LeBron James is unapologetic about "The Decision" and he believes it helped other athletes take control of their careers.

“You are always going to have people that are not going to agree with something that you do, but at the end of the day they can’t stop you, and can’t stop your path, and can’t stop your journey," James told Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker. "I am happy that I was able to fall on the sword for the rest of these athletes, men and women, to be able to feel empowered.”

Rich Paul saw a lot of the response to James leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in 2010 as racist, calling out Bill Simmons for his comments.

“I blame the people around him. I blame the lack of a father figure in his life,” Simmons, then a leading columnist at ESPN, wrote. “I blame us for feeding his narcissism to the point that he referred to himself in the third person five times in forty-five minutes. I blame local and national writers (including myself) for apparently not doing a good enough job explaining to athletes like LeBron what sports mean to us, and how it IS a marriage, for better and worse, and that we’re much more attached to these players and teams than they realize.”

“That’s why I don’t speak to Bill Simmons,” Paul said. “A lot of that has to do with race, too. He wouldn’t have said that about Larry Bird. He wouldn’t have said that about J. J. Redick. You get what I am saying? ‘The Decision’ ten years ago is the norm today. It’s what everyone wants to do. Kids won’t even decide where they go to college without it being a big production, and Bill Simmons says some shit like that.”

Kendrick Nunn could receive offers around the $15 million per year range, sources told John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Hollinger adds that Duncan Robinson could get even larger offers this offseason.

Both Nunn and Robinson are restricted free agents with a $4.4 million cap hold.

Nunn is averaging 14.6 points and 3.2 rebounds on the season, with Robinson at 13.1 points and 3.5 rebounds. 

The Miami Heat went down 3-0 in their series against the Milwaukee Bucks, losing 113-84 on Thursday night.

The Heat never lead in the game.

"The rhythm is off," said Goran Dragic afterwards. "It's way off. We lose our confidence. We still have one game left."

The Heat are currently averaging 93.2 points per 100 possession, which would be the lowest total since the 2015-16 Grizzlies.

Bam Adebayo is averaging just 0.74 points per play when guarded by Brook Lopez, with Jimmy Butler averaging 15.3 points on 40.4% true shooting.

No NBA team has ever come back to win a series down 3-0.

"We've got to figure out ways to be better tomorrow," Butler said. "You're not too worried about what history says, and all of that good stuff. But we've got our work cut out for us."

The Milwaukee Bucks had internal discussions about trying to avoid the Miami Heat in the first round by tanking their penultimate regular season game of the season against the Heat, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.

The Bucks "unanimously opted against it."

Miami defeated the Bucks in the second round of last year's playoffs.

In discussing the scenario, some reflected back on their first round loss in 2018 to the Boston Celtics that was followed up with a 4-1 defeat of Boston in the second round in 2019.

Victor Oladipo could be cleared to play full contact basketball by November, his orthopedic surgeon told ESPN.

"I repaired the quad tendon and did it a little differently than (he had) it done before. The quad wasn't really hooked up. It was torn, and I re-attached it. I was amazed he was playing with what he had. I'm very optimistic that I could clear him in six months, by November. I think he's going to play really well again," said Dr. Jonathan Glashow.

The 29-year-old Oladipo will be a free agent this summer.

Oladipo is currently rehabbing with Heat doctors. 

The Miami Heat increased their home attendance capacity to 17,000 fans on Saturday.

The number represents more than double the previously announced capacity of 8,600.

The new announcement also means that the team are no longer required to enforce physical distancing between seats, although other health and safety protocols remain including a requirement to wear masks while in the arena. 

The Heat host the Bucks for game 3 on Thursday. 

Jimmy Butler had an All-NBA caliber second season with the Miami Heat, but it had its ups and downs both in terms of him contracting COVID-19 and also some interpersonal issues with the team.

"I'm told there has been very, very testy moments behind the scenes between Jimmy and that coaching staff," reported Shams Charania.

The Heat had a 33-19 record with Butler in the lineup and just 7-13 without him.

Butler was acquired by the Heat in 2019 on a $142 million four-year,  sign-and-trade.

The Miami Heat have signed Omer Yurtseven.

Yurtseven appeared in 14 games (one start) with the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League this season and averaged 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.36 blocks and 21.1 minutes while shooting 62.6 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point range. He scored in double-figures 11 times, including two 20-point games and one 30-point performance. He posted five double-doubles, including a season-high 34 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks against the Long Island Nets on March 1.

Yurtseven played two seasons at NC State before transferring to Georgetown. As a senior in 2019-20, he appeared in 26 games (25 starts) and averaged 15.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.46 blocks, 1.2 assists and 27.3 minutes while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.

Udonis Haslem was ejected three minutes into his season debut following a confrontation Dwight Howard. Despite mostly playing a mentorship role, the Miami Heat would like Haslem to return as a player next season.

"A little bit," Spoelstra said, when asked if he has lobbied for Haslem to come back next season. "It's not like I've been openly recruiting him, but I just continue to tell him, like, 'We don't have to make any kind of decision now. Let's kick this down the road.' Everybody knows in this building, but most importantly in that locker room, the level of impact that he has. That's developing leaders in that locker room, and helping teach and cultivate a culture that means something to us. It's not him just barking that out; it's rolling up his sleeves and developing the next wave of leaders in the Heat culture, and I just think that's been amazing.

"There's been so many amazing chapters in his career, and I've just enjoyed watching him evolve to this kind of mentorship. It's felt by the young players, for sure. The young players are going to remember UD for the rest of their entire careers, but the veteran players, to me, he's had just as much of an impact, developing them, keeping them stable, keeping them growing, and continuing to evolve, and that's from his really incredible guidance that he can reach anybody in that locker room, and the staff.

"He's constantly a mentor to me and the rest of the coaching staff. I don't want to think about the next phase, and I don't think we need to now. We've got enough on our plate. I know that's all UD is thinking about, too."

Haslem recently told reporters he's unsure if he will return next season.

"I haven't thought about it," Haslem said. "But I'm sure [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] and our guys keep those things close to hand and understand the importance of that. But for me, if we don't win the Detroit [regular-season finale] and I got in, it really wouldn't matter. My thing is, let's win out this season, let's get this best playoff spot we can possibly get and let's go in here and try to get it done."

Victor Oladipo has decided to undergo season-ending surgery on his right quadriceps tendon.

Oladipo's surgery will take place on Thursday in New York.

The Miami Heat acquired Oladipo at the trade deadline, but he averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists over just four games.

Oladipo will be a free agent in the offseason.