ESPN: “LeBron didn’t like how Cavs only got a 2nd rounder in Kyrie to BOS deal”

[CelticsElite]

Is LeBron ever happy? How much help does LeBron need?
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22703968/why-work-isaiah-thomas-cleveland

LeBron James preferred the Cavaliers keep Kyrie Irving last offseason despite his trade request and sources say he was not impressed with how the front office handled its attempt to rework their deal with the Celtics after the severity of Isaiah Thomas' injury became more clear.

Then there was the transaction. It's well known that James preferred the Cavs not trade Irving, but there was more. Sources close to James, a master of applying leverage, said he was less than impressed by how the Cavs handled reworking the Irving deal once the severity of Thomas' injury became clear.

Had the Cavs backed out, which they considered doing for several days, the Celtics would have been in a tough position. They had already celebrated Irving's arrival and would have alienated Thomas and Jae Crowder. Adding to the Cavs' leverage was the nature of Thomas' hip injury becoming public, thereby further diminishing his trade value and putting Boston in an even tighter spot if the deal fell through.

When the dust settled, the fact that Cleveland got only a second-round pick after pausing the deal -- and not an additional first-rounder or young player such as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown or Terry Rozier -- didn't just disappoint James as a basketball player. It disappointed him as a businessman.

All this before Thomas took a single dribble..

The Cavaliers only acquired a second round pick after pausing the deal and not a young player or future first round pick.

James had respect for Thomas but was skeptical of his fit with the Cavaliers.

[byennie]

LeBron James is not a businessman. He's an athlete with 100s of millions of $$ to dabble in business on the side.

Nothing wrong with that, and we can see what he does after basketball, but the idea that a 33 year old James is some sort of business expert is a little insulting to career business professionals.

[Androslav]

LeBron James is not a businessman. He's an athlete with 100s of millions of $$ to dabble in business on the side.

Nothing wrong with that, and we can see what he does after basketball, but the idea that a 33 year old James is some sort of business expert is a little insulting to career business professionals.

I think he there is no question about is he is a businessman or not.
With so many endeavors going on how can you think otherwise?

[Big333223]

LeBron James is not a businessman. He's an athlete with 100s of millions of $$ to dabble in business on the side.

Nothing wrong with that, and we can see what he does after basketball, but the idea that a 33 year old James is some sort of business expert is a little insulting to career business professionals.

He owns businesses. How is he not a businessman?

[greg683x]

Who was pushing to give Tristan Thompson 80 million?

Fire a first place all star coach mid season?

You don’t need to be a businessman to be disappointed or even embarrassed by those decisions.  I’m sure he had nothing to do with them though

[Roy H.]

The implication in the article is that because Lebron was upset by the trade, he gave IT the cold shoulder.

There are other anecdotes in there, too, like Lebron not acknowledging IT when IT tried to celebrate Lebron’s game winner. For such a great player, it’s amazing how much of a baby Lebron can be.

[Moranis]

The implication in the article is that because Lebron was upset by the trade, he gave IT the cold shoulder.

There are other anecdotes in there, too, like Lebron not acknowledging IT when IT tried to celebrate Lebron’s game winner. For such a great player, it’s amazing how much of a baby Lebron can be.

come on Roy, the not celebrating with IT was the Minnesota game the day before the trade when James already knew a trade was coming.  To somehow imply that somehow speaks to their relationship is silly.  Had James celebrated when he knew IT was a goner he would have gotten killed by the media and fans for being a phoney.

[Roy H.]

The implication in the article is that because Lebron was upset by the trade, he gave IT the cold shoulder.

There are other anecdotes in there, too, like Lebron not acknowledging IT when IT tried to celebrate Lebron’s game winner. For such a great player, it’s amazing how much of a baby Lebron can be.

come on Roy, the not celebrating with IT was the Minnesota game the day before the trade when James already knew a trade was coming.  To somehow imply that somehow speaks to their relationship is silly.  Had James celebrated when he knew IT was a goner he would have gotten killed by the media and fans for being a phoney.

So you don’t even acknowledge somebody?

What about when he refused to play offense when IT had the ball?

Or, carrying a grudge about the trade that spilled over to include the players themselves?

[Androslav]

Do we have a Kyrie report?:
ESPN "Kyrie didn't like that LeBron attempted to rework his new home location"

Lebron
- ships Kyrie (1-3 top clutch scorer in the league) indirectly, by trying to ship him directly at first - therefore he destroys his team's chances of winning a title and his own there as well, alienates Kyrie - and he gets junk from noone, just praise, even though it is supposed to be all about winning. O yeah, Windhorst is crumbling from his mouth each day trying to make LBJs image better. Even if he makes no sense at all.

Westbrook
- ships KD indirectly (the top 1-3 player in the league), doesn't distribute the ball appropriable even after almost a decade of playing together - therefore destroying his team's chances of winning a title. Gets the MVP as a positive stimulant (apparently it is easier to do after you repulse the high usage generational player away) which enabled his historic ballhoging. Also leading to underutilizing an Allstar on the team (Oladipo). BTW, he won 1 "MVP" playoff game last year (less than the Bulls did) with his way or the highway mindset. 1 trivial win.

My value system is totally different. This one feels unnatural to me as it preaches self-promotion and selfishness above all else within a team sports concept. Even though we know that only the real teams win it all and we know teams like AI's 6ers, Melos Knicks, RW's Thunder always hit below expectations.

Two hundred times of seeing that similar concept fail are enough for me.

EDIT:
I heard that the first time LeBron didn't complain about having enough help around him, was at this year's All-Star game. It happened after the AS game, after he already won.

[Celtics4ever]

LeBron is a spoiled and pampered brat who just happens to be an all time great basketball player.   Not the best leader, though.

[SHAQATTACK]

Lebron has controlled  the team and ball for years .  IT came to buy into a team first coachs plan , where he was used in a way that maximizes his talent.   Where the coach is the Chief indian . 

Many people here predicted that ITs game would cut into Lebrons comtrolling style too much .

Lebron won't let a point guard be a point guard and run the team and plays for his coach.

So he LeWhines  , get rid of the coaches and players who won't follow his edict.

Irving only had some freedom when Lebron sat on the bench

Lebron is now yrying to fix his image as a controlling butt hole ,  as Irving and IT expose him for what he is.

[Moranis]

The implication in the article is that because Lebron was upset by the trade, he gave IT the cold shoulder.

There are other anecdotes in there, too, like Lebron not acknowledging IT when IT tried to celebrate Lebron’s game winner. For such a great player, it’s amazing how much of a baby Lebron can be.

come on Roy, the not celebrating with IT was the Minnesota game the day before the trade when James already knew a trade was coming.  To somehow imply that somehow speaks to their relationship is silly.  Had James celebrated when he knew IT was a goner he would have gotten killed by the media and fans for being a phoney.

So you don’t even acknowledge somebody?

What about when he refused to play offense when IT had the ball?

Or, carrying a grudge about the trade that spilled over to include the players themselves?

and the headline the next day is, Lebron yucking it up with IT when he knew IT was going to be traded.  Should have given him a high five or something sure, but Lebron can't win no matter what he does.  It would have been a story no matter what. 

[jambr380]

The implication in the article is that because Lebron was upset by the trade, he gave IT the cold shoulder.

There are other anecdotes in there, too, like Lebron not acknowledging IT when IT tried to celebrate Lebron’s game winner. For such a great player, it’s amazing how much of a baby Lebron can be.

come on Roy, the not celebrating with IT was the Minnesota game the day before the trade when James already knew a trade was coming.  To somehow imply that somehow speaks to their relationship is silly.  Had James celebrated when he knew IT was a goner he would have gotten killed by the media and fans for being a phoney.

So you don’t even acknowledge somebody?

What about when he refused to play offense when IT had the ball?

Or, carrying a grudge about the trade that spilled over to include the players themselves?

and the headline the next day is, Lebron yucking it up with IT when he knew IT was going to be traded.  Should have given him a high five or something sure, but Lebron can't win no matter what he does.  It would have been a story no matter what.

That isn't true. If Lebron just acted like a more modest, respectful human being he would get a lot more leeway. I understand he does a lot of great things off the court for charity, etc, but his obsession with his personal image in front of the camera makes a lot of people uncomfortable so it becomes easy to dislike him.

I am not sure why you don't think Lebron shouldn't have 'acknowledged' IT after Lebron's game winner, but they were teammates when it happened and it would have been normal to celebrate with everybody. Unless IT was a total jerk for his entire CLE tenure, I see no reason for Lebron to have acted the way he did.

[celticinorlando]

The implication in the article is that because Lebron was upset by the trade, he gave IT the cold shoulder.

There are other anecdotes in there, too, like Lebron not acknowledging IT when IT tried to celebrate Lebron’s game winner. For such a great player, it’s amazing how much of a baby Lebron can be.

come on Roy, the not celebrating with IT was the Minnesota game the day before the trade when James already knew a trade was coming.  To somehow imply that somehow speaks to their relationship is silly.  Had James celebrated when he knew IT was a goner he would have gotten killed by the media and fans for being a phoney.

So you don’t even acknowledge somebody?

What about when he refused to play offense when IT had the ball?

Or, carrying a grudge about the trade that spilled over to include the players themselves?

and the headline the next day is, Lebron yucking it up with IT when he knew IT was going to be traded.  Should have given him a high five or something sure, but Lebron can't win no matter what he does.  It would have been a story no matter what.

I did not realize how pro Lebron you are. Every post about the Cavs/LBJ you make makles you sound like a Cavs sympathizer. LBJ is an a hole behind the scenes.

[Moranis]

The implication in the article is that because Lebron was upset by the trade, he gave IT the cold shoulder.

There are other anecdotes in there, too, like Lebron not acknowledging IT when IT tried to celebrate Lebron’s game winner. For such a great player, it’s amazing how much of a baby Lebron can be.

come on Roy, the not celebrating with IT was the Minnesota game the day before the trade when James already knew a trade was coming.  To somehow imply that somehow speaks to their relationship is silly.  Had James celebrated when he knew IT was a goner he would have gotten killed by the media and fans for being a phoney.

So you don’t even acknowledge somebody?

What about when he refused to play offense when IT had the ball?

Or, carrying a grudge about the trade that spilled over to include the players themselves?

and the headline the next day is, Lebron yucking it up with IT when he knew IT was going to be traded.  Should have given him a high five or something sure, but Lebron can't win no matter what he does.  It would have been a story no matter what.

That isn't true. If Lebron just acted like a more modest, respectful human being he would get a lot more leeway. I understand he does a lot of great things off the court for charity, etc, but his obsession with his personal image in front of the camera makes a lot of people uncomfortable so it becomes easy to dislike him.

I am not sure why you don't think Lebron shouldn't have 'acknowledged' IT after Lebron's game winner, but they were teammates when it happened and it would have been normal to celebrate with everybody. Unless IT was a total jerk for his entire CLE tenure, I see no reason for Lebron to have acted the way he did.

IT was a jerk his whole tenure in Cleveland.  He was constantly calling out teammates, coaches, etc.  In fact, he likely wouldn't have been traded if not for his attitude and his constant yapping.  Had he been a better teammate, the team would have given him more time to get healthy because he has a much higher ceiling than Clarkson and Nance.

And come on, did you watch that video?  He totally went by Smith also.  He was focused on a certain player for celebration and went there.  This is making a mountain out of a molehill, which sort of just proves what I'm saying about James.  He can't win no matter what he does. 

Especially when you ignore things like this

"In the months leading up to Thomas' Cavs debut, James appeared to go out of his way to establish a connection with him. When the team was on the road in Dallas in November, the pair, along with James' confidant Randy Mims, spent an off night drinking wine and listening to music together, with James capturing the scene on his Instagram account. James, Thomas and their wives spent New Year's Eve together with some other teammates."

"James said he was preparing for Thomas' return by playing with the point guard in the video game NBA 2K. "I mix and match a lot of lineup changes to see how we can be really good," James said."

I mean this doesn't sound like a guy who wrote IT off before he even stepped foot on the court.