LeBron James Isn't Coming Back to the Miami Heat

Stop it. Just stop. LeBron James isn't returning to the Miami Heat this summer. Don't believe the hype. Don't entertain the noise the talking heads on ESPN are yelling at your TV screen. Don't click the articles (other than this one!). Just don't waste your time. It's not happening. And it shouldn't, for everyone involved.

Even the biggest Heat homers would have a difficult time explaining why LeBron would want to come back to Miami to finish his career. In 2010, he needed the Miami Heat. He couldn't win a title on his own. He was a shell of the player he is now. He's openly explained how the four years he spent in Miami transformed him as a player and a person. He's compared his four years in Miami to going to college, but like all college students, he moved on. He has no reason to come back.

LeBron is dominating the league with Tyronn Lue as his coach, the wet-behind-the-ears Koby Altman as general manager, and Dan Gilbert as the Cavaliers' owner. LeBron makes the NBA Finals every year. He doesn't need structure anymore; he needs elite teammates. Miami can offer the structure that's no longer necessary, but not the teammates he'd want for his next step. To sign LeBron and rework the entire roster, the Heat would have to trade away draft picks as far as 2024 and trade away any young players on cap-friendly contracts. The Heat would need to contort the team into a pretzel for what would likely amount to a one-year-and-we'll-see LeBron contract.

Why would either side want to do that with much better options on the table? LeBron can pick any team in the league. Why would he choose to come back to Miami, a team over the cap for the foreseeable future and without the sort of draft picks it would take to acquire the best players?

He could go to Philadelphia and team up with Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, and the rest of the youngest and most exciting team in the NBA. Oh, and they have a crapload of picks left over from all of that tanking.

LeBron could go to Houston to play with CP3 and James Harden. He'd likely bring along others, such as Carmelo Anthony, too.

LeBron could go to Los Angeles and start from scratch. He'd be given the keys to the NBA's most prestigious team.

He could stay in Cleveland and be king forever. He could ride out the rest of his career making $40 million a season and never being able to do any wrong.

Or he could come to Miami, where Pat Riley would be looking over his shoulder the entire time wondering if he'd leave again, and Dwyane Wade would be having his retirement party.

It's not happening. Don't fall for the clickbait. LeBron isn't coming back to Miami.