A league source told GetMoreSports.com that Pat Riley and the Miami Heat should not be counted out of the equation, because the key to getting LeBron is being able to get Kawhi. And if you think Riles would not relish an opportunity to get the better of Magic Johnson, you probably did not know that Riley was drafted as a wide receiver by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round of the 1967 NFL Draft and owns the trademark to the term “three-peat.”
Storyline: LeBron James to Heat?
16 rumors in this storyline
More Rumors in this Storyline
“Right before they started the Finals against Golden State, I spent some time with Bron,” Haslem said to reporters during a visit to the Heat’s youth summer camp at South Broward High. “He was in Miami. Me, him and Dwyane got together and we spent some time together and we just chopped it up and we just talked.” James’ future was not discussed, though, with the visit actually coming between the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals. “That wasn’t part of the conversation,” Haslem said. “Obviously, he was getting ready for the NBA Finals.”
Haslem said he’s heard the speculation of a possible James-Heat reunion, with multiple Las Vegas sports books and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith including Miami as one of the teams in the running for the 14-time All-Star. “That’s what everybody is saying and that’s what I’ve been hearing,” Haslem said. “Honestly, I hear it more on the outside than I have from him.”
What’s your reaction when you see the Heat mentioned as a potential destination for LeBron James? Josh Richardson: “Excitement. I’m not too excited because I don’t know what he wants to do or what he’s going to do. I mean I think we have great pieces to offer to play around him. We play with a lot of intensity. We’ve got a lot of dog in us. You need that in the trenches. That’s all I can really say about it.”
Barry Jackson: Josh Richardson, on LeBron: “We have great pieces to offer [for him] to play around.”
Brendan Tobin: Justise Winslow starts the @MiamiHEAT recruiting early
Though the WestGate Las Vegas sports book has given the Heat tied for the fifth best odds of winning the championship next season (20 to 1) because of a belief LeBron James could return to the Heat this summer, there is absolutely no expectation inside the Heat that James will return. Yes, the Heat would welcome James back if he shockingly decided to come back. But the Heat would need to trade off many of its appealing assets to make this work even in the unlikely event James wanted to return. And if Cleveland refused to do a sign-and-trade with the Heat, Miami would need to trim more than $55 million in salary while taking no money back to create the cap room.
“He’s not [coming back to Miami]. But the fact when ESPN polled 48 players about what they thought might happen with LeBron that they even mentioned the Heat shows that, at worst, the Heat remain relevant in players’ consciousness,” Winderman wrote. “Basically, the NBA players polled still consider the Heat a desirable landing spot. And that is a good thing. But I cannot fathom, as you pointed out, the Heat having enough on their roster to attract such a level of free agent. There was a time when I thought Hassan Whiteside could have been such a lure, but with his role minimized, I don’t see that as the case anymore.”
Rich Paul, James’ agent, has received phone calls inquiring about his client’s availability and they have been told he’s going back to Cleveland. Miami wasn’t one of the teams who called, I’m told. James is currently in Los Angeles at his new home.
One more victory, one more magnificent night at Oracle Arena, and James will get to run off with his buddies again somewhere warm. Miami. Los Angeles. Wherever. There’s a restlessness about James that craves the next big move, the next power play. Franchises are on watch again, believing nothing’s forever in Northeast Ohio. Sooner or later, there’s a belief that James comes into play again, a line of thinking that his inner circle has done nothing to dissuade. As for James himself, well, he has gone so far as to publicly describe an end-of-career scenario that doesn’t include Cleveland.
Stephen A. Smith: I’m in Miami last week. I’m in Miami a few months ago. Skip Bayless, I’m hearing about a return to Miami if this man wins. He ain’t going nowhere if he loses. But, if he wins, his options are open. LA, but especially Miami, a return to South Beach. Look man, there’s a lot going on. And there’s a lot riding on him winning. Losing changes everything, because it keeps there in Cleveland. But more importantly, it keeps him stuck, because he knows he can’t leave until he fulfills his promise. And if you can’t because you’re not a champion, that’s far worse than just choosing to stay because you want to. It’s going to get very interesting. Keep your eyes on it.
August 14, 2018 | 4:27 am EDT Update
Lamar Odom: My last night in this amazing city! Getting ready for my next chapter in China and closing my last chapter in The Netherlands with my manager @iamzoul Had an amazing time in your hometown Rotterdam and thank you @mr2rchiang for assigning this woman to me that became like the sister I never had. The past two weeks felt great and I worked hard on my conditioning and gaining muscle strength. I have started a new healthy food program and I feel like I already gained back 50% of what I used to be during my glory times. I will continue to work hard and will share with all of you updates of my new journey. I will be back soon Netherlands!! 🧀🇳🇱🌷#teamlamarodom #nextstophongkong #bye @ninetyplusofficial
Odom recently signed with Ninety Plus, the China management company that also handles the singer Akon, referring to them as his “Chinese business partners”.
Odom’s own latest post is also from Hong Kong while people have been posting photographs with him in the city on social media. The 38-year old was in Hong Kong and Shenzhen earlier this summer before deciding to make the move to Shenzhen for a fresh start.
A year out from what could be an enormous 2019 free agency in the NBA, there are rumors about the next potential super-team. Two league sources told Business Insider that there is a buzz about the Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jimmy Butler teaming up next summer, with one source saying the chatter is “substantial.” Both sources also said the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets could be well-positioned to land the two players if they are indeed keen on teaming up.
One source called the summers of 2017 and 2018 “anomalies” in the way those second- or third-tier players struggled to find long-term contracts. There were more players signing deals like Avery Bradley did with the Los Angeles Clippers this year (two years, $24 million) than Will Barton did with the Denver Nuggets (four years, $54 million). The same source believes 2019 could begin a “return to normalcy” for those players. However, several sources also cautioned against the idea of a spending spree akin to 2016. Teams have learned their lessons from some of the massive four-year deals handed out that summer that looked almost immediately regrettable, sources said. It seems unlikely, for example, that we’ll see players like Timofey Mozgov get four-year, $64 million deals.
Mike D’Antoni: “Well, at different points of people’s careers or lives or circumstances, things are different. … In New York, when they gave away half the team (to Denver in the February 2011 trade that brought Anthony to the Knicks) and everybody expected us to win a championship, it really wasn’t realistic. It put a lot of pressure on everybody, and it kind of burst the pipes. I think this is totally different. We’ve got a team that is a whole bunch of veterans that really, we’ve got one thing in mind, and that’s to win a championship, and we have the possibility. We never had a blow-up before, so it’s not he wanted to play a certain way and I kind of wanted to coach another way. “Back then, there wasn’t even analytics. I was going by my gut, and he was going by (his) gut, and it’s just, you know, styles clash. And I think now, things have changed and everybody is playing the same way. I think it’s a lot better fit and I think we have a really good chance to be really good.”
