source– “I just know the conversation gets a little bit more talked about when I’m a part of it,” James said before the Cavs practiced Tuesday on UCLA’s campus. “If it’s somebody else, it gets blown up a briefly, it gets talked about a little bit, but it doesn’t have legs and it’s gone. But as soon as I’m involved it’s just a whole different situation.”
When Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was asked whether James’ actions are judged differently, he responded, “You know that.”
James has played in 63 of the Cavs’ 69 games this season, sitting out five games for rest and one because of strep throat. Now in his 14th season and coming off six straight Finals appearances, the 32-year-old James has maintained a high level of play, averaging 26.2 points on 54.3 percent shooting, a career-high 8.4 rebounds and a career-high 8.8 assists per game.
Supporting James’ position is the fact that Silver was compelled to reach out to teams after James and his teammates sat out, calling the decision “an extremely significant issue for our league” and threatening “significant penalties” in the future if the practice is continued, as first reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, but failed to do so the week before when back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors teammates Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala were all held out of Golden State’s prime-time Saturday night game against the San Antonio Spurs on ABC.
Silver’s memo also called for owners to be more involved in the decision-making process when it comes to holding out their players, according to Shelburne’s report, which is a premise James found fault in.
“The owners be what? The owners be in the decision[-making process] of resting players?” an incredulous James asked. “There’s owners that are not even around the teams. There’s owners that are just owning the team because they just own the team. It’s whatever. What does that make any sense of?”
“I’ve played through injuries my whole career,” James added. “So I deserve to get a game [off] every now and then.”
What’s that? More LeBron James melodrama, you say? What else is new? What’s he saying now? Resting players during prime-time games is only an issue because of him (even though every time someone does it it sparks controversy and this was just the culmination of years of people complaining)? That’s just LeBron being LeBron. He’s the most persecuted player of all time (according to him). Don’t even know why I’m talking about it, to be honest. I guess I’ll read the whole thing since he’s usually got some good quotes buried near the end. “I deserve to get a game (off) every now and then?” Wait, what?
“I rest when I retire.”– Feb. 14, 2017
So, which is it, man? Do you never rest because you’re a complete freak who never gets tired/want to make a show of being the only good player on the team (according to him)? Or do you deserve some games off because you’ve been an ironman for years who never misses games/wants to make of show of carrying such a heavy load since he’s the only good player on the team (according to him)? You can’t have it both ways. This is the problem with LeBron. I really try to like him. When my (theoretical) future kids and grandkids ask me about him, I want to be able to tell them how great he was and how he was a force of nature, not tell them how big of a piece of shit he was. He just makes it so hard. Half of what he says is just woe-is-me, get-me-some-help-even-though-we-already-have-the-best-and-deepest-roster-in-the-league-and-it-keeps-getting-better-every-day-when-we-add-some-ring-chasing-veteran-for-the-league-minimum, everyone-hates-me-and-is-out-to-get-me-even-though-I’m-the-most-popular-player-in-the-league-and-Nike-gave-me-a-billion-dollar-lifetime-contract, while the other half is just him telling everyone how great he is and that the Warriors are beneath them (don’t the Cavs suck, LeBron? How can you be above the best team in the league (according to him)?). He’s so lame and contrived and contradictory. It only took him a month and a half to change his stance on resting! Or did he just forget he had already chosen to die on the “I don’t need to rest because I’m LeBron and my team stinks without me” hill and was ready to move on to the “I can rest whenever I want to because I’m LeBron and my team is so stacked they don’t need me” hill? He’s always got an out. He always, always has an excuse ready and is prepared to flip any criticism against him into an indictment on the league or the culture at large. It’s kind of brilliant, really. As much of a basketball genius he is, he’s almost smarter when it comes to playing the media (I’ll never forget my favorite Miami LeBron story: One time Chris Bosh came out and said LeBron was the smartest person he’d ever met because he could name where a bunch of NFL players went to college. Like whenever someone made a play he’d just say where that player went to school. First of all, I have to meet Chris Bosh if that’s his baseline for intelligence. He’ll think I’m the second coming of Einstein. Second, it’s such perfect LeBron. He obviously knew the impressionable Bosh would lap up any kind of trivial knowledge he could throw out there, so he probably just googled everyone playing in the game beforehand so he could name some real obscure 4th cornerback’s alma mater. The innocent and naïve Bosh was so thrilled to be in the same room as his hero he just lapped it up. Knowing Jadeveon Clowney went to South Carolina doesn’t make you smart, it just means you pay attention to football). He always knows how to make LeBron seem like the good guy/victim/underdog despite being the most hyped, admired, and physically talented basketball player ever. At the end of the day, that’s his greatest skill.
P.S. LeBron James directed a cease-and-desist order of sorts on Tuesday to LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of three — including star UCLAfreshman Lonzo Ball — who said earlier this month that his children are set up better for future success than those of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star.
“Keep my kids’ name out of your mouth. Keep my family out of your mouth,” James said of LaVar Ball to ESPN on Tuesday, as the Cavaliers practiced on UCLA’s campus, two days after a road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
“This is dad to dad. It’s a problem now.”
People forget that LeBron is a father of three. You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know since he never mentions it. But he’s a father of three, so you can’t criticize him.
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