LeBron James, Kevin Garnett engage in preseason war of words

James was certainly a bit off-base in his comments, considering Allen signed for less money in Miami while Garnett and Pierce were traded from a Celtics team in rebuilding mode. However, Garnett deleting Allen’s number and refusing to shake his hand last year was ridiculous in its own right.

In any case, there’s certainly no shortage of bad blood here, and with both the Heat and Nets in line to battle for Eastern Conference supremacy this season, these matchups are going to be a lot of fun. And would it be too much to ask for a playoff series?

The circumstances surrounding how the members of Boston’s “Big Three” found their way out of town isn’t comparable, however. Allen made the decision on his own, though the Celtics reportedly offered a more lucrative contract to keep him in green. Garnett and Pierce were traded by the team as the organization began working toward a rebuild effort.

The teams play twice in the preseason over the next two weeks. The first time they face each other during the regular season is Nov. 1 in Brooklyn. There has also been talk of the teams debuting “nickname” jerseys in one of the four meetings they have through the 2013-2014 season.