LeBron James would love to play with Anthony Davis, and everyone seems to have a different opinion about what it means when James expresses that belief publicly. After all, who wouldn’t want to play with a former All-Star Game MVP and one of the best basketball players on earth?
But James has a special hold over the collective narrative in the NBA, so when he speaks, it makes news. When he said playing with Davis — after a Lakers trade for the star — would be “amazing,” well, some folks didn’t much like that.
Anonymous NBA GMs, of course, were atop that list, and now, one voice has added his name to the record. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry isn’t happy with James courting his best player through the media, and he said as much on Friday.
Gentry addressed the media on Friday, and according to The Athletic’s Will Guillory, he straight up said that it’s “B.S.” that James is allowed to tamper without punishment.
“Yes it is, why would it not be? If an executive said it, it would be tampering,” Gentry said. “It’s B.S. It’s tampering. Should we have AD say, ‘Why don’t we trade for LeBron?’ I’m just saying, why is it not tampering if players are saying it?”
The NBA already released a statement saying that it has looked into and cleared James of wrongdoing in this case. That followed the initial story from Adrian Wojnarowski that GMs were upset about the situation. So it looks like nothing will happen punishment-wise, but James may be making some enemies if he continues to answer question about potential roster moves.
