LeBron James still hasn’t officially decided which team he will play for this coming NBA season. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and perhaps the Golden State Warriors are still thought to be the frontrunners to land him in free agency, with the Minnesota Timberwolves lurking as an outside possibility.
Of those teams, it could be argued that the Heat need him most now that they have Giannis Antetokounmpo and are in win-now mode. The question is how much team president Pat Riley would welcome James back after James’ 2014 departure left a bad taste in his mouth.
In a pre-recorded interview with Dan Le Batard, Riley made a quick comment about his relationship with James (h/t Heat Nation).
“It’s just thawed,” Riley said.
James played four seasons with the Heat starting with the 2010-11 campaign, and during that time, he led the team to four NBA Finals appearances and back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. But he left in 2014 to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the way he handled his free agency that summer made Riley unhappy.
But Riley also outlined how his dismay over James’ departure his disappated over time.
“I’ve seen him around, run into him at All-Star Games,” he said. “We had a great embrace when they honored me with a statue out there (in Los Angeles). … LeBron and I, we haven’t talked much, but you let go of that stuff.
“I was very disappointed because I thought we were looking at a dynasty, something dynastic, and we now had a chance to add other players to it in ’14. And when he left, it was very, very disappointing. … I don’t want to hang on to that
“I want to see him somewhere on the golf course one day, even though I don’t play golf… or see him somewhere and not be able to go up to a guy that I developed a great relationship with.”
In 2021, a year after James won his fourth NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers, Riley said he would leave a “key under the doormat” if the future Hall of Famer wanted to come back to Miami. The executive was hit with a tampering fine from the league, but the message was clear.
The Heat currently have a couple of weaknesses: a high-level point guard or floor general, 3-point shooting and guard or wing depth. James could serve as their floor general and playmaker, as well as possibly their second scoring option behind Antetokounmpo.
But Riley also admitted he doesn’t have a clue as to what will ultimately happen with James.
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I have nothing, as I probably think everybody else that had an opportunity to talk with him are just sort of waiting from that standpoint. This is a man’s decision, and you let him make that decision. He has the right to do that.”
Miami went 43-39 and missed the playoffs this past season. With Antetokounmpo on board, this could be the last real chance for Riley, who is 81 years of age, to win yet another world championship.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Pat Riley says his relationship with LeBron James has ‘thawed’
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
