​Gary Payton doesn’t think LeBron James returning to the Miami Heat would automatically fit, even though Payton once wore a Heat uniform late in his career and helped them win a championship during the 2005-06 season, including delivering a crucial game-winning shot in Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals to prevent a 3-0 deficit. While he leaves the door open to Miami as a possible destination for James, Payton contends that it wouldn’t be an ideal fit because James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are both players who want to have the ball in their hands.
The Hall of Fame point guard also isn’t convinced about James going back to Cleveland. “Well, you know what, if you go to Miami now, what you’re going to do, you got Giannis there,” Payton said in a one-on-one interview. “So, where’s the ball going to be? You know what I’m saying, you’re going to have LeBron, and that was his problem here with the Lakers. He was looking at Luka, and both of those guys were playing very well without each other when they went to the bench. I don’t know about the relationship with Miami. I don’t know if that’s fixed with Pat Riley and him. We don’t know about that. Cleveland, this will be your third stunt going home. I don’t really think he wants to go back home just to finish something there. They’ve got a good, good group there. I don’t know if they’re going to bring Harden back. Mitchell is there.”
According to Payton, the Heat, Cleveland, and Golden State Warriors are among the top destinations considered for James, though other teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers, the Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are also in the running. Technically, no team has been ruled out for James as he likely contemplates his final NBA team.
Payton views the Warriors as the best fit for James, even suggesting that Golden State could be a top-two team in the Western Conference alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder if the 41-year-old stayed in California. The Warriors would feature Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Kristaps Porzingis. “You’ve got to understand, it’s got to be the right fit with superstars,” Payton said. “You don’t put superstars together, and I think at Golden State, what would happen is Draymond would return to his original four, and then you let LeBron handle the basketball and go downhill, and then who’s going to start guarding Curry? I don’t think too many people will, and then you’d have LeBron driving to the basket for easy baskets, with Curry picking it up. Then you’ve also got Butler on the outside. I think that’s a team that would be reckoned with. If they don’t get hurt — a lot of those guys don’t get hurt — I don’t know how you stop that basketball team.”