The Cleveland Cavaliers are in their fourth consecutive NBA Finals, as they get set to square off with the Golden State Warriors yet again. Game 1 tips off on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
The Cavs are heavy underdogs, but simply getting to the Finals is quite the accomplishment for LeBron James and company given their rollercoaster ride of a season. LeBron himself is quick to admit there were times this season where he had plenty of doubts about the team’s ability to get to the Finals — although he insists he was never worried about missing the playoffs.
James discussed this season at length in a very interesting and honest interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, in which he laments the season getting off to a bad start in the offseason with trading Kyrie Irving. LeBron says he disagreed with the move as being wrong for the organization’s path and that it was the beginning of a long stretch of issues for the Cavs. Later, in the build up to a question about his relationship with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, Nichols notes LeBron actually called the Cavs ownership and/or front office to protest the trade, but they went ahead with it anyways, which LeBron nods along to and says “yes.”
LeBron James sits down and opens up on the craziest season of his career, the months when he worried the Cavs wouldn't even make the playoffs (much less the Finals), why he didn't want Cleveland to trade Kyrie – plus his relationship with Owner Dan Gilbert. pic.twitter.com/baOWUcPoe6
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 31, 2018
James says in his initial answer he wasn’t “part of the communications,” which seems to indicate a bit of frustration with the way the new front office that took over for David Griffin went about things with that trade — especially considering he tried to reach out via phone to discuss the ramifications of dealing Kyrie. This jives with what has been reported this year about James privately being against dealing Irving in favor of trying to work things out, but to hear it from the man himself is a bit different than reports.
LeBron also notes with a bit of a smirk that “we’ll see” how much a team’s ownership will have an impact on his upcoming free agent decision, although he insists the working relationship with Gilbert is good.
