Cavs GM, Lue talked to LeBron James about his curious behavior
Cavs GM David Griffin and coach Tyronn Lue talked to LeBron about his halftime chat with Dwyane Wade and his comments about teaming up with Melo, Chris Paul and the Heat guard.
•
2 min read
With 11 games left in the season, the conversation surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers isn't about how they are the No. 1 seed in the East and likely to make a return trip to the Finals. No, the main topic of discussion surrounding the Cavs has been the off court happenings of LeBron James.
This has been an ongoing thing basically all season, but in recent days, James' behavior has drawn the ire of many. First, while getting routed by the Miami Heat on Saturday, James spent most of the time during the halftime warmup talking and laughing with Dwyane Wade, instead of with his teammates. Then James' cryptic use of Twitter and his unfollowing of the Cavs, became a story, mainly because he refused to address it. And finally, in a story from Bleacher Report's Howard Beck, James revealed that one day he hopes to play on the same team as Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.
According to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, all of these events finally culminated with Cavs GM David Griffin and head coach Tyronn Lue having a discussion with James about his actions:
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, Dwyane 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.
But perhaps James' sharpening can be traced at least in part to the discussion he had with Lue, in which the coach told him his interactions with Wade sent the wrong message to his teammates.
"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."
While it is kind of ridiculous that both Griffin and Lue need to talk with James, the team's leader, about leadership, this is the best time to address the issue. With the playoffs just around the corner, James and the Cavs need to be on the same page.
This is nothing groundbreaking. But James' behavior seemed to shift the focus away from Cleveland's goal of winning an NBA championship. And any little bit of doubt within the team could cause a great divide to form and ruin any chance of postseason success.
Which is why, with just 11 games left, Lue and Griffin had their discussions with James. A focused LeBron is perhaps the best player in the league and the Cavs will need him to be mentally ready to lead them in the playoffs.
