Miami Heat Rumors: Pat Riley Looking Forward to LeBron James Reunion With Chris Paul and Others?
There have been rumors of LeBron James returning to the Miami Heat in NBA free agency this summer. This possibility was first brought up by Max Kellerman of SPN, who said it would make more sense for James to return to the Heat than land in Los Angeles with the Lakers or in Houston with the Rockets.
James once said that he would like to end his basketball career playing alongside his friends Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade. It can be recalled that just last week, Wade was traded back to the Heat to finish his career with his original team. Meanwhile, Paul, Anthony and James are all free agents this summer and are free to team up with the Heat, whose financial and roster flexibility makes it in a good position to get the friends all together in one team.
Currently, James seems to have more disdain for current Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert than Heat's Pat Riley. Considering how Riley has been openly heaping praise on James in recent months, and how he's finally patched things up with Wade, James' much-awaited reunion with his friends now seems so within his reach.
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Last summer, NBA Lockdown podcast host Jorge Sedano said, "I look at Pat (Riley) and he's saying to himself, 'I want to create enough mobility for myself with my roster and some flexibility where I can have some cap space for next year in the big 2018 free agency class and have some tradable commodities to be able to maybe create some space' because I think Pat Riley's trying for a LeBron reunion." Sedano revealed that Riley was setting sights on a "Banana Boat boys in Miami," referring to James, Paul, Anthony and Wade.
Kellerman noted that Riley would trade A-lister Goran Dragic to Houston just to get Paul if it meant him being able to pitch the "Banana Boat" scenario to James when the time for talking comes. As of now, James jumping back to the Heat is a huge possibility, but only if the Gilbert fails to lure him back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
