CLEVELAND -- When LeBron James made his first post-“Decision” trip back to Cleveland 14 months ago, scorned Cavaliers fans mocked him and pelted him with hate from just about every seat inside Quicken Loans Arena.

It’s going to be interesting to see how James will be received Friday night for his third trip back — especially after saying Thursday he wouldn’t rule out a return to the city that once bowed to him as King.

“I think it would be great, it would be fun to play in front of these fans again,” James said after Thursday’s practice inside the arena where he won two MVP trophies and led the Cavs to the NBA Finals once.

“I had a lot of fun times in my seven years here. You can’t predict the future. Hopefully I continue to stay healthy. I’m here as a Miami Heat player, and I’m happy where I’m at now. But I don’t rule that out in no sense. If I decided to come back, hopefully the fans will accept me.”

James, who is under contract with the Heat for two more seasons with an option for two more, exchanged various high-profile barbs with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert after James’ departure in July 2010. The most memorable was Gilbert’s rambling open letter to Cavs fans the night James announced his decision to take his talents to South Beach on ESPN.

James, 27, said Thursday neither he nor Gilbert have reached out to the other to try to patch things up since they last spoke during the Cavs’ free agent meeting July 3, 2010. But asked if they one day could become friends again, James paused before saying: “Yes.”

“I don’t hold grudges. I hold them a little bit. But I don’t hold them that long,” James said. “Like I said, he said what he said out of anger. He’ll probably want to take that back. I made a mistake, too. There’s things I want to take back as well. You learn from your mistakes and move on.

“Would I ever play for Dan again? Dan is not the coach. I’ll play for any coach. We’ll see what happens.”

Dwyane Wade, who helped convince James to leave Cleveland and is staying at James’ home in nearby Akron on this trip, admitted he could see James coming back to Cleveland one day. But not in the near future.

“Anything is possible,” Wade said. “Hopefully, I’m retired.”

The Cavs drafted former Duke player Kyrie Irving with the No. 1 overall pick last year, as well as Tristan Thompson with the No. 4 pick. Thompson is represented by one of James’ closest friends, Rich Paul. James, who spends his offseason in Akron, where most of his family members still reside, has served as a mentor to Irving since he was a sophomore in high school.

“I love him. He’s an unbelievable basketball player, he’s beyond his years,” James said Thursday. “[The NBA is] transforming into a point guard league, if it’s not there yet.

“You have D-Wade, Kobe [Bryant], Kevin Durant, all these great wing guys. But it’s a point guard league. Look at Russell Westbrook, the MVP from last year Derrick Rose, you look at Chris Paul, John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Steve Nash, still playing at a high level. You have a really, really good point guard, you have a chance to win. You have a really good quarterback in the NFL, you have a really good chance to win. It’s good this league has great point guards.”

James, who is the early favorite to win the league’s MVP award, said Thursday he’s finally beginning to feel comfortable with the Heat and the way he has played lately “is the best I’ve felt on the court in about 14 months.”

“I’m back to how I was in Cleveland, having fun with the game, appreciating the game, loving the game, playing at a higher level,” James said. “I got away from that last year. It was a difficult year for me last year. It was a whole transition on and off the floor going through everything I went through. I just got back to playing how I know how to play.

“My goal is still the same. No matter where my career ends up, my goal is still the same and that’s to win an NBA championship. I’ve accomplished everything you can as an individual. You name it, I got it … but all the awards and that stuff don’t matter to me. The ultimate goal is to win a championship, and I want to do it in Miami. That’s the team I’m with. Hopefully, I can finish my career here. If it’s in Cleveland and I come back to Cleveland, I want to win an NBA championship here. That’s my goal. Hopefully, I can make it happen this year.”