Q. LeBron, it's striking to see you in a Cavs uniform again. I'm just wondering what your thoughts were the first time you pulled that on and looked in the mirror and saw yourself back in a Cavs jersey.
>> Well, this is not technically the first time I've put it on. But it feels good, it feels right, and I'm happy to be back.
Q. You're obviously a different player than you were four years ago. How are you a different person than the guy that left here four years ago?
>> With each experience, in life is the greatest teacher. I've been able to learn from my mistakes, grow from them. Throughout the four years I've turned my girlfriend into my fiancee, into my wife. We've got two boys, two grown boys and the friends and family around my family, we've all continued to grow. You know, that's just what life is about. You have obstacles throughout your life, and it's how you come out of them that defines who you are.
Q. Is it almost surreal to see you back here like this. Have you had any of those moments sips you've been back like this is really happening.
>> The only time I felt surreal was during my foundation event, the welcome home event I had at the University of Akron last month. When I got the chills of being back and the fans and everyone that was there just kind of welcomed me back with open arms, so that is the only time I kind of got that feeling, yeah.
Q. What is the unique challenge for you at this stage of your career?
>> The challenge is every day we have to understand we can't waste that day. We have to prepare each and every day to get better. Each and every day to each and every week, to month. If we don't shortcut the process, we're going to give ourselves a good chance of competing at the end of the year. But it's going to be tough. We're a new group that's coming together. We have a new coaching staff, a new system for all of us. It's not going to be easy at all. But if we're patient and we're patient with the process, everyone buys into coaches system, and the coaching staff system, then it will help us out a lot.
Q. You've seen David Blatt more and more. You just mentioned the coach's system. What are you seeing from that system? What do you like about it? How do you see this team taking shape in that system?
>> I look forward to getting out there tomorrow, the first day of camp begins and to see how the system will be implemented to our team. As the days go on, the months go on, I'll continue to break it down and see how it fits us as a team and me from a personal standpoint. I'll be able to give my inputs.
Q. You mentioned the four years going to Miami was like going off to college. What are the most important things you've learned during those four years?
>> Patience. To be very patient with the process. Understanding that I think everyone always wants to see the end result and what's at the end of the tunnel and don't quite understand what goes on from the start to the finish and what's between that and understand that. I know that, so patience is the biggest thing that I've learned.
Q. Going back to that first year in Miami and what it took to learn how to win in the Finals the following year. Is there anyway for these young guys on this team to know what that's like until they go through it? How does that affect the timetable?
>> It's going to be a different challenge for a lot of the guys on our team that haven't played in big games in a long time. And we have some guys that are going to play some big, key roles on our team. We expect them to play at a high level. They haven't played at a championship level in a long time. The good thing about it, we have some veteran guys that have hosted the trophy and can give their experience about what it takes to get it done. And myself, Mike Miller, James Jones, we've all hosted the trophy before, so we have guys that understand what it takes and it's the hardest thing you can ever do in your career.
Q. Can you explain how you look at your leadership role?
>> I'm going to be one of the leaders of the team. I think everyone will lead by however their characteristics define them as a leader but I will be the leader of the team. I believe I bring leadership qualities that a lot of guys don't want or don't know how to do it. I can. I can lead by example, voice, command or I can lead by just my presence. That is the most important thing for me. That's what I'm more excited about than anything is leading these guys every day in practice every single game, every single shootaround, every single film session. Hopefully it will trickle down to everyone else and make us a better team.
Q. I wonder what the reception has been like since you've been back in Cleveland? You've been here since the first departure, now that you're back, how have people responded to you?
>> It's been well received. I haven't been back that long. I've been traveling a lot. Taking care of a lot of obligations that I had to take care of. But the reception has been well received not only for myself, but my friends and my family, and that's all we can ask for.
Q. LeBron, from the moment you announced that you were coming back all the way through today, was there anything that you just wanted to get through to get it over with? Maybe like today, what's it like sitting up there for you? Are you looking forward to getting going tomorrow?
>> No, for me, I've never ââ I live in the present. Yesterday is over with, and the future is the unknown. I've always lived in the present. It's part of the shortcut process. I don't shortcut anything. I'm excited to be here. This is day one of another NBA campaign for me. I'm extremely excited about it. You know, I'm going to go through the day, and go to each station these guys over here will take me through. But I'm excited to be back.
Q. You had extensive relationship with both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh before you guys came together USA Basketball and coming through the draft together. The moat notable players on this team, in Kevin Love and Kyrie, do you have a relationship with them? And how do you plan to establish one?
>> Obviously, myself and D Wade's relationship goes beyond basketball still to this day. So our relationship will probably be bigger than anyone else's besides Carmelo and Chris Paul, in this league. So the relationship that I had with D Wade helped the fact that I wanted to go to Miami, and I always wanted to play with Chris Bosh too. So that kind of worked out that way. And I gained a great relationship with C B as well. The relationship here is different. We're, like you said, myself, D Wade and Chris, we were all in the same draft class. We all went through the same rookie wall, the rookie struggles. We understood what it was to be part of that draft. So it's a different challenge for me here being alongside Kyrie and Kevin Love and the rest of the guys. But, you know, there is nothing in this league that I haven't seen. Nothing. You name it, I've seen it. Off and on the floor. So I've got a lot of knowledge to give to those guys.
Q. You've been to Brazil during the World Cup. Did you expect to meet your exâteammates in Brazil? What do you expect about Brazil to going there again?
>> Yeah, I expected to meet them there because the schedule had come out after I decided to come back. So I already knew we were going to be playing them in Brazil. The NBA knew something. They knew that I would either go home or stay in Miami, so they made the schedule the way it was made. So I would have to play my home team or go against my old teammates. They figured that. So I think it will be fun. We go and get back to one of my favorite teammates of all time, Andy's homeland in Brazil. I know how excited they are about the game of basketball, so it should be fun.
Q. I was wondering, your kids are old enough now to understand some things that are going on in the world. How do you explain this to them? Not just the decision but the whole process?
>>I asked them first. I didn't explain it to them, they explained it to me. I was like what do you think about daddy going back home to play? They were like home? You're talking about Cleveland? I was like, yeah. Okay, you get to play with Kyrie Irving? I was like, yeah. They were like we getting to back home to our house? And I getting to back home to my old school and my old friends? I was like, yeah. They were like, okay, you can do it. And that's how it went (laughing).
Q. LeBron talk about four years ago when you left Miami. Do you feel like you had more to prove then than you do now?
>> That's a great question. I still have a lot to prove because of the expectations I put on my self. I ask more of myself than anybody could ever ask of me. So, yeah, my expectations are still high. But I understand. I'm more patient now than I was four years ago. I understand what it takes to win a championship, and I understand it's the hardest thing that you can ever do in your basketball career is to try to win a championship. And I've been two up and two down in four years. So I wept from crying tears of joy and tears of frustration. Two up, two down, so I know. I know it all. I know what it takes. I'm a guy that my expectations are still high because I believe in this team and what we can ultimately get to. But I also understand it won't be easy and and we can't try to play November and get to June or May right now. We have to go November to December and the rest of the calendar year to even have a chance.
Q. Question is you lost the weight. You kind of went into detail with Rachel [Nichols] when she interviewed you about the process. I'm curious as to the motivation. Is it this juncture of your career or playing in a more upâtempo system? What were the reasons?
>> It had nothing to do with basketball. I should have wrote a letter about that too to stop the speculations of why I did it. Every summer I challenged myself to do something different that's outside the box. I stopped eating candy last summer. Like no candy for a whole summer, just to challenge myself. So I decided to do this particular diet this summer for two months. It had nothing to do with basketball. Nothing at all. Once I set a goal, I like to accomplish it. In the process, I lost some weight. And in the process, the story came out that I did it because of this /SKWRUPGture of my career. I'm 29 years old, and I can still fly above the rim. I don't need to lose weight to do that. Not at this point of my career. It was great to see the great thing I got out of it was to see how could my body transform? So if I get older in my career and need to lose some weight or shed some weight, I know exactly what I can get down to. It had nothing to do with basketball, but it did make me quicker, so that helps our team.
