LeBron James’ Offseason Choices: Miami Heat Return?
At 41 years old, LeBron James considers a Miami Heat return for his 5th NBA title, even eyeing a pay cut to rejoin his top team. Dan discusses their potential.
Video Transcript
You know, the big story now in this off-season for the NBA has to be: for the NBA has to be: what does LeBron James do?
Where does LeBron James go and play?
Does he stay in Los Angeles, and do they try to work a contract out with Rob Pelinka, the general manager, and keep him there?
What they've just done with contracts there in Los Angeles, you know, unless LeBron takes less money, he will not be a Los Angeles Laker.
And if LeBron's willing to take some less, lesser of a salary, LeBron James would have an opportunity to pretty much pick his team and go place-- and go to a place that could end up winning him his fifth NBA championship.
LeBron had a pretty good season last year, I mean, for any age, let alone the fact that he's 41 years of age.
What better place for him to go to than to go back to the Miami Heat?
Could he mend fences with Pat Riley and with Erik Spoelstra and go back to South Florida, a place that taught him how to win championships?
Let me give you a story about Pat Riley when I was down in South Florida and I was on the radio and I was, able to interview Pat Riley.
Pat Riley told me how he got LeBron James to go and become a Miami Heat.
So they invited him down.
Riley had a castle full of his championship rings.
Remember, Riley had won one as a player, had won one as an assistant under Paul Westhead in 1980, and let's not forget he was also on those Adolph Rupp teams that ended up winning a national championship when he was at Kentucky.
He had LeBron across the desk from him.
He goes, "Pick one of those rings up."
LeBron picked one of those rings up.
He goes, "You can have one.
Put one on.
Feel how it feels to be a champion and wear one of those championship rings.
I'll get you one if you listen to me."
And in that timeframe, LeBron James learned how to win as a champion.
And for the record, it's really the only time in his entire career he's ever had a coach that told him no.
Every single great player has had that coach tell that alpha dog player no.
Tom Brady had Bill Belichick.
Phil Jackson was the guy that told Michael Jordan, "Hey, you wanna win scoring titles?
No problem.
If you wanna win NBA championships, follow me.
You've gotta make everybody better on your team."
Phil Jackson was able to connect with Jordan, and the rest is history.
That's exactly what Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley did in South Florida to LeBron.
It was the toughest he had ever been coached, and it was the toughest that he had ever played for an organization, was there when he was with the Miami Heat.
That great run when they were down 3-1 when he was with the Cavaliers and they came back against that 70-plus team in Golden State was one of the most iconic games in one of the most iconic series in NBA history.
He learned that when he was down in South Florida because of Pat Riley.
Going back and now playing with Giannis, they need a shooter.
Could you imagine putting Bam, Giannis, and LeBron on the floor at the same time?
The Miami Heat would challenge for the Eastern Conference Championship if LeBron goes back and does the right thing.
If LeBron wants to sit in Los Angeles and run the, and run the table out, no problem.
But if he wants one last shot at the glass slipper and one last shot at being a champion, Miami's the place for him.
Go play down there with Giannis.
Giannis and LeBron and Bam.
Folks, make no mistake, that would be an incredible threesome.
It would rival what they did back in the day.
I love Riley.
Pat Riley is by far one of the greatest executives in team sports history.
Here's the guy that brought Shaq in.
Here's the guy that went and got Chris Paul.
Here's the guy that went and got LeBron James.
Here's the guy that drafted, Wade and all those great players down there and developed a guy like Erik Spoelstra.
When Erik Spoelstra was put in that position of head coach, I was like this: "You took a quality control guy and a video guy, and you think that guy is gonna be the next coach and the next great thing?"
Riley was right again.
Riley's the greatest executive next to Jerry West in all of NBA history.
Jerry West, obviously, the logo and all the big teams that he built in Los Angeles.
Hell, he was also a part of that whole scenario in Golden State with Bob Myers.
He was even responsible for building up the Memphis Grizzlies.
He goes down, in my opinion, as the greatest, but Riley is right there-
