DBWI Lebron James Had Signed With Cleveland in 2014

In 2014 Lebron James exercised the opt-out clause in his contract and became a free agent. Obviously a number of teams tried to sign him but he was very close to signing a contract with his original team, the Cleveland Cavaliers before the Miami Heat swooped in at the last minute and offered him the max contract he was looking for, in large part by clearing cap space by getting Wade and Bosh to restructure their contracts.

Since then it has been nothing but frustration in Miami. D-Wade is showing his age, Bosh is suffering from blood clots, and the team can't afford to sign any decent role players since so much of their salary cap is tied up with three guys. The Heat got chewed up and spit out in four games by the Warriors in 2015 and didn't even make the finals in 2016, losing to Toronto in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Raptors then getting chewed up and spit out by the Warriors.

What would have happened if Lebron had signed with Cleveland? Despite being a bad team, the roster was (is) stocked with talented young players like Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters and Andrew Wiggins, they had plenty of cap space, and there were even rumors that Kevin Love was going to ask for a trade to Cleveland if Lebron had signed there. Of course Love asked for a trade to Golden State instead and he seems quite happy there.

Would Cleveland have been able to build a championship caliber squad around Lebron and their talented youngsters or would it have been Lebron and Seven Dwarves? A lot of people think Kyrie Irving is just another talented young player who prefers to be a stat stuffer on a lousy team and it is questionable that the team could have afforded Lebron, Irving, and Love (assuming they got him) without totally trashing their salary structure.

Thoughts on this one, it's an interesting what if.
 
Seems like it would go even worse for Lebron than OTL.
Kevin Love, Andrew Wiggins, and Kyrie are all players that need the ball to win and despite growth it looks like the Cavs are gonna have to trade Waiters if they hope to develop.

A trade for Kevin Love would just be short sighted, he operates best posting up and from the elbows, just like Lebron. Trading their youth for him would kill their future and risk going all in for a team that doesn't fit.

On the other hand, I don't think the Heat are totally lost yet. They still have Lebron who even though Curry now has 2 FMVP, 2 championships and an MVP I would dare to argue is still the best player in the world. Winning the regular season MVP just shows that, once again Lebron is on a team that he has put on his back but isn't doing enough.
To go with Lebron I've heard Dwight is looking to sign with the Heat, and that a pursuit of CP3 next season seems likely. Just Dwight puts them over the Raptors in my eyes and CP3 would make them my favourite. Not to mention the constant rumours about a trade bringing in Carmelo to finish off the crew.
 
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