MIAMI -- Pat Riley and Giannis Antetokounmpo would love for LeBron James to return to South Beach.
Riley said he has been in touch James' agent, Rich Paul, but that the Heat are like everybody else and waiting to see what the game's biggest free agent decides to do.
"I don't know, I'll be honest with you," Riley told ESPN about whether a James-Heat reunion will happen. "Obviously, we've had conversations with Rich and they were very good. So if that happens and he wants to come to the '305,' we got a golf course. The weather's nice. Steve Kerr, same thing down here. And there's no state tax. So that's a little better than California."
Riley's reference to Kerr comes after the Golden State Warriors coach was recorded by a fan who was parked next to Kerr's SUV asking him to go get James. Kerr deadpanned, "Oh, we got him." The Warriors are one of the teams pursuing James.
Antetokounmpo said he has not spoken to James about what the former Laker will do. James played four seasons in Miami from 2010 to 2014 and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
"If there was a scenario for that to happen, I'd be very, very excited," Antetokounmpo told ESPN of possibly joining forces with James. "He's one of the best players to ever play this game, if not the best. [I'd] be able to learn so much from him. Obviously, brings such a championship experience to the team right from day one. I think he's still one of the best players in the [game today], if not top 25 [at 41 years old]. You don't see signs of him slowing down at all. You saw in the playoffs how effective and good he was for the Lakers.
"But I'm just like everybody else -- we don't have all the information. All the information is in LeBron James' hand and his family's hands, and he's going to make the best decision for him. The history has shown that he's always made good decisions for his career. And I hope if he thinks that the Miami Heat's a good decision for him. I would love for him to be here."
Riley said that when he got the phone call from Andy Elisburg, executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager, that the Antetokounmpo deal was done, he celebrated with Elisburg.
"Yeah, we landed the plane," Riley said.
Riley and the Heat would love to land another massive plane this summer. For now, they and the NBA are in a holding pattern to see where James will play his 24th season.
"As far as the 24-year veteran, that is something that would happen organically," Riley said when asked if he is trying to land the 24-year vet. "I hope I'm not talking out of both sides of my mouth here. But you never know that you're ever going to win a title until you win one. But you'll never win one if you don't have the talent and the coaching to do it.
"This is a team that we have right now [that] I'm happy with it. You'll see what happens in the future."
