Pat Riley Almost Went Scorched Earth Like Dan Gilbert When LeBron Left Miami

LeBron James is the greatest player in the NBA right now, and he certainly was when he left the Miami Heat to return home to Cleveland in the summer of 2014. He was also the greatest player in the NBA when he took his "talents to South Beach" four years before that. Each time James made the decision to change area codes, he left a team, and an owner, and various other front office types reeling in his wake. You don't lose the best player in the game—a guy who can instantly turn your team, no matter who else is on it, into a contender—without feeling a little bit like the walls are falling down around you. Once the shock wears off, anger naturally sets in.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was given the first opportunity to go through the Post-LeBron Stages of Grief in 2010, and promptly and profoundly lost his mind. He fired off a nonsensical screed eviscerating LeBron, calling his decision a "shocking act of disloyalty" and "a cowardly betrayal," among other bad things. This was funny enough even before taking into account that it was all written in comic sans, the font that universally signifies Take This Seriously. Gilbert was roundly and rightly lambasted for every portion of the letter; the font was the cherry on top.

In a long feature for ESPN the Magazine, Miami Heat president Pat Riley told Wright Thompson that he almost pulled a Gilbert himself after LeBron went back to Cleveland before a friend talked him out of it. (The letter's font wasn't discussed) Riley recounts a trip to Las Vegas in July 2014 to meet with LeBron, who had just exercised an opt-out clause in his contract, and his team; the plan was to discuss a return to Miami, as well as the rest of their organizational plan. Maverick Carter, with whom Riley shared a mutual respect, was not there and Riley sensed danger. At one point, he had to ask them to mute the World Cup game they were watching instead of paying attention to Riley and Co.

Riley flew home worried and got a text telling him to be ready for a call. About 15 minutes later, his phone rang and [LeBron's agent Rich] Paul was on the other end. The agent handed the phone to LeBron, who started by saying, "I want to thank you for four years …"

"I was silent," Riley says. "I didn't say anything. My mind began to just go. And it was over. I was very angry when LeBron left. It was personal for me. It just was. I had a very good friend who talked me off the ledge and kept me from going out there and saying something like Dan Gilbert. I'm glad I didn't do it."

Riley obviously has much more credibility than Dan Gilbert ever will, and I can't really imagine seething comic sans coming from a guy who has spent his adult professional life perfecting the Gordon Gekko Experience. But here we have another reminder of the greatness of LeBron James, and the power of elite athletes in general. Grown men, the kind who wear suits, like, 95 percent of the time they are awake and make more money in one month than you will ever see in one place, can be reduced to roiling puddles of emotion just because a guy left their team. Alpha sports weirdos: they're just like us.

[ESPN]