The Cleveland Cavaliers put up a valiant effort against the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals, but came up short due to the overwhelming star power in the Bay Area. Just before the NBA Finals began, however, Cavs star LeBron James made a trip down south to visit some old friends.
According to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, longtime Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem says that James flew down to Miami to spend some time with former teammates Dwyane Wade and himself.
“Right before they started the Finals against Golden State, I spent some time with ‘Bron,” Haslem said during a visit to the Heat's youth camp at South Broward High School. “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.”
Obviously, your first question after that is, ‘was James going back to the Heat discussed?!' Unfortunately, Haslem says that was not one of the talked about subjects.
“That,” Haslem said, “wasn't part of the conversation.”
James and Wade were already good friends before LeBron chose to play in Miami back in 2010, but he's also built a strong relationship with Haslem throughout the years. Haslem says that, although James hasn't spoken to him about coming back, he'll support him either way and might even join in on the recruiting game as well.
“Obviously, he was getting ready for the NBA Finals,” Haslem said. “But there are great pieces here and we all know the city loves him and we all know what he’s capable of doing. I'm sure the organization and I would love to have him. But, as a friend, once again, I support LeBron with whatever decision he makes. So we’ll see.”
“Am I going to be a part of the recruiting process? Hell yeah,” he said. “If he reaches out and we talk, I’m going to throw it out there. But you just never know.”
Haslem hasn't played much over the last few seasons, but has been a strong veteran presence and vocal leader for a team that's gotten younger since the departure of Dwyane Wade (free agency) and Chris Bosh (blood clots). He hasn't much, but said he still has a lot of energy left to use. Heat fans are hoping a lot of that energy can be used to lure James back to Miami.