LeBron James’ recent actions have been a tad odd of late.
He unfollowed the Cavaliers’ Twitter account. Then refollowed on Instagram. Then trolled the world by saying he may join Snapchat — or as he called it, “The Snap.”
Think I just may join the Snap this week. Another way for my fans to ride with me throughout my journey
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 22, 2016
He’s subtweeted about the team’s toughness. He’s also spent a recent halftime, specifically during Saturday’s blowout loss to the Heat, chatting it up with good friend and former teammate Dwayne Wade instead of warming up with his team. The Cavs were down 21 points at that time.
So, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue sat down James after that game, as Lue explained, via Cleveland.com:
“I just told him we can’t have that, being down like we were and him being the leader,” Lue told cleveland.com. “Just me being a competitor, I didn’t like it. We had a long talk about it. It was good. He understood, he apologized, and he’s been great.”
Since that conversation, James has gone for 33 points, 11 rebounds and 11 dimes in a blowout win over the Nuggets. He followed that up with a 26-point, six-board, eight-assist performance in a victory over the Bucks on Wednesday.
But there was more.
James told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report in an interview that was conducted Feb. 8, but that didn’t get released until Wednesday, that he would want to play with his three best friends at some point before his career ends.
From Beck:
“I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together,” James said. “At least one, maybe one or two seasons — me, Melo, D-Wade, CP — we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that.”
Apparently, Cavaliers general manager David Griffin didn’t fully appreciate the friendliness in those comments. How could he? Even if James just meant those comments offhand, even if it was just a man fantasizing about hanging out with his best buds all the time, comments like those caused a stir in Cleveland.
Why? Because James has already left his home state to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Per Cleveland.com, Griffin sat down with James following the release of Beck’s article:
Griffin’s talk with James on Wednesday afternoon was a little more general, but was sparked by James’ comments to The Bleacher Report that he wanted to play with Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Paul on the same team for a “year or two.”
Lue said James apologized to him for his behavior at halftime Saturday night, and Griffin’s discussion with James was positive and productive, with James echoing recent public statements about an upward trend for the Cavs heading into the playoffs.
As long as James keeps carrying the best team in the Eastern Conference, this all may not mean that much. As long as James, who will become a free agent this summer, returns to Cleveland for a third offseason in a row, it’s relatively harmless.
There’s always more pressure on James than there is on any other player in the league. That’s just the life of LeBron at this point. But it almost feels like these moments the last few weeks have added to the pressure to win a title in Cleveland, and considering how dominant the Spurs and Warriors have been in the West, that must seem like a daunting task for a team that’s trying to return to the Finals for a second straight year.
