back. Losing Kyrie Irving, the major trade overhaul in the trade deadline, not securing another All-Star to play next to him, etc. It’s been exhausting. He has given it his best and this past season was one of his best yet. I hope he finds redemption and gets one or two more rings before retiring.
Brandon Johnson (@bjtripleot): I most definitely support James since he left Miami and I wasn’t the least bit salty. I don’t get into the comparison war about Michael Jordan, but James has continually made history and rethink what is possible in the NBA. He might be your team’s worst nightmare (cough cough, Toronto) but what he’s brought the game as a player and role model requires all the respect and support in the world.
Kris Keaton (@kmkeaton2): Most definitely. After he left the team, my appreciation for him has grown. Getting to watch him every game while he was here helped me understand what he means to the league. While it wasn’t as enjoyable as 2012 and 2013, watching him win the championship in 2016 was extremely satisfying.
How do you think his performance in these Finals, compared to his last Finals run with the Heat?
Tachauer: Listen; James was, is and will always be a tremendous player. So while his performance with the Heat in 2014 was unbelievable, to be doing what he did in the playoffs this year, in his fifteenth season? That’s superhuman. I mean, he scored 51 points against the Warriors in Game 1, and almost had a triple-double in the remaining three contests. With a wonky eye and severely injured hand. Enough said.
Nurse: A 51-point game, a triple double and two rebounds shy of averaging a Finals triple double is a better statistical outcome than his last run with the Heat, so I would give this one the edge. Even though it ended in the same frustration, uncertainty and sense of a player giving up/being burned out.
Slater: Considering his hand injury, James looked human and at times very resigned to his fate. That’s understandable when they lost the first game in heartbreaking (or hand-breaking) fashion, and couldn’t really ever regain their edge. This Cleveland team was never meant to compete with the Warriors. There is an ocean between these two teams in the talent department, and in no way was James going to be able to win more than one game. Even at their lowest moment, a five-game loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 Finals, the Heat had never experienced a talent disparity quite like Cleveland has when dealing with Golden State. That is both a testament to Cleveland’s incompetence and Golden State’s greatness.
Gewirtz: His performance in these Finals was different than that of his last Finals run with the Heat simply because of the team surrounding him. During the Finals this year, it was clear James could not carry the entire team past the Golden State Warriors, especially after he had 51 points in Game 1 and the Cavaliers still lost. In 2014, there was no reason for fans to believe the Heat could not beat the Spurs just as they did the year before. However, that flip quickly switched and like this year, they could have easily been swept.
Mora: His performance this year has been the best so far. He played with a completely different team mid-season and still managed to make it to the NBA Finals. That’s an accomplishment on it’s own. Despite the whole “East is weak” statement, he had to get past a young and hungry Indiana Pacers team led by Victor Oladipo, the No.1 seeded Toronto Raptors and Kyle Lowry/DeMar DeRozan, and the newly formed (also young and hungry) Boston Celtics team. That’s not an easy road. This will go down in history as his best Finals performance, but will easily be overshadowed by the Warriors sweep.
Johnson: He’s inhuman! This year James had a heavy load to bare. These finals looked like more work to overcome, than any of the Miami years, though there were some similarities in the narratives between this year and 2014. James was hinted at having given up in both situations, suggesting that his time with each team was coming to an end. But when you’ve worked as hard as James has, without even the slightest off-court slip up – no driving infractions, drunken tirades etc. – I can cut him some slack. Don’t even get me started on playing all 82 regular season games this season. None of the Golden State Warriors players managed that, so that counts for something.
Keaton: It felt eerily similar, honestly. Moment of honesty: I didn’t watch a second of these Finals. But the feeling surrounding the team was very reminiscent of the 2014 Finals run. LeBron playing at an unbelievable level, and everyone else seemingly not on the same page. Going up against a superior opponent just proved to be too much.
Would you want James to come back to Miami this summer?
Tachauer: One hundred percent, yes. I’ve grown to love this roster just the way it is (even with the addition of Kelly Olynyk, who I was at first totally opposed to), but having James back in South Florida would be incredible. First off, I would love to see James and Dwyane Wade playing alongside one another yet again. I also think he would bring out the absolute best in guys like Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson. Plus, who could honestly say no to the best player in the league, being a part of your team? In a perfect world, heck yes let’s run it back.
Nurse: Like most fans around the league, I would love to have him on my team, but I don’t think that it will happen.
Slater: He’s the best player in the world. Anyone who says they wouldn’t welcome him back is too proud for their own good.
Gewirtz: I feel like this is a trick question because I am supposed to hate James for leaving Miami in the first place, but I would also be ignorant to say that as a fan, I don’t want him on the Heat. Obviously, almost any fan is going to want James on their team. He is playing unbelievably this late in his career. I would not be surprised if he had a sit down with president Pat Riley this summer, considering Wade returned and it’s no secret that they are great friends. However, I have very little faith that he will actually return to the Heat this summer based on his other options around the league.
Mora: I would love him to come back. Who wouldn’t want him on their team? But in reality, it wouldn’t be his best choice. He needs to sign with a contender in order to make some noise in the NBA Finals. The Warriors are so dominant that you need to have a close to perfect team to compete with them. I love the rumors that Miami is an option he would consider and I would love a reunion, but I feel he has better options on the table, including the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets.
Johnson: If James wants to return to Miami, why not? That’d likely usher in a rebuild around him since Miami would have to make room for his salary, but I wouldn’t turn down a second stint with the King. That said, Miami’s current group is fun, terrible shooting nights notwithstanding, and I’d like to think the Heat are well on their way to building their own contender.
Keaton: It would be pretty cool to see him in the Heat uniform again, but as he alluded to in his letter explaining his return to Cleveland, Miami was college. If 2010-2014 was college, it would be his Bachelor’s. Does a return now equate to a Doctorate’s?
How do you think the front office should go about making room for James, if he were interested in returning?
Tachauer: Um, however they can? Realistically, it’s going to take a lot of maneuvering to be able to even think about fitting James back into the Miami roster though, despite having an incredibly savvy front office.
Nurse: The front office cannot touch Wade if they want James back, and they shouldn’t dangle Richardson. Everyone else could be part of the fire sale.
Slater: From a purely financial standpoint, the Heat are in a tricky situation should James give them a commitment to return because, of course, not only is the goal to acquire him but to also surround him with elite talent much like they did in 2010. The Heat lack elite talent to compete with a team like Golden State, so making room will require a number of moves that involve the following players: Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, Dragic and James Johnson. Those will be the four highest paid players next season and moving any combination of those four (while not taking on additional money, which is the tricky part) would be at the top of the priority list. The issue the Heat have this time around is their lack of draft picks to trade, which would typically soften the amount of money they’d take back in a trade. To acquire James in 2010, the Heat and Cavaliers agreed to a sign and trade where they received four future draft picks. That option is not possible this time around, although a potential sign and trade could also include the aforementioned players, assuming the Cavaliers are willing to work with the Heat. That remains wildly unlikely.
Gewirtz: If James was interested in returning to the Heat by the longshot that it is, the Heat would obviously have to dump some contracts. Who that would come down to is difficult to tell, but with Whiteside’s contract and Tyler Johnson’s large raise this upcoming season, it would probably involve something with at least one of them, unless James was willing to take a lot less money.
Mora: First get rid of big contracts to free up space to sign James. But it wouldn’t end there. They need to entice him. Re-sign Wade and sell the idea of first playing next to Dragic and Dion Waiters, and the excitement of having a solid young core in Justise Winslow and Richardson. It might not be enough, but it could be worth a shot. He did win in Miami and they could have a chance if given the opportunity.
Johnson: Sell everything. I’ve grown attached to this group of Heat players, and I’d hate to see them fall off the way the Cavaliers did this year. James needs a specific set of teammates to be successful and keeping Miami’s core intact with him might do more harm than good. Of course, seeing Bam Adebayo or Tyler Johnson finish an alley-oop off a James dime would be amazing, but I’m not sure this Heat core is up to the challenge of supporting basketball royalty.
Keaton: First, I think they’d have to get he and Riley in a room together alone, to just air out some grievances rooted in how he left. Then they’re going to have to move a couple of guys, probably two or three of Whiteside/Winslow/The Brothers Johnson. Lastly, they’d probably have to ensure that Wade and Udonis Haslem return.
What’s your favorite James/Heat memory?
Tachauer: Basically just seeing him play with Wade, night-in and night-out. Their on-court chemistry was unparalleled, and every game, regardless of the opponent or final result, was a joy to watch. It was also so moving to see him win that first title, especially given all the criticism he faced when he made The Decision.
Nurse: My favorite LeBron James/Heat memory (titles not included) would be watching him continuously dig the team out of deficits during the team’s 27-game win streak in 2012-13. That dunk on Jason Terry is a close second though.
Slater: There are many, obviously, but my favorite memory of his time in Miami is the first championship against the Oklahoma City Thunder. James is by nature a very calculated, hyper-aware guy that is always plotting his next move with the ultimate strategy. But when he was handed the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time, he got completely lost in the moment. It was as honest a reaction as you’ll ever see from him and it’s something that sticks with me to this day. For everything that championship meant not only to him but also to a team that had been torn apart at every turn by everyone, his reaction was perfect. And, of course, the Jason Terry dunk. Always.
Gewirtz: One of my favorite memories of James with the Heat would have to be when he went off against the Celtics in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, with 45 points and 15 assists to force a Game 7. That screenshot of his angry face was all over the Internet and everyone knew that he meant business.
Mora: The Dwyane Wade and LeBron James connection. It was magical. The lobs, the fast-paced transition plays, the defense, the spectacular highlights, etc. The list can go on. The NBA playoffs throughout those years were intense and extremely fun to watch too. I hope that could happen once more before they both retire.
Johnson: The Tiago Splitter block? The black mask? Jumping over John Lucas III? Those were great, but my favorite has to be his missed 3 in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. James’ miss set up the Chris Bosh offensive rebound and Ray Allen 3, giving birth to one of the greatest sound clips in NBA history.
Keaton: Everyone generally (and rightfully so) point to Game 6 in Boston in 2012. But my personal favorite memory is the Game 4 in Indiana, the round prior. Down 2-1, and with Wade struggling, James helped find a way to snap Wade out of his funk while quietly having an amazing game himself. While Wade finished with 30 points, James finished with 40 points, 18 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and two steals.
Next: Miami Heat: Individual player grades for the 2017-18 starting five
Will the Miami Heat see the return of James? Stay tuned.