National Basketball Association

LeBron reportedly still hung up over Gilbert's scathing letter 4 years ago

Published Jul. 11, 2014 9:06 a.m. ET

foxsports

It appears as though LeBron James has not completely let go of Dan Gilbert's infamous farewell letter four years ago.

As James weighs his decision to either go back to the Miami Heat or return to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, the four-time MVP is hesitant to return to Cleveland because of the vicious letter the Cavs owner wrote, ESPN reports.

In the letter, Gilbert called James a "coward" and mocked him in a no-holds-barred response to James announcing on a nationally televised show that he was going to "take his talents to South Beach" four years ago. The letter was recently taken down from the Cavs' website, but it appears as though the fallout is still being felt by the superstar free agent.

"If it wasn't for that letter, this would've been done a while ago," one source said told ESPN.

James flew from Las Vegas to Miami with free-agent guard Dwyane Wade late Thursday. Yahoo! Sports/FOX Sports 1 NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Heat and the Cavs expect a decision before James leaves over the weekend for the World Cup in Brazil.