James, to that point in his career, had stunningly never been a max player, which were the only terms Paul and Termini were prepared to accept. Yet league sources say that didn’t stop Riley, with a smile and a burst of his usual gumption, from capping the presentation by proposing that James re-sign with Miami for a nominal number to give Riley serious latitude to retool the roster after the Heat’s humbling five-game defeat to San Antonio in the 2014 NBA Finals. It wasn’t totally clear in the moment, sources said, if Riley was serious or just being glib. The proposal, either way, was greeted with silence … and James soon returned to the Cavaliers on a two-year, $42 million deal with a player option in Year 2 designed to give him an immediate opportunity to return to free agency if he wished and apply maximum pressure on the Cavaliers’ front office to make win-now moves.