The Miami Heat may have started the offseason as the team linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the conversation has shifted fast. Now the bigger question is whether LeBron James could be the one joining him in Miami.
Multiple reports have James interested in a return to play for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley, and ESPN’s Shams Charania pushed the idea even further by saying Antetokounmpo wants James alongside him in Miami.
“There’s a draw with Miami," Charania said. "Pat Riley is a draw, Spoelstra is a draw.
I have gotten any feel that there’s still tension between LeBron and Pat Riley that would detour him from that. I think Bam and Giannis are big draws for him too.
He played team USA for Bam and has a lot of respect for Bam. Giannis would want LeBron in Miami from my understanding as well.
No state taxes…. In January, you think about Miami and, it’s Miami!
If you have a team that is basically neck and neck but one of them is based in Miami, with no state taxes.”
If that scenario comes together, James would join Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo and immediately give the Heat the look of an Eastern Conference contender.
James appears to be weighing Miami against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the decision is being framed as a close one because of his success in both places. He won two titles in four straight NBA Finals appearances with the Heat from 2010-14, then later delivered a championship to Cleveland in 2016.
What was supposed to be the summer of Giannis has turned into another LeBron storyline. A decision is expected within the coming weeks, most likely before NBA Summer League wraps up in Las Vegas later this month.
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