Things aren’t going very well for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Remember that team meeting in which Cavs players questioned the legitimacy of an illness that caused Kevin Love to miss a game? Well, it turns out that in that meeting, LeBron James cussed out multiple Cavs executives, reports Jason Lloyd of The Athletic:
James doesn’t trust this front office, and there is no communication now between management and star player. It perhaps played a role in James yelling and cursing at multiple front office executives during the now-famous team meeting a couple of weeks ago that began with players questioning Kevin Love’s absence from a recent practice.
Multiple sources confirmed James cursed toward at least two team executives during the heated meeting. When asked about the exchange, James told The Athletic he couldn’t remember everything that was said.
Lloyd reports that there are two primary causes for the deterioration of James’ relationship with management. First, James was vocal in his support for former GM David Griffin, whom the Cavs replaced with Koby Altman. Second, James asked the team not to trade Kyrie Irving despite the point guard’s wishes. James said: “Bring him to camp,” believing that he could mend things in person.
Of course, the Cavs didn’t listen, trading Irving to the Celtics. Irving made it clear to the front office that he “did not want to play another minute with James,” says Lloyd.
Lloyd also reports that James has “no relationship” with either Altman or owner Dan Gilbert. James blames the front office’s lack of communication on the issues plaguing the team, but the front office doesn’t agree:
The Cavs privately counter that two of James’ closest associates, Randy Mims and Brandon Weems, are on the Cavs’ staff and spend a considerable amount of time with Altman. Therefore, James should be fully aware of the team’s proceedings.