The Miami Heat continue to put on a brave face following LeBron James’ decision to return to Cleveland during free agency. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says that painful as it may be for Miami, neither side should have any regrets about what took place this summer. Per the Sun-Sentinel:
“He seemed at peace with the decision,” Spoelstra said. “We don’t have any regrets. He shouldn’t have any regrets. It was a historic four-year run.”
“This league does teach you that it’s inevitable that there’s constant change and you always have to continue to embrace change, adapt with change,” Spoelstra said. “This is a big, monumental change that we didn’t necessarily anticipate but you have to respect it because when you’re a free agent in this league you have the right to make a decision that’s best for you and your family. When he made that decision that was best for his family, where his heart is, all you can do from our side is respond with respect and love.”
The Heat were in panic-mode for about “two or three” hours after the decision. Spoelstra met with team President Pat Riley and General Manager Andy Elisburg to discuss their options. He described it as a scene from the movie Jerry Maguire, with each making countless phone calls to agents and players on their cell phones. “Probably, we were all in Pat’s office about five minutes just to collect ourselves and then from there it was madness,” Spoelstra said. “The board was right there. So we said we better get to work and we didn’t leave until after 1 in the morning.”
Related: NBA Players React to LeBron’s Decision to Return to Cleveland
