While most executives might need time to accept the departure of their franchise player, Heat President Pat Riley was unshaken after LeBron James said goodbye in the summer of 2014. According to Udonis Haslem, Riley sent a message directly to the remaining players that summer and threatened to “start over” if they didn’t get it together and move on from the loss.
“Get yall sh*t together, the King ain’t here no more,” Riley said, per Haslem. “Everybody can go! I’ll start this all over…”
LeBron first joined the Heat back in 2010, after trying and failing for years to bring a championship to Cleveland. With an opportunity to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach, James couldn’t pass it up and he quickly set to work on maximizing his time there.
With the help of the big three and head coach Erik Spoelstra, James would lead the Heat to two championships in four straight trips to the Finals, and by the time he was up for free agency, there was nothing left for him to accomplish there.
Even so, James’ decision to leave in 2014 left a hole in Miami’s lineup that they were unable to fill. Despite massive pressure from Pat Riley, they finished 10th in their first season without the King and have yet to win another title with the new regime under Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Today, while the Heat are still working toward their next championship, they’ve been among the best teams in the East for years now, and there is a sense of pride in how they’ve managed to recover after losing such a big-time superstar.
The Truth Behind LeBron’s Heat Exit
While much of the details behind LeBron’s move to Cleveland that year are a mystery, he had been preparing for his return long before he announced the decision to the world.
The feeling around the league at the time was that the Heat had run their course. After just four years, Wade was starting to show his age, and Chris Bosh was just not good enough to fill the role of the secondary offensive option. With new rising competitors, including the Golden State Warriors, LeBron would be at a disadvantage if he stayed with the Heat. Compare that situation to the one in Cleveland, with a young Kyrie Irving, and it’s easy to see why the lure was so strong.
Of course, Pat Riley is not blameless for LeBron’s exit. While nobody knew it at the time, he tried to get James to take a pay cut that summer and it was the final nail in the coffin for their working relationship.
Feeling betrayed by Riley made it an easier choice for LeBron that summer when it came time to settle on his next destination. In truth, he had everything to gain by returning home to play with Kyrie, and it allowed him to extend his stretch of dominance in the East by several years.
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