When analyzing the impact LeBron James has on the basketball operations of a franchise, we don’t need to look much further than what happened this week in Cleveland, with the firing of second year head coach David Blatt, and the root cause. Blatt had compiled an 83-40 regular season record, which is a 65% winning percentage, and in his first year, the Cavs were 14-6 in the playoffs, losing to the Warriors in the NBA finals. First place overall in the Eastern Conference, with a 30-11 record, is certainly grounds for dismissal. In what other sport, or team, have you seen this happen? Unless, of course, the coach did something so blatantly detrimental to the team, that there was cause for the termination.
Apparently, LeBron James didn’t like the way Blatt was coaching, or not coaching – and this included James himself, Kyrie Irving, Matthew Dellavedova, the three Knick castoffs, and last but not least – Kevin Love. Sure, the Cavaliers weren’t lighting it up like they normally do, but they were winning on a consistent basis – at least in the East. Last week’s pasting by the reigning NBA champion Warriors solidified the need for a ‘change’, or at least that’s what LeBron James might have decided.
LeBron James Impact on the Cavs Off the Court
Let’s face facts – the sheer lunacy that general manager David Griffin or owner Dan Gilbert didn’t ‘tell or run this by Lebron James’, is a bigger lie than all the presidential candidates combined. Everyone knows that the lights don’t go on at Quicken Loans Arena without James flipping the switch. To think otherwise is comical at best. James runs the show in Cleveland, and everyone around the league knows it, but won’t say anything to upset the King. Even Gregg Popovich made snide comments following the loss to the Warriors the other evening, poking fun at James’ expense regarding his own tenure as coach.
Let’s do a little history lesson for all those who may have forgotten how we got to this point. Has anyone forgotten the letter Gilbert publicly sent after James left Cleveland back in 2010. It seemed that James would never go back home, and most Cleveland fans questioned his passion and commitment for his own home. James seemed to relish the Cavs demise, as he went to South Beach and took Miami from obscurity to back to back championships.
LeBron James doesn’t seem to have any problem going from one team to another, as he left the Heat high and dry after the 2013 season, to ‘re-engage’ with his former team and Gilbert. It seemed that all had been forgotten, and the Cavs were once again the team to beat in a very weak Eastern Conference. One has to suspect that James has a long memory, and this may be payback for the slight he felt at the hands of the team owner, when he announced on ESPN where he was going. It was all about Lebron James’ brand. It had been, for all intents and purposes, tarnished.
Proof of this started in the offseason when Gilbert opened the vault for Iman Shumpert, who couldn’t cut it in New York, overrated and underachieving Kevin Love, and even an option on Timofey Mozgov. The payroll is out of control, and now they have changed coaches in mid-season with newly minted James favorite Tryonn Lue, who has only been an assistant coach since 2009. He has said all the right things so far and even got the game ball after his first win. Welcome to the Cleveland ‘LeBronaliers’ coach. Best be on your guard, or you may be shown the door after the season. That is, of course, pending the outcome of the playoffs, where we even now many wonder if the Cavs are the favorites to make the finals again.
This brings me to Michael Jordan – the real king of basketball. Sure, Jordan was hard to please and took everything personal, had a tremendous ego, and had a remarkable cast of players that enabled him to become one of, if not the best all around player that ever donned long shorts in the NBA. It didn’t matter if Jordan left and came back to the Bulls after his short-lived baseball career didn’t take off, but before and after he took the hiatus, he won three championships on both sides, and left with four more than LeBron James currently has in his trophy case. The fact that he imposed a win at all costs attitude on himself and his teammates without being the owner, the general manager, coach, and player, is a testament to the unique athlete that he was, and the numerous accolades that he won over the course of his stellar time in the NBA.
There will always be those, and it’s a great conversation and debate among those who saw both play in their primes, as to whom was the best overall player, and the best teammate for their respective squads. Sure, James had a great cast in Miami, and would never have won it without Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, and a strong bench. James never had that in Cleveland the first time, and it looks as though he doesn’t have that this time around. The magic isn’t back, and no one in their right mind can believe that James can beat the Warriors or Spurs, even when they have an off night. He tried to do it himself last year, and it didn’t work.
At the end of the day, changing coaches, holding the owner hostage for players that he wants, and creating an atmosphere of my way or the highway in Cleveland will never bring a championship to a city that is so starved for a winner. Look, James can actually opt-out and leave the Cavs after this season, and take big money elsewhere. We have to see if there’s a roster, coach, and ownership that he can manipulate to his liking. No one is saying that he isn’t one of the best players to ever grace a basketball court in recent memory, but you never hear stories like this from Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, or the other stars that just want to go out, play the game they love, and above all, win. Isn’t that what this should all be about, instead of LeBron James acting like the Donald on the Apprentice?
