The Cleveland Cavaliers just want LeBron James to focus on winning basketball games.
The Cavs, owners of the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, are gearing up for what they hope is a deep playoff run. But there’s been plenty of distraction surrounding the team of late, most of which is centered on James: In the past week alone, stories have surfaced about LeBron unfollowing the Cavs on Twitter and dreaming of playing on a superteam with old buddies Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade.
James also was spotted hamming it up with Wade during halftime of Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat despite his team trailing Miami by 21 points at the time. Head coach Tyronn Lue wasn’t pleased with that development and let his star player know.
“I just told him we can’t have that, being down like we were and him being the leader,” Lue told cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon. “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.”
Yet it appears Cleveland’s concerns about James as a distraction extend beyond that incident. Both Lue and general manager David Griffin have had conversations with the 12-time All-Star about his recent behavior, according to Vardon. Griffin’s chat with James, while also positive in nature, centered on James’ comments to Bleacher Report about reuniting with Anthony, Paul and Wade.
James also hinted earlier this week he might join Snapchat, which would bring him closer to fans but also could expose him to even more scrutiny.
According to Vardon, though, James has gotten the message from Cavs leadership and is “sharpening his focus” as Cleveland enters the postseason eyeing its first-ever NBA title.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
