Lebron wants to play with his three best friends really stack the deck in his favor before his career is over? That's surprising.
fixed that for you
It's not really accurate, though.
He talked about playing one year with those guys before everyone retires. He's said for years that those are his three best friends in the league. I don't think it's weird that he'd like to team up with them, even in the late stages of their career.
Why does Lebron get dumped on when he says, in the future, before he retires, that he'd like to spend a year playing with his best friends? Meanwhile, Kevin Durant receives very little criticism for rumors that he wants to ride the coattails of Steph Curry by signing with the Warriors.
Because one example is Lebron himself
saying that he wants to play with these players.
The other example is other people around the league
making rumours that Durant wants to go to Golden State.
If Durant publically said he wanted to go to Golden State while half way through a season with the Thunder, then I would criticise him all the same. It's horribly unprofessional to talk about wanting to play with other players / teams while you are midway through a season with another groups of players on another team.
It's like being a lead designer at BMW, and going on record saying you want to work with the CEO at Mercedes Benz, because you are great friends. It's ethically despicable, it is an embarrassment to the brand and to yourself, and it would likely lead to a reprimand. But because Lebron is Lebron he is untouchable and can say and do whatever the hell he wants.
But KD hasn't done that because, unlike Lebron, he has some degree of class.