LeBron James' Title Should Serve As Pat Riley's Free Agency Motivation

The champagne smell is probably still fresh, tears newly dry and parade plans a few days away. And all of this subsequently sets up the official beginning of the offseason for all 30 teams involved.

Along with that should have come closure for Miami Heat fans who have been relying on the fact that LeBron James had not won an NBA championship without wearing one of Micky Arison’s uniforms. However, one person who likely will not be letting go of any animosity is team president Pat Riley.

The prospect of seeing James fail — for the second year in a row — at reaching his ultimate goal without Riley’s backing must have felt gratifying as he was being ridiculed and called every name in the book for being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals. Then the Cleveland Cavaliers made history by doing the impossible on the shoulders of James’ back-to-back 41-point outings and a triple-double. And it was all with the secret motivation of an unnamed person within the Heat organization telling him that he “was making the biggest mistake of his career [heading back to Cleveland]” in the back of his mind.

The battery in his back was pretty obvious without him revealing it to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. And it was probably a safe assumption that the author of such words was Riley after pride forced him to challenge James before the free agency of 2014 began and chastise him after.

Remember the “smiling face with a hidden agenda?” Riley needs to use it in the same manner that he used him — as strictly motivation. Because regardless of reports, the small forward is not going anywhere as long as the Cavaliers continue to be the team being chased out East. Especially since Dwyane Wade was not out in Oakland to bring his buddy back to South Beach.

Riley has to go all out to knock James off, starting with finding a way to build through free agency.

The Cavaliers proved that a skilled big man could beat small ball if used in the right way. Just examine how Tristan Thompson dominated the undersized Golden State Warriors‘ “death lineup.” You can call that a check on reasons why the Heat need to bring back Hassan Whiteside. And if being a lifer were not enough reason to make sure Wade was secure in Miami, the resurgence of the mid-range game throughout this year’s playoffs is.

Now the question becomes not will Riley add pieces to the puzzle, but in what fashion? Will he be able to go big game fishing for a “whale” like Kevin Durant who says his free agency is not all about big money, marketing and endorsements? Or will adding a few crucial lower-tier players give the Heat enough to compete?

It should be whatever it takes to drop King James off of his throne — not only because of animosity, but because he is quite simply the Eastern Conference’s highest standard barer.