Maybe Cavaliers fans should thank Spurs for LeBron James

When the San Antonio Spurs take the floor at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Wednesday night, the pre-tipoff focus should - just this once - be on the visiting team rather than LeBron James' infamous chalk-toss routine.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans all over Ohio should take a moment to thank the team that had so much to do with their native son returning home. Heck, they ought to throw a parade in honor of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and his seemingly ageless bunch considering the part they played last June and how it factored into James' free agency decision.

From Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert on down, they're thrilled that this is a what-if scenario rather than reality: James' former Miami Heat team gets the best of the Spurs again in the Finals, wins a third championship after its fourth consecutive Finals appearance and puts a world of pressure on James to re-sign as a free agent. The 'Heatles,' as they were known, would have had every reason to stick together and keep working toward the seven titles James famously said he was envisioning upon arrival in 2010.

So Dwyane Wade re-ups, as does Chris Bosh, and this basketball band is back together near South Beach. Meanwhile in Cleveland, a Cavaliers team that had won 23% of its games since he skipped town would likely have been looking at another long and arduous campaign. Elsewhere, free agent-to-be Kevin Love may very well have stayed put with the Minnesota Timberwolves rather than being traded to the Cavs, and all eyes would have been on his situation leading up to the February trade deadline. The ripple effect rolls on from there.

James himself has acknowledged that the Spurs' dismantling of the Heat may have altered the course of NBA history, telling CNN's Rachel Nichols in September that 'it would (have been) hard to leave back-to-back-to-back championships' but also saying that even he doesn't truly know what his final decision might have been.

'You really can't live and think of what may have happened,' James said. 'For me, I've always been a person (to) kind of live in the moment.'

The Spurs can certainly relate, which is why they have very little interest in contemplating these hypothetical matters. All they seem to care about - and with good reason - is that the Larry O'Brien Trophy was theirs for the fifth time since 1999 and their franchise is now forever known as the most stable and successful of its era.

When pressed to explore the matter recently, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili disagreed with the premise.

' I'm not sure that it would have been different (with James if the Heat had won),' said Ginobili, who capped off a renaissance season with the five-game Finals victory. 'Actually, it could have made even more sense for him to go and try to win somewhere else. It would make it an even bigger (goal) to go and try to win in your home. I don't know the guy. I (have) just played against him many times, but I don't know how he thinks or what made him make the decision, but I'm not sure that it was because of (the Spurs winning).'

Small forward Kawhi Leonard wasn't looking to take credit for re-writing the LeBron James story, either, even if he was the biggest thorn in the Heat's side during that five-game set in which he won Finals MVP honors.

'Whatever decision he made was the best for him,' Leonard said of James. '(But) it's another game. I'm going to go out and try to win, but I mean there's no Spurs vs. LeBron rivalry. It's just another opponent who we're trying to play against and win the game.'

Spurs guard Danny Green, who spent his fair share of time guarding James during the Finals as well while averaging 9.2 points per game in the series, didn't think too much of the Spurs' role in what happened.

'People like to think that we have something to do with (James' decision),' Green said. 'Do I think we did? Maybe. Probably. Maybe a little bit. It's the way of the league. It changes a lot, drastically each year and each summer.

'This game is another good test for us. But do we see it as anything more than that? No. It's a game where we need to get better.'

As the Spurs know better than anyone, consistency is often the name of the championship game. To that end, Green said it could take some time for the Cavs to truly come together.

'They're very talented,' he said of the Cavs, who started 1-3 before finding their way. 'They could be something special, I'm sure. They have a good amount of highly talented players with Kyrie (Irving), Kevin Love, and LeBron obviously. They could be very dangerous, but it's also something that doesn't happen overnight. It's something that has to take time. We'll see how that plays out.'

This much is clear, though: The Spurs deserve the assist when it comes to James wearing a Cavaliers jersey again.

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