When reflecting on LeBron James' basketball career, the period that stands out the most to fans is often his decision to join the Heat in 2010. But for Heat legend Pat Riley, it was LeBron's departure four years later that hit him the most and it's a moment that he took personally after it was made roughly 10 years ago.
“It was a lot of animosity around when that happened because Pat [Riley] took that personal," said former Heat guard Norris Cole on 'Tidal League.' "He was upset when [LeBron James] left. It was a lot of tension and it took him a while to get over that. It wasn’t a good feeling, but now your roles change on the team… We still had the same expectation.”
LeBron James was in an ideal situation with the Heat, and by the time he became a free agent in 2014, he had achieved a lot there over four years: two championships in four straight Finals appearances. At the time, nobody thought that James would leave, especially so soon after arriving.
Dwyane Wade was arguably the most surprised, and he later admitted that he was furious that his friend and co-star decided to abandon the team.
Nevertheless, James made his choice that summer and hasn't looked back. After breaking the seal on a championship win with the Heat, he returned to his hometown Cavaliers team to help achieve history there.
Years later, we all know how it ended up for LeBron and it's hard to say that his decision to leave the Heat when he did was a bad choice at all. But arguably the biggest question on this topic is what convinced James to leave after achieving so much success in South Beach?
Did The Heat Try To Give LeBron James A Pay Cut?
While the exact details of contract negotiations that summer are still unknown, we know that the Heat tried to get LeBron to re-sign with them before he finalized his decision. Ultimately, James decided it was in his best interest to leave as soon as possible.
On the court, while Miami had dominated the East for years at that point, their decline was evident to anyone who paid attention. Dwyane Wade was on the tail end of his prime and his health was severely compromised after Miami's second straight championship.
Ray Allen was retired, Chris Bosh was in decline, and the Hea were coming off a season where they won just 54 games. From a purely competitive standpoint, it made sense for LeBron to leave that year, especially if he had an opportunity to build a superteam with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Of course, there's also the fact that Pay Riley tried to offer LeBron James a pay cut on his contract to stay with the Heat. According to reports, the attempt is what drove LeBron to the Cavs and forever drove a rift between the two Hall of Famers.
It's unknown why Riley felt bold enough to offer James anything less than the max during his prime but it seems he paid for his mistake by losing LeBron. Since he left in 2014, the Heat have yet to win the championship and are still looking to recapture the glory days of their back-to-back title run.
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