Pat Riley on LeBron James' Heat Exit: 'I Saw a Dynasty Fly out the Window'

Miami Heat team president Pat Riley opened up Tuesday about how he felt when LeBron James left the Heat to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency nearly five years ago.

In an interview with ESPN's Dan Le Batard, Riley expressed his belief that the Heat's reign could've spanned a decade had James decided to stay:

"When LeBron made that call, I saw a dynasty fly out the window," Riley said.

In James' four seasons with the Heat alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Miami went to the NBA Finals four times and won two championships.

While Riley wondered what could have been had the Heat managed to keep LeBron in the fold, he said he "didn't blame" James for going back to Cleveland. Riley also said he holds no "rancor" toward LeBron for leaving.

Miami ceased being a title contender once LeBron signed with the Cavs, but it has been a playoff team twice in the past four seasons.

Although any team that rosters James tends to be considered a championship contender, the Heat likely wouldn't have had their Big Three in place for much longer even if LeBron re-signed. The now-retired Bosh hasn't played since 2015-16 because of blood clots, meaning the trio only could have been together for one more playoff run at most.

A core of James, Wade and other acquisitions may have been enough to make up for the loss of Bosh, but they also would have run into the Golden State Warriors dynasty, which may have prevented them from winning additional titles regardless.

The move worked out well for James since he took the Cavs to four straight NBA Finals and brought the city of Cleveland its first NBA title in the process.

Cleveland lost to Golden State three times in the Finals, though, and James eventually decided to depart again by signing with the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason. That decision has yet to yield the desired results with L.A. (28-29) three games out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Riley may not have gotten quite as much out of LeBron and Co. as he wanted, but only one team in NBA history has reached the NBA Finals more than four years in a row, which puts the Heat in a category that nearly every other franchise aspires to reach.