With the NBA season halfway over following the All-Star break, LeBron James may only have a little bit of time left in a Miami Heat jersey. While the impending free agent hasn't wanted to discuss his future as he is currently trying to help lead the Heat to a third straight NBA title, he also said he can't picture himself leaving Miami in July when he hits the market.
James is expected to exercise an option in the deal he signed with the Heat in 2010 where he can become a free agent after this season, but he told NBA.tv that he couldn't envision himself leaving Miami. He also admitted that he still may end up leaving after he assesses his future following the season.
When asked by NBA.tv if he could see himself leaving Miami come season's end, James answered candidly.
"At this point, I can't," James told NBA.tv. "We don't know what can happen from now to July, so what I've been able to do this whole season to this point is just worry about what's at hand and that's winning another championship. And hopefully at the end of this year I can put myself in a position where I can hold that Larry O'Brien Trophy up once again. And then I will assess what I have to do with my future after that."
James, an Akron, Ohio native who left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, also discussed the team's loss in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and said that he stayed in isolation for two weeks due to the disappointment of finally getting into the finals only to lose.
James was able to rectify the loss by rattling off two straight championship seasons with the Heat since, taking home NBA Finals MVP awards both years.
James said that after that loss in to the Mavericks, he met up with Dwyane Wade in the Bahamas to have some discussions.
"We had some great conversations there," James said via NBA.tv. "D-Wade was like, 'Man, in order for us to be great you have to be the guy."
James was surprised to hear that.
"We're talking about Wade County here," James said, referring to what Miami-Dade County starting calling itself in Wade's honor, according to NBA.tv. "We're talking about the man who won a championship here, who's been a six-time All-Star, you want me to take the keys? And he said, 'Absolutely."
James said that he stopped playing up to people's expectations of him since those conversations.
"I don't play for what people expect for me to do anymore," James said. "I want to be the greatest of all time and that's just my mindset."
Come July, he may just be playing for a team other than the Heat.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
