LeBron James says the Cavaliers are lacking an enforcer
LeBron wants the Cavs to have an enforcer, something he says he had when he won two championships with the Heat.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a star-studded roster with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and LeBron James. They also have significant depth with players like J.R. Smith, Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov. With such talent, the Cavs are a championship contender and the favorites to come out of the East. Still, James is not truly content with the Cavs roster.
According to James, the Cavs don't have an enforcer-type player, someone like Udonis Haslem or Chris Andersen -- two players LeBron played with in Miami when he won two championships. This need for an enforcer is debatable but it's a belief also shared by Irving.
The "news" from LeBron: the Cavs don't have an enforcer and he's never won a title without one
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) March 3, 2016
Kyrie Irving just offered the same kind of endorsement for an enforcer. Interesting
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) March 3, 2016
The Cavs do have Tristan Thompson and Mozgov, who are both big dudes but they aren't the type of player that will get in an opponent's face, like Haslem or Anderson would do. Thompson maybe would and James may just be trying to fire up his fellow teammates through the media, wanting them to become more physical of a team.
Perhaps James could be sending a message to the Cavs management that they should've re-signed New Orleans Pelicans big man Kendrick Perkins in the offseason. According to Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes, several Cavs players are "highly pissed" off that Perkins wasn't re-signed.
From Haynes' appearance on the Dan Patrick Show (Via PBT):
They were highly pissed. I knew this for a fact. They were highly ticked off, this team, when the team didn’t re-sign Kendrick Perkins and they ended up picking up over the summer Sasha Kaun – a 29-, 30-year-old rookie who has not really played at all and I don’t really think is ready for the NBA.
...
Players – I know for a fact, I talked to them – they were highly ticked off about that, not bringing him back. Because it wasn’t about his numbers. It was about the intangibles, the emotional leadership and the enforcer, the enforcement role he brought to the team.
Perkins rarely played last season with the Cavs, but he was a great locker room guy and mentor, which is the main reason the Pelicans signed him in the offseason. And while saying things from the bench is not truly being an enforcer, Perkins does carry a certain level of gravitas, especially since he won a championship with the Celtics and won't let his teammates be pushed around.
Based on James' enforcer comment, it sounds like he wants someone on the Cavs to step up and fill that void Perkins has left. Either way, with 23 games left in the regular season, it seems like the Cavs are still figuring some of their roles out before they get to the playoffs. Not a great sign if you want to challenge a team like the Warriors, who have been on the same page since basically Day 1 of last season.
















