It would have been difficult to imagine both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade leaving the Miami Heat as free agents after the Heat won consecutive NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.
But James went back to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 and Wade joined his hometown Chicago Bulls this summer, shifting the balance of power in the Eastern Conference.
Today, the Bulls and Cavaliers are set to play an exhibition game, and James confirmed with ESPN's Dave McMenamin that he hoped Wade would have ended up in Cleveland with him.
"We couldn't afford him," James said. "It's that simple."
Wade signed a two-year deal with Chicago in the offseason worth about $47 million. The Cavaliers, well above the salary cap with a core of James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson all signed to long-term deals, could have offered Wade only the taxpayer midlevel exception, worth about $3.5 million.
Cleveland used the exception to retain Richard Jefferson.
"Who wouldn't be interested in a Hall of Famer?" Cavs Coach Tyronn Lue asked. "That don't even make sense. Yeah, we wanted him."
James, who has maintained his friendship with Wade since leaving Miami, backed Wade's decision to join the Bulls after playing the first 13 years of his career with the Heat.
"I support my guys -- you guys know that," James said. "That was a decision that he wanted to make, and I support him."
The time James spent with Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami will be remembered for two titles, four trips to the Finals and a 27-game winning streak, James said he isn't shocked that "The Big Three" era didn't last longer.
"In professional sports, things can change from one year to another like that, so I've always had that perspective ever since I came into the NBA," James said. "I've always known it's a business. You could be with one team this year -- have teammates this year, the next year you might not have them. That's part of the business."
Empty ATM
A look at the record incicates this is a winning season for the Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy High School football team in Everett, Wash. The Wildcats are 7-0 this season, haven't given up a touchdown and are ranked No. 1 in the state among schools its size.
In one game, ATM (as it's known) outscored its opponent 73-0 in the first half, then went scoreless in the second half in an act of sportsmanship.
So why are the players, coaches and students so glum?
The Wildcats are good -- so good, in fact, that nobody wants to play them. Cedarcrest High School on Wednesday became the fifth school to forfeit its game against ATM, even though the game wasn't scheduled until Oct. 28.
The announcement came just one day after Cedar Park Christian High School forfeited their game against ATM, scheduled for today. Both schools cited player safety and "competitive imbalance."
According to Rick Anderson of the Los Angeles Times, ATM features seven players who weigh at least 245 pounds, three of them weighing more than 300 pounds. Unlike public schools, which must draw players from only the nearby community, according to state rules, private schools can recruit players from as far as 50 miles away.
The cancellations began after Archbishop Murphy won its first three games of the season by a combined score of 170-0.
Seeing the lopsided outcomes, the next four opponents all chose to forfeit rather than play the Wildcats, who are down to two regular-season games remaining. One is still up in the air, but an Oct. 21 game against Olympic High School in Bremerton, Wash., looks promising.
"We're not going to shy away from competition," Olympic Athletic Director Nate Andrews told the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton. "We are planning on playing."
Sports quiz
Where did Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue play college basketball?
Answer
Lue was a guard at Nebraska in 1995-1998.
Sports on 10/14/2016