I never thought LeBron would actually return to Cleveland back in 2014, but hell he did. I never thought Dwyane Wade would actually join the Bulls, but hell he did. It happens, stars move on to different teams, people move on to different jobs.

I simply could not have imagined the craziness that would swallow the NBA world in the event that LeBron had ever decided, "I'm coming back" or to better fit the spirit, "Taking my talents back to Ohio".

Same can be said about Wade joining his team's arch-rival, at the same time, his hometown.

Paradoxically, I wasn't surprised, because I saw the signs coming....the signs are returning once more today, for a 2018 departure to the West Coast.

So rewind the clock, it's the 2013-2014 NBA season, the Miami Heat are two-time back-to-back NBA champions, and three-time NBA champions.

The 2013-2014 NBA season was undoubtedly a horrible season for the Heat, a mediocre 54-28 regular season record, and 2nd seed in a horribly weak Eastern Conference, while the 1st and 2nd seeds of the Western Conference were enjoying 60+ wins.

Don't get me wrong, they had a great start to the season, starting off 22-6. However, somewhere deeper into the season, they collapsed, suffering numerous setbacks that damaged their image as a super team of championship caliber.

I'd also partly put the blame on the Heat's decision to waive Mike Miller, a talented three-point shooter that helped the Heat combat the Spurs' three-point shooting, for Greg Oden - a guy that has a history of constantly getting injured, and was supposedly going to help the Heat face off against the the seven foot giants in the Pacers, yet......was almost NEVER even used.

Then there's going 0-4 against the Brooklyn Nets, led by James' former Celtics rival Paul Pierce, constantly having to rely being at home to win against their rivals, the Bulls and the Pacers.

Fourth-quarter woes were also to blame, as the team had evidently lacked the energy and motivation, basically becoming a shell of what they once were the past three seasons.

I'm not the biggest basketball guru out there, but....I'm sorry, coming from a 66-16 record, 1st seed in the NBA, with a 27-win streak the previous year, that's a pretty bad setback for a supposed super team that still had all of its main star players, and most of its supporting cast together.

Also, LeBron didn't win the MVP award. Let us face it, it was the 2010-2011 season all over again, only this time - worse.

Toward the end of the season, news was circulating that LeBron was moving from his Miami mansion and wanted to sell it. At this point, the suspicions within me grew - LeBron could actually leave Miami, and "possibly" return to Cleveland in a huge crazy event. Though, Chicago, the West Coast or the Knicks didn't seem like far-fetched destinations.

LeBron's former Miami mansion in Coconut Grove, Miami, FL

The pictures of the moving vans and trucks simply told too much, and those who had known ahead of time, were branded as crazy doubters and conspiracy theorists.

Then I had a dream, that I was watching the NBA, a game with LeBron - only that LeBron was no longer in a Heat jersey. In that dream, there was no "specific team", all that it showed was he was no longer with the Heat. Though he still bore the #6.

But hey, LeBron and company cruised through the Playoffs, eliminating the Bobcats (today the Hornets), the Nets and the Pacers without much opposition, save for some hard play with the Pacers.

But anyways, the NBA Finals come against a vengeful and hungry San Antonio Spurs, who the Heat beat the previous season in seven action-packed games.

However as I had feared, the Heat were coming in from a 54-28 regular season record, had lacked any energy or motivation, the Spurs were coming in with a 62-20 regular season record and were coming in with a hungry vengeance.

What could possibly go wrong for the Heat?

The answer I had learned in five brutal games......was everything.

The Heat lost Game 1, but came back to win Game 2. At this point, many thought the cycle would repeat, the Heat will come back, rebound, and win the series.

In Game 3, Miami - home court advantage. Unfortunately, that miraculous capture of the season lead didn't come, as the Spurs pretty much manhandled the Heat 111-92, on their own home floor.

But still, the opinions were the same, many thought that this 1-2 deficit was temporary as was in the past, and the Heat would come back and capture the lead. Others, whether expecting a Heat victory or not, expected a very competitive series like last year.

Then Game 4 rolls around, and once more, the Heat are destroyed 86-107, and they are now down 1-3, for the first time in the post-season in the Big Three Era. The game was so bad that many Heat fans were leaving the American Airlines Arena early.

This, as I suspected, and as many others did not expect, would be LeBron's last game in Miami, and it wouldn't end well.

In Game 5 in San Antonio, despite a desperate and impressive 31-point effort by LeBron, the Spurs would put the Heat out of their misery to win their fifth NBA championship.

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were virtually non-existent, contributing 13 and 11 points respectively. This isn't limited to Game 5 either, as LeBron's supporting cast was pretty much non-existent for the rest of the series.

It was anything but action-packed or competitive, it was boring and total slaughter, now LeBron is 1-2 against the Spurs (he faced them in 2007 as a member of the Cavs, and....got swept).

So summer rolls around, there is no parade down Biscayne Blvd, there is no "three-peat" celebration, and just like the 2010 off-season, LeBron opts-out of his contract and enters free-agency, leaving the NBA world hanging and awaiting his decision.

So....he moves out of Miami, and opts-out of his contract, gee what could this possibly mean?

Once more, those who had suspicions of a return to Cleveland or a departure from Miami were seen as crazy.

Then more "easter eggs" and signs starting coming, such as a cupcake shop proclaiming it was a "done deal" (okay...well, what does a cupcake shop know, you may ask), and "done deal" as in LeBron was coming back to Cleveland.

Then there was a picture of Mike Miller (one of LeBron's former Heat teammates) with a LeBron Cavs jersey hanging on a wall behind him, and then....Dan Gilbert flying to Miami.

After such a huge drama-filled summer, on July 11, LeBron did it, the sequel to The Decision and The Letter, "The Essay" - in which he announced he'd return to Cleveland.

After three seasons in Cleveland, James was able to take them to three NBA Finals appearances, and secure an NBA championship in 2016 against the highly-favored 73-win Golden State Warriors.

After going down 1-3, many expected a complete repeat of 2014, however James and the Cavs did the unthinkable, and took the series in seven hard-fought games, winning Game 7 in Oakland.

James had in that Finals a). won Cleveland its first championship, made the Cavs the first team in NBA finals history to win a series after a 1-3 deficit, upsetted the NBA's best team, and literally....did all three in front of Golden State's own fans as he hoisted the Larry O'Brien and the Bill Russell trophies in front of thousands of disappointed Warriors fans.

However.....as we saw in these past NBA Finals, it was 2014 all over again. The Warriors, who had signed Kevin Durant in the 2016 off-season, came back with a vengeful and better team.

As usual, James and his team cruised through the Playoffs and easily plowed through the opposition. While James and the Cavs secured a Game 3 victory after going down 0-2, they were defeated in five games by a deeper Warriors team led by a hungry Kevin Durant.

The embarrassing thing for LeBron, was despite impressively making it to seven NBA finals appearances, he was only able to win three of them. But hey, I guess going 3-4 in the NBA Finals is probably better than going 0-7 or 2-5.

And well......LeBron already has three rings, he managed to achieve first, winning an NBA championship as a member of Miami's club, and then doing it in Cleveland. So it's no surprise that LeBron, playing without the desperation that plagued him in before that 2012 NBA Finals victory, would lose against an extremely hungry Kevin Durant.

Durant was pretty much where LeBron was in 2010.

Soooo.....now LeBron has bought a mansion in Los Angeles, his wife wants to stay there full-time, and he has a player option in 2018.

Seems like some of the easter eggs towards a departure to Los Angeles, or the west, may be looming. In all honesty, I think it simply may be time for LeBron to leave the east.

He's suffered years and years of being surrounded with mediocre players and bad coaches, making the NBA Finals only to be obliterated by western teams with depth.

I'm not the craziest LeBron fan out there, but for LeBron fans - it must be painful see him, year after year, plow through the Eastern Conference Playoffs - only to get obliterated by some powerful team from the west.

I think it's time to put him around better caliber stars like Chris Paul or Blake Griffin.

But hey, 2018 is sorta...a while from now (though we'll be there in the blink of an eye). So it's sorta early I guess, to be making predictions, but what I am saying is this: pay attention to the signs.

And if LeBron does head to the west, don't say I didn't warn ya or be surprised.