Stephen A. Smith suggests LeBron James could return to Miami

LeBron James is focused on the Eastern Conference Finals but that didn’t stop on media member from speculating a return to the Miami Heat.

Rumors….you gotta love them.

When it comes to LeBron James, there are rumors about him swirling around the internet 24/7.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was talking about the Miami Heat’s off-season plans after their loss in Game 7 to the Toronto Raptors. Here is what he had to say:

"“They (Miami Heat) expect to have in excess of $30 million in cap space, $30 million plus in this off-season. They are going to chase Kevin Durant unless the Cavaliers win in the Finals and LeBron James decides he wants to move on and possibly come back to Miami. They are going to take care of those priorities first. Obviously, they’re going to try to re-sign Hassan Whiteside, but Dwyane Wade is going to be in their plans.”"

Obviously this is nothing but pure speculation, but you never know for sure.

From a basketball standpoint, it might make sense. LeBron’s goal, according to his essay on Sports Illustrated in 2014, was to bring “one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.” If that was his only goal, it would already be accomplished with an NBA Finals win this season.

A while back LeBron James came out and said that he would love to play with his friends Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony.

It would be tough to get all four of them on the same team, but going back to Miami would make that dream scenario more likely.

Dwyane Wade probably would like to finish his career in Miami. Carmelo Anthony might be on his way out of New York, and the Heat have a lot of young players they could throw in a trade for Carmelo. The only thing standing in the way is finances, but I’m sure they would figure that out if needed.

All of that may sound appealing to LeBron James, but here’s why I don’t think he is leaving Cleveland any time soon:

LeBron left for Miami in 2010 to pursue championships. In four years with the Heat, he won two rings.

He accomplished that goal, he doesn’t have any “unfinished business” left with the Heat.

But the main reason for LeBron to stay in Cleveland doesn’t have anything to do with basketball.

In his “Coming Home” essay published on Sports Illustrated, LeBron talks about how special it would be to him to raise his family in Cleveland.

"“I have two boys and my wife Savannah is pregnant with a daughter (Who was born October 22nd, 2014). I started thinking about what it would be like to raise my family in my hometown. The more time passed, the more it felt right. This is what makes me happy.”"

I think LeBron would love to play in Miami again with D-Wade, but it seems like raising his family in Cleveland is the number one priority in his life. Basketball is important, but it isn’t everything in life.

Staying in Cleveland makes sense “basketball-wise” too.

Kyrie Irving is developing into one of the best scoring point guards in the NBA. Maybe the best attribute about Irving is that he is only 24 years old. His prime years are still ahead of him if he can stay healthy.

And don’t forget about Kevin Love. He has had problems with injuries in the past too, as he missed most of the team’s playoff run last year with a shoulder injury. But he has been fine so far this post-season.

When healthy Kevin Love is one of the best power forwards in the NBA, and occasionally he can play center when the Cavaliers decide to play small.

Love is a career 36% shooter from three-point land, which is pretty good for a big man in the NBA. On a bad team in Minnesota earlier in his career, Love averaged up to 15 rebounds per game.

In Cleveland his high for rebounds per game is 9.9, but part of that is due to him being on a better team. He wasn’t playing with LeBron James and Tristan Thompson in Minnesota, who are other key rebounders for the Cavaliers. It’s understandable why that total dropped.

To go along with that, he is only 27 years of age, which isn’t as young as Kyrie, but still relatively young. A fun fact is that the Cavaliers “Big 3” is around 3-4 years apart from each other. Kyrie is 24, Love is 27, and LeBron just turned 31 in December.

In conclusion, anything is possible, but in my opinion I don’t see LeBron James leaving Cleveland AGAIN.

On Saturday night ESPN released a 30 for 30 documentary titled “Believeland.” It was a movie focused on the struggles for professional sports teams in Cleveland. If you haven’t watched it yet, I totally recommend it.

It highlighted all of the tragic moments in Cleveland sports history. From “The Fumble” to “The Shot,” and even “The Decision” by LeBron James in 2010.

Before watching the film, it was obvious how much LeBron’s decision hurt the city of Cleveland. But the documentary really gave a better perspective on how the city took it. LeBron was hated as much, or even more than Art Modell, who was responsible for moving the Browns out of Cleveland in 1995.

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Then fast forward four more years when LeBron James decides to come back. When it became official on SportsCenter that he was returning, it was almost like Cleveland had actually won a championship.

Fans were bringing out their old LeBron jerseys (the few that didn’t get burned) and celebrating in the streets.

LeBron James and his family saw all of that joy and excitement. Words cannot describe how much the name “LeBron James” means to the city of Cleveland.

I think James knows that he can’t break the city’s heart again, and I don’t think he will be doing that any time soon. He is here to stay, Cavalier fans.

Do you think there is any chance LeBron James moves on again?