Pat Riley and the Miami Heat felt LeBron James may have already made up his mind about returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers when they met with him in July of 2014.

"There were also indications the Heat felt James had already made up his mind and was attempting to make Riley grovel," writes Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin in their forthcoming book 'Return of the King'.

Riley spoke to James about Miami's new additsions of Josh McRoberts, Danny Granger and Shabazz Napier.

James was upset with Micky Arison using the amnesty clause on Mike Miller, as well as Riley's press conference after the Finals.

Among the book's photos was one of James seated alongside Riley and Arison at the 2014 NBA Finals, with a caption of, "Heat president Pat Riley's 'If you've got the guts' message during a 2014 press conference may have alienated LeBron James on his way out the door. James was also frustrated that Heat owner Micky Arison slowed spending on the roster."

The Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 13 through Sunday, March 19. 

Whiteside finished second in the East in rebounding (13.7 rpg) and 11th in scoring (20.0 ppg) while shooting an NBA-best 73.0 percent from the field as the Heat went 2-1 for the week.  He also paced the East in blocked shots (2.67 bpg) and extended his streak with a block to a season-high 26 straight games.  The 27-year-old center posted double-doubles in all three games to set the franchise record for consecutive double-doubles with 12.  With 14 rebounds in a 123-105 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 17, Whiteside became only the second player in team history to grab 900 rebounds in a season, joining Rony Seikaly (1991-92).   

Lillard led the Trail Blazers to a 3-1 week, with all of Portland’s wins coming on the road.  He paced the league in scoring (35.3 ppg) and added 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 55.1 percent from the field and 59.4 percent from three-point range.  Lillard was also 36-for-36 from the free throw line.  On March 15, the 26-year-old guard scored 36 points in a 110-106 win against the San Antonio Spurs.  Lillard closed the week by scoring a season-high 49 points and matching a career high with nine three-pointers in a 115-104 win over the Heat on March 19.

Carlos Boozer continues to play in the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs for the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

Boozer's performance has reportedly put him back onto the radar of NBA teams.

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers are among the teams tracking Boozer.

Boozer is eligible to play in the NBA postseason for anyone who signs him, since he hasn't been on a roster all season, but the one requirement is that he'd have to be signed back home before the NBA regular season ends April 12.

Boozer last played in the NBA in 2015 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Goran Dragic is out of Sunday's game for the Miami Heat with an orbital contusion to his right eye.

Dragic suffered the injury when he took an elbow to the right eye during the team's win against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

Dragic's eye swelled to the point where it completely shut.

"I cannot even see in the right eye," Dragic said Sunday. "I didn't imagine it was going to be so bad. The right eye is completely closed. The doctor checked the eye last night. He said the eye is fine. Just swelling. We will do treatment [to get some] swelling down. There's just pressure. No pain."

Dion Waiters had 24 points in a 108-101 win by the Miami Heat over the Charlotte Hornets.

Waiters is averaging 18.7 points per game in Miami's wins.

"If you don't have confidence, I don't think you should be in this league," said Waiters. "That's just the bottom line; 90 percent of the game is mental. In this league, it's make or miss. You are going to make shots, you are going to miss shots. It's about how you handle it. Don't get too high, don't get too low. That's one thing I learned, always stay in between."

Waiters has a better shooting percentage in "clutch" situations since Jan. 17th than Isaiah Thomas does this season.

“Dion against teams that step up their defense, he can create off the dribble no matter what his percentage may be during the course of a game or for the season,” Erik Spoelstra said. “You get down to those last couple minutes and he’ll think that his percentage is 60 percent. That’s more than half the battle in this league, your confidence and your ability to make plays over the top.”

Pat Riley described LeBron James' decision to leave the Miami Heat to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 as the biggest shock of his tenure.

Riley successfully signed James in 2010 and the team went to four straight Finals, winning two. Since James has left, the Cavaliers have reached the Finals in both seasons while Miami has rebuilt on the fly.

“Since I came here, we’ve had the same owner, same president, two coaches, same support staff,” Riley said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys working for us who played for us. Players come and go, great players. When LeBron left, that was the most shocking thing to me – not to say he was right or wrong – and the most shocking thing to the franchise. But our culture is the same. You have your up years and your down years, but what can’t change is the way you do things.”

Riley made strong comments in a press conference after the 2014 Finals before the start of free agency that James reportedly didn't care for.

"I think we need to have a perspective about things," Riley said to the media in 2014. "I think everybody needs to get a grip—media, Heat players, organization, all of our fans—we got to get a grip on greatness and on teams. I've been here for 45 years in the NBA, and I've witnessed dynasties, I've witnessed great teams. The '80s Lakers, five championships in 12 years. So what does that mean? Seven times they didn't win. In that run, they didn't win. You got to deal with it, you got to come back."

Jared Sullinger has received interest from the Miami Heat.

Sullinger is a free agent after he was waived by the Phoenix Suns following his trade by the Toronto Raptors.

David Falk met with Pat Riley in recent days but Sullinger remains in the "exploratory stages" of finding a new team.

Sullinger signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Raptors in the offseason.

J.R. Smith was escorted off the court by Cleveland Cavaliers' security following their 120-92 loss at the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Rodney McGruder dunked over Channing Frye with 1:14 left, then appeared to slap or push Frye on the back afterwards, which drew the ire of Smith. Smith was screaming at McGruder then the entire Heat team.

The Cavaliers and Heat play again on Monday.

"It's not really a story, man," said Frye. "Tempers flared, it is what it is, it's over now. The game's over. They won. Congrats. We play another game on Monday. It's all good."

"We got J.R. off the floor," coach Tyronn Lue said. "He's fiery, he's feisty. He's ready to get back on the floor. It happens throughout the course of a game. It's nothing though."

The Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra and the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in February. 

Spoelstra led the Heat to an 8-3 record, the second-best mark in the Eastern Conference, as Miami played only four games at home (3-1) and seven on the road (5-2).  Miami won its first five games in February to extend its winning streak to 13, the longest in the NBA this season and the third-longest in franchise history.  The Heat also won three of its final four games of the month, with each victory coming against a team currently in position to make the playoffs (Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers).  For the month, Miami ranked third in the East in scoring (110.3 ppg) and second in points allowed (101.6 ppg).

Popovich guided the Spurs to a Western Conference-best 8-2 record in February, going 6-2 on the road and 2-0 at home.  San Antonio closed the month with four consecutive victories, all on the road.  When the Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets 121-97 on Feb. 4, Popovich recorded his 1,128th victory as San Antonio head coach and passed former Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan for the most wins with one franchise in NBA history.  With a 110-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 13, the Spurs set an NBA record by clinching their 20th straight winning season.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month were Boston’s Brad Stevens, Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue, Detroit’s Stan Van Gundy, Golden State’s Steve Kerr, Houston’s Mike D’Antoni, Memphis’ David Fizdale, Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan, Utah’s Quin Snyder and Washington’s Scott Brooks.