Why lebron will leave miami

He is a Heat legend and Miami is always on the hunt for superstars. But as Riley said, it's not particularly likely at this stage of James' career.

He had four great years with the Heat, but he probably doesn't have any more coming. By Sam Quinn. Jun 7, at pm ET 3 min read. See All Newsletters. Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. There was an error processing your subscription. Clippers vs. Watch Now:. After the weary Heat finished a frustrating season with a Finals flop against San Antonio , and prior to opting into free agency, James had informed associates of his openness to leaving the NBA's "IBM" behind, to embrace his entrepreneurial instincts, to take a shot at serving as the figurative CEO of a startup.

Or, in the case of the Cavaliers, a re-startup. Clearly, James' stint with the Heat had run its course. But that doesn't mean his Ohio homecoming was a smooth one. In , the Cavs stumbled out of the gate—to , then and eventually —while a weary James dragged along a mismatched roster. There were team meetings , tense moments—with head coach David Blatt on the sidelines , Kyrie Irving behind closed doors and Kevin Love on social media —and poor play on both ends of the floor as the Cavs struggled to reorient their identity around the game's pre-eminent player.

By mid-January, though, Cleveland was off and running. When James came back from a two-week New Year's sabbatical, he found himself surrounded by a revamped supporting cast. Smith and Iman Shumpert. Once those pieces congealed into a cohesive whole, the Cavs could hardly be stopped. They won 32 of the last 35 games in which James, Irving and Love played. James' personal performance suffered significantly in Year 1 of his second stint in Cleveland. He missed 13 games—the most in a single season of his career—and saw his statistical production slip in those he did play, at least in comparison to his four years in Miami:.

But if James is to be judged on his team's success, it's tough to argue that things turned out worse for him in Cleveland than they would've in Miami.

The Cavs won 53 games, a year after the Heat came out ahead 54 times during the campaign. They made a big mid-season trade for Goran Dragic, but Bosh missed the end of the season with blood clots.

However, Bosh was again forced to miss the second half of the season with more blood clots, and the Heat lost to the Toronto Raptors in seven games in the second round. The following summer, Wade left in free agency over a contract disagreement with the Heat. Bosh's career was essentially over, and the Heat were forced into a strange pivot. Over the following seasons, the Heat kept chasing stars and coming up short, with players like Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward taking meetings with them in free agency, but choosing other teams.

While the Heat compiled scrappy, lovable teams and had successful reclamation in projects in players like Whiteside, James Johnson, and Dion Waiters, they were stuck in a tough in-between: not good enough to be true playoff threats, nor bad enough to acquire high lottery picks. Worse, when the Heat struck out on the top free agents, they doubled down on their guys. Head-scratching contracts included:.

As Lowe reported, other teams soon asked what the Heat were doing and how they'd get out of their own mess. The Heat's turn-around was rapid. Despite never picking higher than 10th, they landed productive players in the draft and outside of it that bolstered their roster.

Bam Adebayo, taken 14th in the draft, showed signs of being a diverse, multi-position defender and offensive orchestrator. Josh Richardson, a second-round pick, blossomed into a 3-and-D star who looked capable of being more than just a role player. Duncan Robinson, an undrafted forward from Michigan, who had transferred from a DIII school, was cultivated into a sharp-shooting three-point menace in the G League.

The Heat picked Tyler Herro with the 14th pick in the draft and signed Kendrick Nunn after he went undrafted. We went from having dreams of James, Gasol, and Ariza to having Deng, Granger, and McRoberts in a span of seconds, and at big contracts to boot. I thought he would opt in for the final two years, win at least one more title and make two more finals appearances and head back home to Cleveland.

I was appreciative when he was here but mad when he left. I understood why: Wade was getting older, teammates were getting tired of each other. Cleveland had a young and good player in Kyrie Irving. The Kevin Love trade looked good on paper.

Now use in Miami felt upset when LeBron left. Look where we live! It was a fun and unforgettable four years that will never be duplicated. We went from going to the finals in to missing the playoffs the next season. Miami Heat: What is the most aggressive move Pat Riley can make?