LeBron James’ presence at last night’s Cavaliers-Celtics playoff game in Cleveland caused some added stress for ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Windhorst, who has covered James dating back to his days as a high school player in Ohio, said on Get Up Tuesday morning that his phone was blowing with texts from around the NBA.
“My phone, I started getting people in the NBA, multiple general managers, sending my own meme back to me, saying, ‘What is going on in Cleveland?’” Windhorst said. “Because they’re like, ‘What is he doing?’”
Windhorst’s explanation for James being at the game was that he and his wife Savannah were back in Ohio for Mother’s Day. James’ agent Rich Paul, who was also at the game, represents multiple Cavaliers players, and the Lakers were aware that their franchise player was going to be in the building.
He also said the move reminded him of 10 years ago, when James, then a member of the Miami Heat, flew from Chicago to Cleveland to attend former teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ jersey retirement ceremony. James later signed with the Cavaliers that summer.
“This little maneuver is to just put a little bit of doubt — I think it’s mostly a bit of a thing for the Lakers, just to remind the Lakers, ‘By the way, just so you know, I’m still out here,” Windhorst said.
Windhorst had previously said last month that he feels James will opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent, so this could all be part of a ploy to put more pressure on the Lakers heading into the offseason.
[ New York Post ]