LeBron James says ‘no hard feelings’ about Dwyane Wade going back to Miami Heat

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 30: Dwyane Wade #9 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers seen on the court against the Detroit Pistons on January 30, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 30: Dwyane Wade #9 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers seen on the court against the Detroit Pistons on January 30, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LeBron James will always embrace his friend Dwyane Wade.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have known each other for over 15 years now, and they have also played for two different teams together. Wade lured James to the Miami Heat for four trips to the title, and LeBron returned the favor when he got Dwyane to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer.

James wasn’t mad about it, though, when Wade chose to return to the Heat this year rather than play out the season in Cleveland.

“I just felt like that’s where he belonged,” LeBron said to ESPN. “I mean, you want to be as happy as you can when you’re in this profession, and I felt like Miami is the best place that creates happiness for him. So I hated to see him go, I wish he was still here, but I understand. That’s why there’s no hard feelings.”

Wade picked the Cavaliers last summer over the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Heat.

It was a difficult decision, but one that was sensible for him at the time. He left a team that wasn’t in contention (the Chicago Bulls) for a team that was, but it makes sense for Wade to finish in Miami. No one knows how many years he has left in the tank, and he plays the game in such a physical way (especially for how small he is) that it always seemed like his career would be shorter than your typical superstar.

Hopefully, there were still no hard feelings after that rejection by Wade when the two teams played on Tuesday night.

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Wade and James will be friends for life. That much is certain. But what if the Heat and Cavs face off in the playoffs this year? Wouldn’t the feelings become much more complicated at that point? Absolutely. The NBA regular season is drawing to a close, and Wade and James appear to be on a crash course for each other. We’ll have to see if there are any hard feelings then.