In the 2014 NBA offseason, LeBron James decided to take his talents out of South Beach and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that drafted him in 2003. He promised to bring a basketball title to northeast Ohio for the first time in franchise history, and delivered. The late 2010s were headlined by his duels against the Warriors as the face of the Cavs.
But what if we opened Pandora’s box? What if LeBron stayed with the Miami Heat? Does he win more rings? Less? Does he eventually leave later on?
And what would the rest of the league have looked like? There are too many possible resulting permutations, but we can make some very good guesses at the biggest changes from our current timeline.
LeBron Wins Again in 2015
When LeBron reached the NBA Finals in 2015, Kevin Love was already injured. Kyrie then went down with an injury in Game 1, leaving LeBron without his two co-stars. LeBron still carried the Cavs to two victories, but in this alternate timeline, odds are he won’t lose both of his co-stars. While Chris Bosh’s season-ending blood clot discovery was inevitable, LeBron would still have had Dwyane Wade throughout the playoff run.
The Heat wouldn’t be without other losses, though. They would still be without Ray Allen and Shane Battier in this timeline. Allen hit a monumental shot to save the Heat’s season in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals and was key during his tenure there. But by the end of the 2014 season, he was worn out, and even a returning LeBron wouldn’t be able to change his mind.
Battier would also still have problems with the Heat organization. Having a sour taste in his mouth from limited minutes in the 2014 Playoffs, he would have opted to part ways with the Heat anyway.
The Pieces They Still Have
However, the Heat would still have key pieces. Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem and Michael Beasley would still be around. Beasley knew what it took to get to the Finals, and the other three knew what it took to win it all.
Hassan Whiteside would be on the Heat roster in this timeline as well, softening the loss of Bosh. Since the Heat acquired him from the D-League, they would’ve had no problem bringing him in here either. LeBron would’ve had Danny Granger as a teammate for part of the season before Granger was traded for Goran Dragic.
LeBron took two games against the Warriors when his best teammate was Timofey Mozgov. Despite roster losses from the previous season, a healthy lineup of Dragic, Wade, LeBron, Haslem and Whiteside would blast through the East and take four against the Dubs.
A 73-9 Record Now Has A Ring To It
In 2016, LeBron led the Cavs to the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history against the 73-9 Warriors. Had he still been in Miami, Golden State most likely would have won that year. The Heat just wouldn’t have had enough firepower.
In Cleveland, Kyrie Irving averaged 27.1 points per game in the Finals. Tristan Thompson snagged 27 offensive rebounds that series. Kevin Love was a threat, and J.R. Smith provided eight straight points to start the second half in Game 7.
In Miami, Dwyane Wade was aging. In our current timeline, he had the lowest field goal percentage and three-point percentage of his career up to that point. Chris Bosh was sidelined midseason again and missed the playoffs. He would never play another NBA game.
In the imaginary scenario, the Heat would still sign Joe Johnson to a cheap contract for this season. But they wouldn’t have been bad enough to draft Justise Winslow in the 2015 NBA Draft. No one would be able to recreate the impact of Kyrie, Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love against the Warriors. That also now means…
Kevin Durant Heads To The Clippers In 2016
I remember where I was when I found out Kevin Durant was headed to the Golden State Warriors. The news spread quickly throughout the LuHi Basketball camp in Brookville, New York, as kids like myself throughout the Visscher Gymnasium checked their phones to confirm that the unthinkable had happened. The NBA was ruined for the next few years.
But if the Warriors had won the 2016 title, Draymond Green wouldn’t have begged for Durant’s help from the parking lot after Game 7. Joining the Warriors would have seemed like even less of a challenge. Maybe the proper wording is even more like a joke.
Durant would ultimately join the Clippers, seeking a new supporting cast just like he did in reality. Considering the reports that said he was “blown away” by the Clippers in their 2016 offseason meeting, Durant probably heads to one of the Warriors’ biggest rivals.
However, Durant forgets to take into account Blake Griffin’s injury-prone nature. After sacrificing depth to bring in Durant, Griffin wouldn’t be able to remain healthy. In real life, Griffin’s injury resulted in a first-round loss in the 2017 playoffs. With Durant at the helm, the Clippers would make it farther, but the West would be too strong with Chris Paul on the decline.
Where Does That Leave Kyrie and Kevin Love?
If LeBron never returns to the Cavs, the Cavs never trade for Kevin Love, a move done to go all-in on a championship run. Love plays out the remainder of his contract with Minnesota before leaving for Houston in the 2015 offseason. In our timeline, the Rockets finished the 2015 season with the second-best record in the West. They would see Love as a great fit. He would play a role similar to Ryan Anderson as a stretch-big complementing James Harden.
Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett never head to Minnesota via the Kevin Love trade. Anthony Bennett never makes an impact in Cleveland, and Andrew Wiggins helps the team, but only marginally. The team floats in mediocrity for a couple of seasons.
Kyrie eventually gets fed up in Cleveland. Similar to LeBron, he begins to feel he is wasting his career there. In the 2016 offseason, he asks to be traded, and the Spurs and Rockets emerge as two contenders looking for a star point guard. The Rockets, being the more aggressive team, land him using a similar haul they used to land Chris Paul in real life.
Kawhi’s Spurs Remain A Juggernaut
While the Spurs lose out on the Kyrie sweepstakes, the team remains a Western Conference powerhouse. They were up big on the Kevin Durant-led Warriors in 2017 before Zaza Pachulia injured Kawhi. This time around, the Spurs are still just as good, and Kawhi avoids the injury. It’s hard to believe that, with all the shake-ups, Kawhi and Pachulia would’ve ended up in the same situation in a playoff showdown.
In fact, it’s likely that the Spurs are the West’s last team standing in 2017. If they were already beating a Warriors team with Kevin Durant, they could probably beat a Warriors team without him. And while the Rockets and Clippers would be heavy hitters, the Rockets would still be figuring out their chemistry, while the Clippers would be without Blake Griffin.
The Spurs never end up trading Kawhi in 2018. If he leaves, it happens much later — and the Toronto Raptors never win a title.
Meanwhile, Back In Miami
While Miami is on the decline, the LeBron-led Heat are still able to plow through the weak East year after year. In 2017, he would face a familiar foe in the Finals: the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs’ dominant defense would prove to be too much for the Heat, powering them to a sixth franchise championship.
This is where LeBron begins to lose hope of another championship. Like in real life, he is able to run through the Eastern Conference en route to a Finals appearance like clockwork. But the West is getting stronger, and his team isn’t getting any younger. He begins to consider leaving for a younger team and sets his sights on the Lakers.
State of the NBA
The 2017 season has just concluded. LeBron still has three rings at this point in his career. He’d win in 2015 instead of 2016. The Warriors remain a force, but never become the invincible team they were with KD. They have one ring instead of two at this point, and aren’t the biggest villains of all-time.
Kyrie and Kevin Love still play together. Only this time, they join forces in Houston. After Kyrie’s departure, the Cavs franchise develops a dark narrative. Kyrie’s tenure closely mirrors what LeBron’s did. The Cavs draft a star with the first overall pick, but year after year, they fail to surround the star with the tools necessary to win a title.
Kevin Durant is still ringless. He heads to the Clippers with championship hopes, only to realize that maybe he would’ve been better off back with Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.
The Spurs become the most accomplished team of the 21st century. Their ability to seamlessly transition from one face of the organization to another becomes a blueprint that the rest of the league aspires to follow.
Future Outlook
What happens to the Miami dynasty next? Can KD finally get his ring? Where does the power in the league reside moving forward? We’ll address those in part two.
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